Where are founders putting their marketing dollars?

Sam Parr’s data drop from 100+ founders shows where the real ad money flows. Spoiler: it’s almost all Google and Meta. The average company spends nearly $1M a year on marketing, and where they put it says everything about their growth mindset.

Marketing breakdown by platform

Agencies and SaaS firms dump most of their spend into Google ($1.6M for agencies, $488K for SaaS), while DTC brands go heavy on Meta—$3.7M on average. LinkedIn is catching up with pro-focused players like agencies shifting $35K+ there.

Why it works

• Brands double down on proven channels
• Big spenders test more and scale faster
• Platform fit beats platform variety
• High ROI channels get the lion’s share

Real world parallels

• Gymshark built early growth on Meta ads
• HubSpot dominates LinkedIn for B2B
• Shopify apps scale fast on Google search spend
• Liquid Death fuels growth with paid Meta audiences