Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur | Start and Grow Your Own Business 1134: Is UGC the secret to paid ad success? Here's EVERYTHING you need to know... w/ Fernando Menendez
In this episode, we sit down with Fernando Menendez, the founder of fscales, a performance creative agency helping e-commerce brands thrive through data-driven ad strategies and high-converting user-generated content (UGC). With experience managing over $21 million in ad spend and working with major brands like Red Bull, Fernando shares his journey from media buying at SocialCode and MuteSix to building his own agency. His insights into the importance of UGC, strategic ad testing, and data-backed creative decisions will inspire you to rethink how you approach growth for your business. If you’ve ever wondered how to create ads that don’t just run, but convert—this episode is for you.
💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business
- 🚀 How to effectively leverage UGC (User Generated Content) to build trust and drive sales in a competitive ad space
- 📊 Data-driven ad strategy: Why understanding your ad account data is crucial for campaign optimization
- 🎯 Why speed matters in ad testing and iteration—and how Fernando's team at fscales accelerates the process
- 🔎 Creative detective work: How digging through Reddit threads, product reviews, and social comments can inspire impactful ad concepts
- 🔄 The importance of modular ad testing: Discover how to split-test hooks and creative variations for maximum impact
- 🔥 Scaling strategies for Meta and TikTok ads that drive down customer acquisition costs and improve ROAS
- 💡 Understanding advertorials and landing pages: How to convert clicks into customers with optimized content
📝 About the Guest
Fernando Menendez is the founder of fscales — a performance creative agency that helps eCommerce brands grow through data-driven UGC and paid social ads management, mainly on Meta and TikTok.
He started as a media buyer at two of the most influential agencies in the space: SocialCode, Facebook’s first official Ads API partner, and MuteSix, where he rose from junior to Director at the agency with the most case studies published by Facebook.
When he started freelancing, fscales evolved to solve the exact problems he faced as a creative-minded media buyer: needing high-converting creatives, but not getting them personalized to what works for that brand fast enough.
So he built the service he always wished he had: a team that deeply understands ad account data, translates it into actionable creative strategy, and runs ads that are proactively optimized from script to scale.
Over his career, Fernando has managed over $21 million in ad spend, helping brands like Red Bull, Allegiance Flag Supply, and Spongellé achieve significant growth through end-to-end data-driven execution.
🎯 Guest’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
"The only problem is the belief that you have a problem."
Fernando believes that challenges are simply opportunities for growth. By shifting your mindset from obstacles to learning experiences, you unlock the ability to iterate, improve, and thrive in business.
📢 Memorable Quotes
“People sell to people. UGC is powerful because it’s real people talking about real experiences.” – Fernando Menendez
“Marketing is like being a detective—you’re constantly connecting the dots and solving puzzles.” – Fernando Menendez
“Even if you have the best video in the world, if you can’t get people to stop scrolling, the rest doesn’t matter.” – Fernando Menendez
🔗 Links & Resources