How MNLY Grew 6M+ Reach With $0 Paid Ad Spend
Most founders spend their first dollars on ads.
Luke Hartelust did the opposite—and it worked.
Before he even launched MNLY, a men’s precision health brand, he secured a six-figure partnership with HYROX. No ads, no gimmicks—just a bold marketing play that gave him instant credibility, an audience of thousands, and a 2.2x ROI.
In this week’s episode, Luke shares his capital-efficient marketing playbook:
✅ How to use partnerships to buy trust and attention
✅ Why community is the most underrated growth channel
✅ How equity-based influencer deals can outscale ad budgets
This is how Luke turned MNLY into a fast-rising DTC brand without a single paid ad campaign.
👉 Listen now to learn how to build a brand that scales with community.
Key Takeaways:
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:20 Introducing Luke Hartelust & MNLY
- 01:11 How personal health became a brand opportunity
- 05:50 Why MNLY ditched telehealth for AI positioning
- 09:42 Betting six figures on a HYROX partnership pre-launch
- 12:25 Raising money in a VC downturn with a marketing-first strategy
- 16:47 Why relationships > transactions in partnerships
- 21:50 Turning HYROX into a marketing machine with activations
- 26:05 Building community as a zero-CAC growth engine
- 29:03 Ambassadors as compounding word-of-mouth
- 30:45 Influencers as equity partners, not paid posters
Additional Resources:
👉 Grow Your Bottom Line: https://www.kynship.co/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=71
Unlock Our FREE $10M Masterclass: https://www.kynship.co/free?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=71
👉 Claim Your FREE Business Audit Today: https://www.kynship.co/contact-us?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=71
👉 Book Your FREE Growth Call Now: https://www.kynship.co/contact-us?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=71
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Learn more about Luke
👉 Luke Hartelust Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luke_hartelust
👉 MNLY | Precision Men’s Health: https://www.getmnly.com/
Follow us on X:
👉 Cody: https://x.com/Cody_Wittick
👉 Taylor: https://x.com/TaylorLagace
The Bottom Line is your go-to podcast for honest ecommerce conversations on profitable growth strategies. Join Cody Wittick and Taylor Lagace, Co-Founders of Kynship, as they explore the challenges of scaling brands, uncover actionable tactics, and share real-world insights to help you grow your ecommerce business to 8 figures and beyond!
🎧 Follow the podcast on your favorite app, so you never miss an episode: https://pod.link/1631630533