Tactic
Make the celebrity a co-founder, but build a brand that outlives them
When David Beckham, who had turned down supplement deals for 30 years, was weighing a partnership, Danny Yeung pitched him as a co-founder rather than a paid ambassador. In the same breath he insisted the brand had to stand on its own and not become another celebrity brand.
“And I told David from day one, hey, David, I know, you know, for the last 30 years there's been so many people wanting to do this category and you rejected. And I told David something that was surprising to him. I was like, David, if we do this together, you know, I don't want you just as ambassador. I want you as a co-founder. But this brand has to live beyond you. I don't want this to be another celebrity brand.”
Steal thisOffer the famous partner real co-founder equity and accountability, then design the product and brand so they still work if the celebrity steps away.
Tactic
Replace a $250–$300/month pill stack with one $90 sachet
IM8's Daily Ultimate Essentials packs 90 ingredients that replace 16 separate supplements into one powder sachet mixed with water. Danny Yeung positions it against the $250–$300 a month that buying those supplements separately would cost, and sells it for $90 a month.
“And because normally you would have to take the equivalent of 16 different supplements, that will easily cost you $250 to $300 on a monthly basis. Yeah. And for us, we're selling at $90 a monthly basis, this combination, which also tastes great and you can carry around with you everywhere.”
Steal thisBundle a messy multi-product routine into one SKU and anchor its price against what the separate pieces would cost.
Number
IM8 hit a $200M run rate in 18 months; AG1 took 10 years to reach $100M
Danny Yeung says IM8, the supplement drink he co-founded with David Beckham, reached a $100M annual revenue run rate 11 months after launching in December 2024 and $200M at 18 months. He contrasts that with AG1, which took about 10 years to hit $100M, and calls IM8 the fastest-growing supplement brand on record.
$200M
Annual revenue run rate at 18 months · USD/year
“We hit $100 million annual revenue run rate at 11 months. In this category-wise, I mean, GrooveDigital in 22 months, right? And they were acquired for $1.2 billion after 3 years. AG1 took them 10 years to hit $100 million. We hit $200 million run rate in 18 months.”
Story
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka's team cold-emailed IM8 to partner
Danny Yeung's best proof the product works: in spring 2025, Aryna Sabalenka's team cold-emailed him after she had used IM8 for three months on her nutrition coach's advice. Her team tracks her recovery several times a day, and she had not gotten sick while traveling. Every ambassador IM8 signed after that came to them inbound.
“I got an email from Aryna Sabalenka's team. Right. Cold email into me, right? They're like, hey, you know, Aryna's been on your product for about 3 months now via a recommendation from her nutrition coach. When you're the world number 1 tennis player, every single thing they're measuring your recovery, how you're feeling 3 to 4 times on a daily basis. And they don't need the bullshit, right?”
Take
Ad buying is a commodity now; the creative does the targeting
Danny Yeung argues that Meta's algorithm has made media buying a commodity, so targeting skill no longer differentiates. What matters is producing strong creatives with enough diversity across customer personas. IM8 runs 2,000–3,000 ads at any time and tests 500–800 creators a week.
“And you have, and right now the reality is even with ad buying, I mean, you know, ad buying is like a commodity right now. Yeah. Before a few years ago, you have to be really, really good at ad buying, but now Meta does all of that for you already, right? You don't need to do the targeting. You don't need to do all this stuff, right? All you need to really figure out is how do you get really good creatives? and really good creative diversity on the different personas because now you need the creative to do the targeting.”
Steal thisShift budget from media-buying expertise to creative volume: build distinct ads for each customer persona and let the platform find the audience.
Number
IM8 doubled ad spend to $33M a quarter and its CAC still fell
IM8 roughly doubled quarterly marketing spend from about $17M in Q1 to $33M in Q2, yet its customer acquisition cost dropped from $305 to $301, against an average order value of about $230. Danny Yeung says CAC usually rises when spend doubles, and credits the creative engine and brand strength, including more than 200 offline events.
$301
Customer acquisition cost after doubling quarterly spend · USD
“Q1 our CAC was 305, right? Our average order value is about $230, right? So, and we doubled our marketing spend in Q2, right? We doubled it from about 17 to 33 million dollars in a quarter, right? Our CAC. actually went down by $4. All right. From $305 to $301. Because you would imagine if you're doubling spend, your CAC is always going to go up.”
Take
Offline carries a premium because almost no one competes there
Responding to IM8's 200+ in-person events, Shaan argues most brands stay behind their laptops because ads are measurable and spare them face-to-face rejection. That leaves offline less contested and disproportionately valuable, and an ad lands differently once someone has met the brand in person.
“You don't have to like go get face rejection out in the real world. And it almost means that like offline has this disproportionate premium because it's simply like less contested. And once you've had an in-person touchpoint and then you go see an ad, right, it's going to be a completely different experience than if you've never— it's just a brand new experience.”
Tactic
Ask ChatGPT or Claude whether your product beats the competition
To check whether a product really is the best on the market, Danny Yeung tells people to ask ChatGPT or Claude to compare it with rivals such as AG1. Shaan runs the test live, ChatGPT picks IM8 over AG1, and Danny jokes he'll cut the clip into an ad.
“Yeah, but you have to be realistic, right? It's like a big difference. I mean, I tell people, how do you know this? I was like, don't trust me. Just put it into Claude, put it in ChatGPT. What's better, IM8 or, you know, AG1, Doron Krugens, right? Let's see what it says on the similar product. Right?”
Steal thisAsk two LLMs to compare your product head-to-head with your top competitors; fix what they flag, and turn a favorable verdict into ad creative.