One row per tab. The Beardbrand tab on the left (live, scroll inside it), the gold on the right, then your grade and comments. If it would lose side by side, it isn't GOOD.
{{ request }}Danilo Vicioso · danilojvicioso@gmail.com · danilovicioso.com · Sept 2026
Rather than send a résumé I did a weekend of the job.
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creators live | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Creator videos / week | 0 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | 70 |
| Landing pages live | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| New ads / week | 12 | 12 | 12–20 | 12–20 | 20 | 20 |
| Unique experiments | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
Roster is the core variable. Creator video volume follows from it at 7 videos per creator per week. Proposed.
I’d love to chat if this makes sense. Grab a time here.
Danilo
MEN’S COLOGNE · ALCOHOL-FREE EAU DE PARFUMTen scents. Zero alcohol. One pump a morning, worked into the beard and the skin beneath it.
Headline from beardbrand.com homepage. “One pump a morning” from their own Meta ad, Library ID 1022883160749914, 28 Sept 2026.
The three values Beardbrand lists on its About page, from a company that says it runs with “no outside investors, banks, or debt.”
beardbrand.com/pages/learn-about-us, 28 Sept 2026.
Old MoneyBeard oil / face oil / pre + post-shave oil
Temple SmokeBeard oil / face oil / pre + post-shave oil
Tree RangerBeard oil / face oil / pre + post-shave oil
Norse WinterBeard oil / face oil / pre + post-shave oil
Bold FortuneBeard oil / face oil / pre + post-shave oilPrices from the homepage and beard oil collection. Collection average rating 4.61/5, 28 Sept 2026. Uses from the product label.
Phthalate-free, with natural, naturally-derived and safe synthetic ingredients, in their words. Black Sails has sold out three times since December.
Black SailsAmbergris · bourbon · citrus · ocean air
Four VicesHops · hashish · tobacco · coffee · agarwood
Ghost TracerFallen rain · freesia · cyclamen · sandalwood
Fox HuntLimited edition · dry grass · cedarwood · English leatherFormula lines from Beardbrand’s Meta ads (Library IDs 999499629832935, 1119919510411230). Notes from beardbrand.com homepage, 28 Sept 2026.
Utility Beard Wash$36–$39 · beard / hair / face / body
Utility Beard Softener$36–$39 · conditioner / shave lotion
Beard Balm$36–$39 · beard / hair / tattoo balmBeard Oil$29–$42 · beard / hair / face oilPrices and uses from beardbrand.com homepage, 28 Sept 2026.
Meta Ad Library 1119919510411230
Meta Ad Library 27942922688653440
Meta Ad Library 1801627577875169
Twelve years on, it still runs without outside investors.
Wikipedia, Beardbrand; beardbrand.com/pages/learn-about-us, 28 Sept 2026.
Eric Bandholz, Lindsey Reinders and Jeremy McGee started Beardbrand in Spokane in 2012 with $8,000. It moved to Austin in 2014, the same year it walked away from Shark Tank without a deal. The New York Times called on it as a beard expert in 2013.
Wikipedia, Beardbrand, 28 Sept 2026.
| IF YOU WANT | START WITH | FROM THE LABEL |
|---|---|---|
| Soft beard, no hold | Beard Oil | Beard oil / face oil / pre + post-shave oil |
| A little shape | Beard Balm | Beard balm / hair balm / skin + tattoo moisturizer |
| Real hold | Styling Paste | Medium hold / satin finish |
| Texture, not shine | Sea Salt Spray | Low hold / matte finish |
| Washing it | Utility Beard Wash | Beard wash / hair shampoo / face wash / body wash |
Full refunds, including shipping, as long as the payment processor allows it, usually up to 120 days from purchase. After that, refunds are store credit.
Yes. Swaps are always free, net the difference in product cost.
Every order bought directly from Beardbrand comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
1–3 business days, slower during the holidays.
Yes, through OpenBorder. Duties and fees are shown before you check out.
beardbrand.com/pages/returns-exchanges and /pages/faqs, 28 Sept 2026.
Concepts only, not live ads. Photography © Beardbrand, from beardbrand.com. Scripts are concepts. Four of the fourteen are meme formats. The third-party templates (Drake, Pikachu, Always Has Been) need their rights cleared before running as paid. Every figure comes from beardbrand.com, the Meta Ad Library or Wikipedia, 28 Sept 2026.
One number to protect, and a plan to spend more on Meta without it moving: more winning messages beyond the verified-review format, creators who film their own routine, tested on a schedule, and stopped by gates we agree on before any money moves.
Cover photos: Beardbrand, beardbrand.com. Every figure marked “proposed” is Danilo’s plan, not Beardbrand data.
The number is blended CAC on Meta at the spend you want to reach. Everything below either protects it or tests whether it holds at a higher spend.
Beardbrand runs about 170 active ads, and several have multiple versions. But of the seven sampled on 28 Sept, four carry the same format: a verified-customer review over a cologne. When one format carries the spend, its versions tire out together.
Meta Ad Library, “beardbrand”, US, active, read 28 Sept 2026. Library IDs in sources/ads/ads.md: 1801627577875169, 1807638933624554, 1119919510411230, 27942922688653440 (reviews); 999499629832935 (formula); 1580596037191046 (back in stock); 1022883160749914 (scent story). The grouping is Danilo’s.
| DISTURBANCE | LIKELIHOOD | IMPACT | OWNER | GATE (PROPOSED) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fatigue on the review quote card | High | High | Danilo | Best ad CPA +20% over 7 days → rotate |
| Q4 auction costs | High | High | Danilo | CPM +30% vs Sept → hold tests, scale only winners |
| Discount dependence (25–30% off sets) | High | Med | Beardbrand | New ads tested at full price and at promo, reported apart |
| Blind-buy scent refunds | Med | Med | Beardbrand + Danilo | Refund rate on first orders over baseline → push the sampler/swap message |
| Stock-outs on hero scents | Med | High | Beardbrand | No paid traffic to sold-out pages |
| Limited editions ending mid-test | Med | Low | Danilo | Tests run on core scents only |
| Landing page leak | Med | Med | Danilo | Concept page must beat collection page CVR at equal traffic |
Scores are Danilo’s read from outside, to be re-scored in week one with your data.
| LINE | VALUE | STATUS |
|---|---|---|
| First order value | $45 | Proxy: low end of Men’s Cologne price |
| Gross margin | 70% | ASSUMED, replace in week one |
| Refund rate, first orders | 6% | ASSUMED, replace in week one |
| Return shipping | Refunded | From the returns page (a cost, not income) |
| 12-month repeat orders | 1.0 per customer | ASSUMED, replace in week one |
| WEEK | NEW ADS LIVE | TEST BUDGET / AD (PROPOSED) | CREATORS POSTING | YOUR CAC TARGET |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | $300 | 0 | Set with you, day one |
| 2 | 6 | $300 | 2 | Set with you, day one |
| 3 | 8 | $300 | 5 | Set with you, day one |
| 4 | 8 | $300 | 5 | Set with you, day one |
| 5 | 8 | $400 | 7 | Set with you, day one |
| 6 | 8 | $400 | 7 | Set with you, day one |
Tests run inside your current budget. Winners replace spend on tired ads. They don’t add to it.
At a fixed hit rate, more concepts tested means more winners, and more winners means more spend held at the same CAC. The hit rate is an assumption until your last six months replace it.
| CONCEPTS TESTED / MONTH | HIT RATE (ASSUMED) | NEW WINNERS / MONTH | SPEND EACH WINNER HOLDS (ASSUMED) | ADDED SPEND AT TARGET CAC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 10% | 1 | $300 / day | $9,000 / month |
| 20 | 10% | 2 | $300 / day | $18,000 / month |
| 32 | 10% | 3.2 | $300 / day | $28,800 / month |
Proposed split. It shifts toward scaling as winners prove out, and toward testing when fatigue shows.
| CHANNEL | OPEN WHEN (PROPOSED) | WHY WAIT |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube (paid) | A creator routine video beats the best Meta ad at equal spend | Your own channel already does organic; paid needs a proven script |
| TikTok (paid) | Meta CAC holds for 30 days at 1.5× spend | Same creative supply problem |
| Barbershop / retail | Not in scope | No retail partners confirmed in the package |
| Affiliates | Existing program reviewed in week one | Avoid paying twice for one customer |
Cologne is sold at 25–30% off in the ads, and the refund window runs 120 days. So a first order can be discounted, refunded or swapped months after the click. Payback has to be judged on 120-day cohorts, net of refunds, not on first-order ROAS.
Returns terms from beardbrand.com/pages/returns-exchanges; discount levels from their Meta ads, 28 Sept 2026. The repeat rate is assumed.
| DAY | KEEP GOING IF (PROPOSED) | STOP OR CHANGE IF |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | At least 1 new ad is holding spend at target CAC | No new ad beats the control at equal spend |
| 30 | 2+ new winners, creator cost per 1,000 views $5 or better | Neither, so everything stops and nothing renews |
| 60 | Winners hold 14 days, roster at 7 | CAC up more than 10% at the higher spend |
| 90 | Spend up at the same CAC, roster at 10 | Payback not visible in 120-day cohorts |
| PIECE | EXISTS TODAY | MISSING | FORCED ORDER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creative | ~170 active ads, strong review hooks | Format variety | 1st |
| Creators | “Real Men Real Style with Beardbrand” partner page | A roster with its own scripts | 2nd |
| Landing pages | Collection pages | Concept pages per message | 3rd |
| Reporting | Ad Library view only (from outside) | Per-ad CAC, 120-day cohorts | Week 1 |
| FIGURE | SOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|---|
| ~170 active ads; 7 sampled; Library IDs | Meta Ad Library, 28 Sept 2026 | Fact |
| Cologne $45–$50 · Beard Oil $29–$42 · Balm $36–$39 | beardbrand.com homepage | Fact |
| 4.61/5 beard oil collection average | beardbrand.com/collections/beard-oil | Fact |
| Full refunds up to ~120 days, free swaps | beardbrand.com/pages/returns-exchanges | Fact |
| 2012, $8,000, Shark Tank 2014 ($400K for 15%, no deal) | Wikipedia | Fact |
| 70% margin · 6% refunds · 1.0 repeats · 10% hit rate | Placeholders | Assumed |
| 5→10 creators · $5,500 / $15,000 caps | Danilo | Proposed |
| 100M+ organic views a month (Tabs) | Danilo’s track record | As stated |
Week one: the blind-pick test on your past ads, and the first 5 new ads live against your best review ad. By day 30 you have a keep-or-stop call on the numbers.
A roster of small grooming, fragrance and barbering creators, each posting on a dedicated account from scripts we write, so the ads get new faces and new messages every week, not another review quote card.
Photos: Beardbrand, beardbrand.com. Figures marked “proposed” are Danilo’s plan.
| PIECE | WHAT IT IS (PROPOSED) |
|---|---|
| Roster | 5 creators in month one, +2 a month after day 30, up to 10 |
| Output | 7 short videos a week each, on a dedicated account he runs |
| Scripts | Written by us every Monday. No two creators on the same script in a week |
| Pay | Monthly retainer $500–1,500 by band, plus a bonus on breakout videos |
| Caps | $5,500 creator cost in month one, $15,000 a month at ten |
| Into ads | Best videos run as Meta partnership ads, each with its own message |
| Stop | Day-30 keep-or-stop call. Nothing renews without your yes |
At Tabs I ran a creator program on the same model: small creators, dedicated accounts, scripts every week. It reached 100M+ organic views a month.
Talking to camera, product in hand, filmed on a phone in a real room. For Beardbrand the same shape works: one pump of oil in a bathroom mirror, a smell test on camera, a trim at the sink.
Tabs examples from Danilo’s own program.
| DRIVER | WHAT WE DO |
|---|---|
| Volume | 7 a week each, so there are enough shots at a breakout |
| Variety | A different message per creator per week |
| Speed | Drafts reviewed within 24 hours |
| Selection | Creators scored monthly, the bottom one replaced |
| Reuse | Winners cut into partnership ads the same week |
Eight are Beardbrand’s own live ads, remade with a creator on camera. Two are real moments from the brand’s history. The other six slots stay open, because no other viral Beardbrand post could be verified. It’s sixteen, not twenty, on purpose.
| # | AD | LIBRARY ID | OUR VERSION |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon M. testimonial, “comes as advertised” | 1801627577875169 +2 | Creator reads his own unboxing reaction to Norse Winter |
| 2 | Zero-alcohol formula | 999499629832935 +4 | Side-by-side skin-feel test, alcohol cologne vs. Beardbrand |
| 3 | Black Sails review, “sold out 3x” | 1119919510411230 | “Why does this keep selling out?” |
| 4 | Back in stock (for now), 1:01 | 1580596037191046 | “I almost missed the restock” haul |
| 5 | Real Men Real Style partner video, 0:41 | 27942922688653440 | Already the model: more creators reading real reviews |
| 6 | Norse Winter “one pump a morning” | 1022883160749914 | His actual morning routine, same ritual |
| 7 | Bold Fortune roll-on | 1394801435920109 | “How much do I actually use?” demo |
| 8 | 120-day guarantee badge | Across most sampled ads | “I actually returned it, here’s what happened” |
| # | VIRAL | STATUS |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Shark Tank, 31 Oct 2014, all five Sharks passed | Sourced (Wikipedia) |
| 10 | 2012 Tumblr + YouTube origin, before the product | Sourced (Wikipedia) |
Meta Ad Library, “beardbrand”, US, active, read 28 Sept 2026. Wikipedia, Beardbrand.
| RISK | HOW IT’S HANDLED |
|---|---|
| Ingredient claims | Only the brand’s own lines: zero alcohol, MCT oil base, phthalate-free. No health or skin-benefit claims |
| Customer reviews | Real reviews are read only as written, with the reviewer’s first name and initial |
| Disclosure | Every post labelled as a paid partnership |
| Existing partners | The Real Men Real Style partnership stays with your team. We don’t touch that deal |
| Discount codes | Creators link to full-price pages unless you approve a code |
The roster comes from small grooming, fragrance and barbering creators, under 5,000 followers, who already film their routine. The warm pool is your own people: Alliance members, affiliates, and your YouTube commenters. Each one gets a paid two-week trial on three scripts before he joins.
The research didn’t name any creators. It couldn’t confirm follower counts under 5,000 without platform logins, so it left every handle open instead of guessing. What’s here are the twenty kinds of creator we’d recruit. The names come from the week-one search.
Slots from the package’s creator shortlist, 28 Sept 2026. Sources to fill them: Alliance Membership, the Beardbrand affiliate program, UGC marketplaces, TikTok and YouTube Shorts grooming communities.
| BAND (PROPOSED) | RETAINER / MONTH | VIDEOS / WEEK | WHO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $500 | 7 | New to scripted content |
| Core | $1,000 | 7 | Past trial, steady views |
| Lead | $1,500 | 7 | Has a winning partnership ad |
Proposed. Month one at five creators is capped at $5,500 including bonuses.
The test is simple. By day 30, either organic cost per 1,000 views is $5 or better, or a creator ad beats your best review ad at equal spend. If neither happens, the program stops.
| MONTH | CREATORS (PROPOSED) | VIDEOS / MONTH | CREATOR CAP (PROPOSED) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | ~150 | $5,500 |
| 2 | 7 | ~210 | $9,500 |
| 3 | 9 | ~270 | $13,500 |
| 4+ | 10 | ~300 | $15,000 |
| ITEM | WHAT’S IN IT |
|---|---|
| Scripts | This week’s briefs, one message per creator |
| Report | Views, saves and cost per 1,000 views by creator |
| Ads | Which videos went into partnership ads, and how they did |
| Roster | Who’s up, who’s on notice, who’s next |
Styling Paste
Styling Paste, Temple Smoke
Utility Deodorant
Utility Bar
Utility Deodorant, Norse Winter
Trimming Scissors
Tweezers
Comb
Beard Brush
