Ep 16: Building a White-Label Powerhouse for Agencies, With Dmitry Fesenko of Haven

The Agency Uplift Podcast

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Dmitry runs two agencies: AdTribe (for DTC brands) and Haven (white-label media buying for agencies).
• Haven uses the same team and processes as AdTribe, but exclusively services agencies to avoid direct client headaches.
• The white-label model sacrifices margin for long-term retention and stability.
• Operational scaling is the biggest challenge, especially as they approach 100+ managed accounts.
• Communication, not performance, is often the main source of churn—especially with direct clients.
• Dmitry bootstrapped his agency journey from freelancer to a team of 10+ in less than a year.
• Early mistakes included hiring full-time staff too quickly without predictable revenue.
• Media buyers are compensated via base + account-based bonuses to balance security and performance.
• Strong client relationships and proactive communication systems are more critical than just results.
• Investing in personal brand and LinkedIn content is something Dmitry wishes he had started earlier.

Check out Dmitry's agencies here:

Haven

Adtribe

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Sean’s Links:

🔗 Sean Lang on LinkedIn
🌐 Agency Uplift Skool Group
🛒 Social Commerce Club