I help eCommerce and DTC brands unlock profitable growth through performance marketing, positioning, and conversion strategy.
I've managed more than $100M in ad spend across Meta, Google, and TikTok, driving scalable results for YC-backed startups, multi-million-dollar DTC brands, and everything in between.
But it wasn't always like that…
In 2016 I was working three jobs - waiter, family business, winery - with zero free time and living paycheck to paycheck. I had no direction, was failing at university, and felt completely trapped.
Everything changed when I got my first client on Upwork. He hired me for $4/hour to wake him up every morning. Sounds crazy, right? But that simple job introduced me to "The 4-Hour Workweek" and completely shifted my perspective on what was possible.
I started with basic data entry, wrote terrible proposals (literally begging for work), and had no clue what I was doing. But I had something more valuable than experience: the hunger to figure it out.
Here's what happened next:
2016: 51 proposals sent, 0 jobs won
2017: 91 proposals sent, 7 jobs won (including my first $5!)
2018: 214 proposals sent, 13 jobs won - tested and failed 100+ affiliate/dropshipping products, burned over $50k of my personal hard-earned money learning what doesn't work
2019: 101 proposals sent, 4 jobs won - transitioned to agency work
2020: Went full solo
By 2020, I wasn't just landing clients - I was scaling them. The skills I developed through relentless testing became the foundation for helping DTC brands break through their own plateaus.
Why this matters to you
I've been where you are. I know what it's like to hit a wall and wonder, "Shouldn't this be easier?"
I understand the frustration of watching competitors scale while you stay stuck.
The difference is, I've systematically figured out what works through real experience with real money on real campaigns. I'm not selling you tactics from a book;
I'm sharing battle-tested systems that I've personally proven work across hundreds of campaigns
What you get when you work with me
Performance-first mindset: I care about your profits - not vanity metrics
Systems that outlast me: You get frameworks to keep growing without me, not just temporary results
AI-enabled speed: I leverage AI to compress testing cycles and identify winning campaigns faster than traditional agencies
No BS approach: I'll tell you what's working, what's not, and exactly what needs to change.
No sugar-coating, no excuses.
The results speak for themselves
"Kris is a total FB expert and a true professional. We worked with Kris for about 3 years and he grew the brand from basically zero to over 7 figures in revenue. I would recommend him to anyone looking for marketing help."
"We've been working with Kris for nearly two years, and he's been nothing short of incredible. As our media buying manager, he's helped scale accounts from low five figures into the mid range, always with a collaborative and highly strategic approach. His knowledge of media buying is unmatched, his communication is clear, and he thrives even in challenging scenarios by diving deep into analysis and problem-solving. Honestly, part of me wants to gatekeep him, but he's a fantastic partner, and I'd recommend him 10/10 to anyone serious about growth."
Ali Qureshi
Co-Founder @ Adcrate
"Kris is a gem. He is an outstanding performance marketer, and incredibly professional and pleasant to work with. We're very grateful for his attention to our strategy, account health, and growth efficiency, which has been critical in helping us scale >500% in spend while maintaining ROAS. We fully trust his expertise and are honored to recommend his work to other brands!"
Anjie Liu
Co-founder, Kiwi Biosciences (YC S21) | Forbes 30 Under 30
Ready to break through your plateau?
If you're a DTC founder stuck at $50-100K/month, wondering why scaling feels harder instead of easier, let's talk. I'll show you exactly what's keeping you stuck and how to build systems that create predictable, profitable growth.
The transformation isn't instant. But with the right systems and someone who's been where you are, it's inevitable.
Experience
Founder
arapovk.com
Sep 2023 - Ongoing
Founder
ZenithZoneMarketing.com
Jan 2024 - Ongoing
Account Performance Manager
adcrate.co
Jul 2023 - Jan 2026
Co-Founder
CuriousMarketers.co
Jan 2025 - April 2025
Head of Marketing
Regimen
Jul 2021 - Apr 2022
Media Buyer
SM Commerce (smcommerce.com)
Apr 2021 - Jul 2021
Media Buyer
Nazim Agabekov (nazimconsulting.com)
Oct 2020 - Apr 2021
Media Buyer
Sugatan.io
May 2020 - Feb 2021
Influencer Marketing Assistant
Hyconic
Jun 2018 - Jan 2019
Other Client's Success Stories
"Kris is a gem. He is an outstanding performance marketer, and incredibly professional and pleasant to work with. We're very grateful for his attention to our strategy, account health, and growth efficiency, which has been critical in helping us scale >500% in spend while maintaining ROAS. We fully trust his expertise and are honored to recommend his work to other brands!"
Anjie Liu
Co-founder, Kiwi Biosciences (YC S21) | Forbes 30 Under 30
"Kris is a total FB expert and a true professional. We worked with Kris for about 3 years and he grew the brand from basically zero to over 7 figures in revenue. I would recommend him to anyone looking for marketing help."
"We've been working with Kris for nearly two years, and he's been nothing short of incredible. As our media buying manager, he's helped scale accounts from low five figures into the mid range, always with a collaborative and highly strategic approach. His knowledge of media buying is unmatched, his communication is clear, and he thrives even in challenging scenarios by diving deep into analysis and problem-solving. Honestly, part of me wants to gatekeep him, but he's a fantastic partner, and I'd recommend him 10/10 to anyone serious about growth."
Ali Qureshi
Co-Founder @ Adcrate
"Kris completely transformed how our team approaches media buying. Instead of just thinking inside the ad account, we now start by asking what problem we're solving and how to approach it strategically. His trainings across Meta, Google, and creative strategy have been game-changing for our entire team."
Milind Gupta
Founder @ Catalys.co
"Kristijan is an absolute legendary mediabuyer. Always has the strongest insights, actions to take, and recommendations based on data + media-buyer gut -- a nuance that's only harder and harder to find these days."
Sterling Montes
Co-Founder & CMO @ Flakes
"Kris is one of the best media buyers I've worked with. His knowledge and expertise have helped us grow our clients businesses significantly. He's also been a great member of our team and is always willing to help out those who have less experience than him. Couldn't recommend Kris highly enough. Whoever he works with is lucky to have him on their team"
Alex Cooper
Co-Founder @ Adcrate
"We worked with Kris on our Facebook ads. What I liked about his work was to care about all the performance details and manage ads daily. I have been working with many agencies, but most of the time, they only analyze the performance and make weekly changes, saying it is the best practice. While I agree with the argument for some cases, I generally expect to make changes more frequently when we need to. Kris was flexible and professional enough to work with the expectations. Highly recommended!"
Tomohiro Takano
Co-founder Genomelink YC S21 ($8.1M raised)
"Kris was super impressive marketer and strategic thinker who was both strong on the tools and the creative ideation. I really enjoyed working with him in scaling our Meta ads channel and would highly recommend him for others looking to make Meta a profitable growth channel for their startup / brand."
Alex Naoumidis
Co-founder Mindset Health YC S19 ($6.7M raised)
"I worked with Kris for over 2 years on the media buying side, and he is as sharp as they come! If you get a chance to work with him, I highly recommend it."
Alex McEvoy
Founding Partner @ Opopop
"I hired Kris to run our first ever pilot of Tik Tok for Nuts.com after working with him in a previous role. Kris is extremely knowledgeable, professional, and trustworthy. He was able to hustle and get the campaigns set up quickly for us to meet a deadline for running our incrementality test through our testing partner, LiftLab. Kris was able to seamlessly integrate with our geo-lift testing framework and set up the campaign within the strict parameters to successfully run the geo-lift test with geo hold outs and spend pacing. I would not hesitate to recommend Kris to anyone looking for media buying services on Meta, Google and Tik Tok. I am looking forward to continued partnership with Kris."
Sonja Sierra
Senior Director, Growth Marketing at Nuts.com
"Kris played a key role in developing the strategy for our Mother's Day campaign. After working with several agencies and freelancers, it was refreshing to collaborate with someone who brings a grounded, realistic approach tailored to our business needs. He's incredibly knowledgeable, data-driven, and focused on results, exactly what we needed."
Milo Freitas
Chief Executive at Beyond-Memories
"Kristijan joined us to provide more bandwidth on key accounts and immediately showed his ability to understand high performance optimization and scaling. He took our processes from The BPM Method and blended it with his own expertise to provide great client results in Ecommerce and Challenge Funnels. Highly recommended."
Depesh Mandalia
CEO at SM Commerce
"Kris did Media Buying for one of our projects and we've absolutely seen a Positive ROI. He's got solid knowledge of Facebook algorithms and is on point with his tracking which I find very important when it comes to managing and delivering great results. It was a pleasure working with him."
Nazim Agabekov
Founder of Nazim Consulting
"During my time at Career Karma as Director of Acquisition Marketing, I worked directly with Kristijan on our Facebook ads strategy for 2 years. Kristijan was responsible for all aspects of ad buying and management and over time became my go-to for all things Facebook. Kristijan's knowledge of the Facebook platform and ability to also think strategically and push back where needed makes him a really strong ad buyer. I truly enjoyed working with Kris and I hope to work with him again in the future."
Sonja Sierra
Director of Acquisition Marketing at Career Karma
"I really don't got anything negative to share about Kris. I worked with him for 3 years, he was always there when I needed him, through thick & thin he sticks with you. A very intelligent guy who absorbs knowledge very quickly because of his openness to learn new things. Communication was perfect. His work ethics are better then anybody I ever hired for my own office. 10/10 I recommend Kris!"
Tristan Tier
CEO at Double M Affiliate
"Kris isn't just a skilled media buyer, he's a systems-minded growth architect. He sees patterns before most, balances speed with precision, and has a rare ability to zoom out on strategic direction while staying laser-focused on the operational levers that drive growth. Working with him sharpens your own thinking because he approaches problems like a business owner, not just a marketer. If you want to stay on the edge of what's working in paid social while building long-term efficiency, Kris is one of the best partners you can have"
Aleksandar Pecev
Growth Marketer
"Working with Kris was a complete unlock for me... not just in creative strategy and media buying, but in how I think as a marketer. He completely reshaped the way I interpret ads, analyze psychology, and make decisions. Before, I had surface-level understanding. After, I knew exactly why something worked, or didn't, based on data and clear hypotheses. That shift in thinking has been invaluable. Kris doesn't just teach skills; he transforms the way you see marketing. 10/10, I'd recommend him to anyone who wants to level up their craft and their mindset."
Paul-Cristian Mureșan
Creative Strategist
"I keep a low profile so I won't go public with a testimonial, but I'm truly grateful for all of Kris's help and guidance."
Anonymous
Founder
"I had the pleasure of working with Kris, I have to say, he's a true marketing pro! He not only understood my gym business but also developed a strategy that helped us grow. Thanks to his efforts, we saw a huge increase in brand awareness and enrollment numbers. He's a master at digital marketing, and driving customers through targeted campaigns. If you're looking to take your marketing to the next level, I highly recommend Kris, he's a valuable asset to any team!"
Gjorgi Vasilev
Co-founder of PulseFit training
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