SUMMARY

Tom Circo, founder of influencer marketing agency Matchbook, discusses building his business through cold LinkedIn outreach, high-profile partnerships with Jake Paul and MrBeast teams, long-term brand deals, and his new coaching program for creators and businesses seeking sponsorships.

STATEMENTS

• Tom Circo runs Matchbook, an influencer marketing agency specializing in sourcing, contracting, negotiations, project management, and payouts for brands.
• Matchbook started almost three years ago and has scaled to multi-7 figures in revenue.
• Tom's former business partner exited to become the influencer lead at Perplexity, a client they worked with on a Super Bowl campaign.
• Key clients include Jack Link's Beef Jerky, ManyChat, Liquid Death, ClickUp, and Perplexity.
• Matchbook built long-term partnerships, including serving as Jack Link's agency of record for two years and creating their evergreen program.
• They facilitated the MrBeast partnership with Jack Link's for Beast Sticks.
• Tom has pivoted to coaching content creators and businesses on securing brand partnerships after completing 600 creator deals and paying out over $1.5 million last year.
• Connections to Jake Paul's team came through a marketing head's referral involving Perplexity and Von Dutch sponsorships.
• MrBeast partnerships stemmed from multiple connections in the content space, including editors and video helpers.
• Matchbook's initial clients were acquired through persistent cold outbound messaging on LinkedIn starting in June 2023, with first wins in late November to early December 2023.
• Corporate Q4 challenges include spent budgets, holidays, and out-of-office periods delaying decisions until Q1.
• Tom's early experience included executive producing commercials for a Vancouver production company, generating a million in sales.
• He sold high-ticket commercials worth $150,000 to $250,000, drawing from nightlife sales background.
• Matchbook now receives clients via inbound leads, partner networks, venture capital introductions, and outbound efforts.
• Revenue model involves retainers, margins on creator payouts (e.g., 20% markup), and percentage of talent spend.
• They focus on multi-month partnerships with 2-5 videos per month across brand and creator channels.
• Team is lean: Tom, head of ops/growth, head of marketing, plus contractors and SDRs.
• Platforms worked include Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Substack, and Reddit.
• Tom prefers top-of-funnel brand-centric deals over strictly data-driven ones, emphasizing cultural impact.
• Brands understanding branding are easier to work with, as they avoid constant metric questioning.
• Professional communication and non-salesy content help influencers secure more deals.
• Follower count matters less than engagements, views, and response speed to brand inquiries.
• Tom coined the "Tom Method" for staying top-of-mind with brands to secure sponsorships.
• Sponsorships on text-based platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn can command high rates, especially for newsletters.
• Matchbook differentiates through boutique flexibility, deep client integration, and genuine care.
• Tom manages talent now, including creators with 5-10 million followers who rarely do brand deals.

IDEAS

• Cold outbound on LinkedIn can build a multi-7-figure agency from scratch after months of persistence.
• Vulnerability and transparency in outreach messages resonate more than polished pitches for young founders.
• Q4 corporate inertia stems from exhausted budgets and holiday distractions, but breakthroughs can happen.
• High-ticket sales experience from unrelated fields like nightlife transfers to influencer marketing.
• Principal-to-principal relationships bypass layers of intermediaries for faster decisions.
• Evergreen programs tied to cultural calendars ensure recurring revenue over one-off campaigns.
• Markups on creator payouts, like 20%, are standard and transparent in agency models.
• Brand-centric deals drive cultural shifts without needing every metric quantified.
• Product moats erode in AI era; strong branding becomes the new competitive edge.
• Bumble's active social presence boosts user acquisition despite weaker word-of-mouth versus Hinge.
• Apple excels at status-driven branding, while Samsung could innovate by flipping 'nerdy' perceptions.
• Professionalism in communications trumps content quality for landing influencer deals.
• Subtle product integrations in natural content outperform overt sales pitches.
• AI responders for brand inquiries could prevent lost millions in deal value.
• Text-based platforms like LinkedIn newsletters command premium sponsorships in niches like health.
• Boutique agencies offer personalized access rivaling internal hires without salary costs.
• Genuine passion and availability build trust deeper than agency branding efforts.
• Managing rare-deal talents with millions of followers requires NDA-bound, relationship-driven approaches.
• Faceless channels prioritize ad systems over integrations, limiting brand opportunities.
• Shooting courses in luxury settings enhances perceived value for coaching programs.
• FIFA events transform Vancouver's summer vibe, attracting global energy.
• Crossing international boundaries, like Asia, yields personal-professional matches in entrepreneurship.
• Custom LLMs like "Tom GPT" personalize coaching at scale.

INSIGHTS

• Persistence in cold outreach refines targeting to ideal personas, turning zero responses into high-value clients.
• Long-term partnerships create stability and recurring revenue, outlasting seasonal marketing trends.
• Branding's cultural power in AI democratizes competition, where small teams can rival giants through perception.
• Professional reliability in creator-brand interactions unlocks opportunities beyond raw talent or follower metrics.
• Text-based influence on platforms like LinkedIn monetizes thought leadership as effectively as video.
• Boutique models foster intimate client relationships, embedding agencies as indispensable extensions.
• Vulnerability in founder stories humanizes pitches, building emotional connections in competitive landscapes.
• Subtle integrations preserve authenticity, enhancing engagement over aggressive promotions.
• AI tools for communication streamline responses, safeguarding potential revenue from delays.
• Passionate involvement sustains energy in dynamic fields like influencer marketing.
• Global events amplify local appeal, turning cities into networking hubs.
• Personal authenticity attracts aligned partners, blending life and business seamlessly.
• Evergreen strategies align marketing with annual cycles for consistent impact.
• Metrics obsession hinders brand evolution; intuition guides true cultural resonance.
• Talent management thrives on trust and exclusivity for high-stakes creators.
• Platform-agnostic rates reflect audience value over format biases.
• Deep integrations unlock unquantifiable opportunities agencies often miss.

QUOTES

• "We are a one contract agency."
• "I built this entire company agency from cold outbound on LinkedIn."
• "Product is no longer the moat and you don't need to be big to be big anymore."
• "Being professional in your communications with brands, you could be a subpar creator, but if you're professional and easy to work with, you'll probably get more brand deals."
• "Followers don't matter anymore. It's about impressions. It's about view count."
• "Giving a [__] as unquantifiable as it is has been like the number one thing that has helped me close these deals."
• "This is my life, man. I like being in my business."
• "The Tom method. Top of mind."

HABITS

• Sending 40-50 custom LinkedIn messages daily to brands for outbound prospecting.
• Focusing outreach on specific roles like brand marketing leads to refine targeting.
• Maintaining principal-to-principal calls to streamline negotiations and decisions.
• Integrating deeply into client Slacks and emails to act as internal team members.
• Responding to creator inquiries within 24 hours to secure deals quickly.
• Building evergreen programs by mapping annual cultural calendars for campaigns.
• Negotiating every deal personally on live calls for customized structures.
• Producing content on LinkedIn to elevate personal brand and inbound leads.
• Picking up talent at airports and handling logistics to build rapport early.
• Documenting vulnerabilities in pitches to foster genuine connections.

FACTS

• Jake Paul's team achieved 125 million views from his Mike Tyson fight.
• Jack Link's Beef Jerky generates $1.5 billion in annual recurring revenue.
• Perplexity's Super Bowl influencer campaign involved a $1 million giveaway executed in two weeks.
• Bumble maintains hundreds of thousands of social followers despite weaker word-of-mouth than Hinge.
• Apple has hacked human behavior through status-associated branding.
• A Vancouver penthouse valued at $24 million features a three-story design with an elevator.
• FIFA is scheduled for Vancouver next summer, boosting the city's event appeal.
• Andrew Huberman's newsletter recommendations drive significant value for sponsors like AG1.

REFERENCES

• Matchbook (influencer marketing agency).
• Perplexity (AI client, Super Bowl campaign).
• Jack Link's Beef Jerky (long-term client, MrBeast partnership for Beast Sticks).
• ManyChat (initial client).
• Liquid Death (client via former partner).
• ClickUp (one-off campaign client).
• Von Dutch (Jake Paul merch sponsorship).
• Auro Studios (production company, client consultant).
• Diplo music video (production managed).
• Samsung, Ford, Junos, Columbia Records (commercial clients).
• Cal AI (20% markup example, brand-focused).
• Expandy (B2B LinkedIn automation client).
• Hinge and Bumble (dating app branding examples).
• Apple and Samsung (tech branding contrast).
• Substack and Reddit (text-based sponsorship platforms).
• AG1 (health sponsor for newsletters).
• Mindset app (Brandon's 300,000 users).
• Jordan Peterson, Tony Robbins, Alan Watts (digital rights via Brandon's company).
• Canvas AI, Lovable, Bolt, Cursor, ChatGPT (AI tools for app building).

HOW TO APPLY

• Start with cold outbound on LinkedIn by sending 40-50 personalized messages daily to brand marketing roles.
• Incorporate vulnerability in pitches to humanize your background and build rapport.
• Target Q4 despite challenges by emphasizing immediate value for unspent budgets.
• Leverage past high-ticket sales experience to negotiate creator rates confidently.
• Secure principal-to-principal access by pitching through trusted referrals.
• Develop evergreen programs by aligning campaigns with a brand's annual cultural calendar.
• Structure deals with transparent markups, like 20% on creator costs, for profitability.
• Respond to all inquiries within 24 hours to avoid losing opportunities to competitors.
• Focus content on engagements and views rather than followers for brand appeal.
• Integrate products subtly into natural content to maintain authenticity.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Building influencer empires demands persistent outreach, genuine relationships, and branding savvy over metrics alone.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Prioritize long-term multi-month partnerships for stable revenue streams.
• Use cold LinkedIn outreach with honest, vulnerable messaging to attract initial clients.
• Focus on brand-centric campaigns that leverage cultural impact without over-relying on data.
• Train creators to respond promptly and professionally to brand emails.
• Negotiate deposits for high-value text-based sponsorships on platforms like Twitter.
• Embed as an internal team member in client communications for deeper opportunities.
• Champion branding in AI products to differentiate from commoditized tech.
• Develop AI tools for automated, personalized responses to inquiries.
• Map cultural calendars for evergreen influencer programs.
• Target boutique agency models for flexible, high-touch service.
• Coin personal methods like "Tom Method" to systematize top-of-mind strategies.
• Explore B2B influencer deals on LinkedIn for thought leadership monetization.
• Avoid salesy integrations; opt for subtle, authentic product placements.
• Build principal relationships to bypass intermediary layers.
• Invest in personal branding content to boost inbound leads.
• Manage exclusive talents with NDAs for premium, rare partnerships.

MEMO

Tom Circo, the 29-year-old Vancouver-based entrepreneur behind Matchbook, has quietly orchestrated some of the biggest influencer sponsorships in the digital space. From Jake Paul's upcoming Netflix-hosted fight with Anthony Joshua to MrBeast's beef jerky collaborations, Circo's agency serves as the invisible engine powering these high-stakes deals. Starting three years ago with nothing but grit, he cold-messaged thousands on LinkedIn, enduring six months of silence before landing marquee clients like Jack Link's Beef Jerky and ClickUp in the unlikeliest month: December. His formula? Raw honesty in pitches that reveal a young founder's hustle, turning vulnerability into a competitive edge.

What sets Matchbook apart is its boutique ethos in an industry bloated with faceless agencies. With a lean team of just three full-timers and contractors, Circo embeds himself in clients' Slacks and emails, acting as an outsourced executive without the salary. Revenue flows from retainers, 20% markups on creator payouts, and percentages of talent spend—yielding high margins on deals that payout over $1.5 million annually to 600 creators. He champions long-term partnerships, crafting evergreen programs synced to cultural calendars, from Super Bowl giveaways for Perplexity to multi-month video series. One-off campaigns, like ClickUp's product launches, test the waters, but most evolve into two-year retainers with giants boasting $1.5 billion in revenue.

Circo's pivot to coaching underscores a broader truth: the influencer game favors the professional over the viral. "Followers don't matter anymore," he insists, emphasizing engagements and prompt replies that have cost creators millions in lost deals. His "Tom Method"—staying top-of-mind through consistent, value-driven outreach—now trains both creators and businesses, even landing sponsorships for a yoga-EDM hybrid. Platforms blur in value; text-based Twitter or LinkedIn newsletters fetch $15,000 rates, rivaling TikTok videos when audiences overlap. Yet, he warns against platform biases, advocating unified pricing based on real reach.

In an AI-fueled era where apps spring from laptops in Lithuania, Circo sees branding as the ultimate moat. Product parity demands cultural savvy—think Bumble's social dominance offsetting Hinge's buzz, or Apple's status allure eclipsing Samsung's functionality. He dreams of flipping narratives, like making Samsung the "cool guy" against Apple's giant. For creators, subtlety rules: weave products into authentic content to spark shares, not screams. Agencies ignoring this chase metrics at their peril, while Circo's passion—managing 10-million-follower talents under NDAs—keeps him immersed, rejecting passive income for the thrill.

Circo's story extends beyond business. Rooted in Vancouver's nightlife sales and commercial production (helming $250,000 Diplo videos), he bridges worlds with ease. Now eyeing a penthouse near next summer's FIFA influx, he blends personal milestones—like an Asia-found entrepreneur girlfriend—with professional ones. Shooting his coaching course in a $24-million three-story lair (elevator included), he readies to scale influence. As agencies commoditize, his mantra endures: care deeply, show up personally, and watch relationships compound into empires. In influencer marketing's chaos, authenticity isn't just nice—it's the deal-closer.