Most 7-figure DTC brands hire full-time email marketing managers and wonder why revenue doesn't move. The problem isn't effort, it's that one person can't genuinely master strategy, copywriting, design, data analytics, and technical execution. And if they could, you couldn't afford them.

Elliot Kovac is the founder of Dispatch, an email & SMS marketing agency that's generated over $50M for DTC brands. After spending 10,000+ hours inside Klaviyo as an e-commerce director at an 8-figure apparel brand, Elliot built an agency on one core value: don't suck. Today he breaks down the math and reality behind why agencies with specialists outperform full-time generalists at the 7-8 figure scale—and where the threshold changes.

What We Cover:

→ Why there's not enough meaningful work for 40 hours/week at 7-8 figure brands

→ The five expertise domains required (strategy, copy, design, data, technical) and why one person can't master all of them

→ Why the "unicorn" hire who's expert at everything would cost $250-300K

→ Where the nine-figure revenue threshold changes the full-time vs agency equation

→ The opportunity cost of hiring wrong and what brands miss in lost revenue

→ Why 5 hours per week from specialists beats 40 hours from a generalist

If you're a founder or operator at a $1M-$20M DTC brand wrestling with whether to hire an email manager or work with an agency, this conversation will save you months of ramp time and potentially hundreds of thousands in lost revenue.

Connect with Matt:

https://x.com/mattlady

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattlady/

The Performance Marketing Agency for eCommerce & DTC Brands: https://www.klientboost.com/

Connect with Elliot:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliot-kovac-13a7b0152/

https://x.com/elliotkovac28

https://www.thedispatch.agency/

00:00 Why 5-10 hours from experts beats 40 hours from a generalist

01:08 The controversial take: What do email managers actually do for 40 hours?

03:42 The revenue threshold where full-time makes sense

04:10 Nine figures changes everything: Why $10M brands need agencies

05:45 The five expertise domains one person can't master

07:22 The unicorn hire problem: Why they cost $250-300K

08:24 Resource allocation: Better places to spend that salary

10:20 Why most agencies suck and what makes Dispatch different

13:45 Strategy, copy, design, data, technical: Expertise requires reps

16:38 The jaded perspective after hundreds of brand audits

18:52 Opportunity cost and not knowing what you don't know

19:43 What agencies can and can't bring to the table

21:32 Email as your direct communication line with customers

23:10 The oversight most brands make until it's too late

23:42 Final recap and where to find Elliot