#31 From Corporate Misfit to $100M Agency CEO – Ralph Burns’ Wild Journey

Most agency owners are stuck thinking small... but Ralph Burns? He’s scaling past $100M—& breaking all the rules to get there.

In this episode, I sit down with Ralph Burns, CEO of Tier 11 and host of the Perpetual Traffic Podcast, to unpack what it really takes to go from a corporate misfit to running one of the most dominant performance marketing agencies on the planet.

What you'll learn:
🚀 How to build and scale a rock-solid team of 120+
🔥 Why he turned down a multi-million dollar buyout
📈 How to position your agency for valuation, acquisition, and exponential growth
🔑 The mindset shift that separates 6-figure hustlers from 9-figure operators

This isn’t theory. It’s the real playbook for building something that outlasts you. If you’re serious about building systems, owning your niche, and scaling your agency beyond what you thought was possible—this one’s for you.

🎯 Hit play, take notes, and let’s scale.

Timestamps:

00:00 Coming up!
00:43 | Meet Ralph Burns: $100M Agency, 120+ Staff, Still Scaling
01:38 | From Corporate Misfit to Marketing Mogul
05:28 | How Tier 11 Was Born (and Blew Up Fast)
11:59 | Scaling Ain’t Sexy—Here’s What Really Happens
17:26 | Why Ralph Walked Away From Millions (Yes, Really)
23:19 | How to Value a Company (Like a Pro, Not a Rookie)
24:13 | Multiples: The Magic Numbers That Make or Break Your Deal
25:51 | Earnouts 101: The Truth No One Talks About
28:13 | Want to Merge or Acquire? Start With This Strategy
34:03 | How to Engineer a Multimillion Dollar Agency
34:27 | You Can’t Scale Without the Right People—Here’s How Ralph Hires
41:38 | SOPs That Print Profit: The Real Secret to Scaling
44:30 | Ralph’s Final Advice? Pure Gold. Stick Around.