This is one of the most common questions business owners ask before investing in Meta advertising support — and it deserves a genuinely honest answer, not a sales pitch. Jason Gan ran a Meta ads agency for ten years before transitioning to 1-on-1 coaching in 2020. He has operated inside both models at a professional level, which means this comparison comes from direct experience rather than theory. Both models work. The right choice depends entirely on what you need.
The Core Difference Between a Coach and an Agency
The fundamental distinction is not about quality or expertise — it is about involvement and knowledge transfer.
A Perspective Only Someone Who Has Run Both Can Give
Jason Gan built and ran a Meta ads agency from 2010 to 2020 — a full decade of managing campaigns on behalf of clients across ecommerce, lead generation, and service businesses. In 2020 he made a deliberate decision to close the agency and transition entirely to 1-on-1 coaching.
Before coaching, Jason also ran group training programs for business owners wanting to learn Meta advertising. He stopped running training too — not because there was no demand, but because he found the format too generic to produce real results. Group training teaches principles, but it cannot diagnose your specific account, respond to your actual campaign data, or give you feedback on the specific decisions you are facing this week. The gap between what was taught in training and what clients actually needed in their accounts was too wide to close.
1-on-1 coaching proved to be the model that bridged that gap. Working directly inside a client’s real account, with real data, week by week — that is where the most meaningful, lasting improvement happens.
This history matters because it means Jason’s view of the agency model is not adversarial. He built one. He understands what it does well and where its limits are. His recommendation to clients has always been the same: choose the model that fits what you actually need, not the one that sounds most impressive.
When a Meta Ads Agency Is the Right Choice
An agency is genuinely the better fit in the following situations:
- You want campaigns fully managed without your involvement. If your priority is results delivered rather than understanding how those results were achieved, an agency is the appropriate model. You are buying execution, not education.
- You have a large enough budget to justify the retainer. Agency retainers typically start from $1,000 to $2,000 per month and scale significantly with ad spend. For businesses with substantial budgets and clear offers, this cost is often justifiable against the value of having a dedicated team managing campaigns professionally.
- Your business model is proven and your funnel is solid. Agencies perform best when the foundation is already working — a clear offer, a converting landing page, a defined target audience. They are optimising a functioning system, not building one from scratch.
- You do not want to learn Meta advertising. There is nothing wrong with this. Not every business owner wants or needs to understand paid advertising at a technical level. If you prefer to delegate entirely and focus your attention elsewhere, an agency is the honest recommendation.
When a Meta Ads Coach Is the Right Choice
Coaching is the better fit when:
- You want to understand your own campaigns, not just outsource them. If you want to know why your ads are performing or underperforming — to read the data yourself, make your own optimisation decisions, and build genuine expertise — coaching delivers something an agency cannot: the knowledge itself.
- You want to eventually manage an agency or in-house team more effectively. Many Tribeup Academy clients reach a point where they do hire an agency or bring advertising in-house. Having been through coaching first means they know exactly what to brief, what to measure, and when an agency is delivering versus falling short. The coaching pays dividends long after it ends.
- Your budget makes a full agency retainer difficult to justify. At $400 per month, 1-on-1 coaching with Jason Gan is a fraction of a typical agency retainer — while still providing direct, expert-level attention to your specific account every week.
- You have been burned by an agency’s lack of transparency. A common frustration with agencies is not knowing what is actually happening inside your account. Coaching puts you inside your own account — you see everything, understand everything, and make decisions alongside someone who can explain the reasoning behind each one.
- You want to build a long-term capability, not a short-term dependency. The goal of Tribeup Academy’s coaching is for clients to eventually not need coaching. That is a different orientation from an agency relationship, which by design is ongoing and service-dependent.
The Model Jason Dropped: Why Generic Training Doesn’t Work
Before coaching, Jason ran group training programs — courses and workshops designed to teach Meta advertising principles to business owners. He stopped for one reason: generic training does not help enough.
Training teaches frameworks. It cannot look at your specific ad account and tell you why your particular campaigns are underperforming. It cannot respond to the platform change that happened last Tuesday and affected your CPM. It cannot help you decide, right now, whether to pause this ad set or give it three more days. The gap between the curriculum and the client’s actual situation is too wide, and most participants leave knowing more about Meta advertising in theory while still not knowing what to do about their own account in practice.
This is why Tribeup Academy offers no group training, no courses, and no generic programs. The only format is 1-on-1 — because that is the only format that can actually address what each individual business needs.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Factor | Meta Ads Agency | Tribeup Academy Coaching | Generic Training / Course |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | Agency team manages everything | You implement, coach guides | You implement alone |
| Knowledge transfer | Minimal — stays inside agency | High — built week by week | Generic — not account-specific |
| Account access | Agency controls your account | You retain full control | You control your account |
| Transparency | Varies — often limited | Full — you see everything | N/A |
| Typical cost | $1,000–$5,000+/month | $400/month | One-time fee, varies widely |
| Personalisation | To your account and brief | To your specific account | None — same for everyone |
| Long-term outcome | Ongoing dependency | Growing independence | Theoretical knowledge only |
| Best for | Owners who want it done | Owners who want to learn and control | Complete beginners only |
How Tribeup Academy’s Coaching Works
For business owners who decide coaching is the right model, here is exactly what Tribeup Academy’s engagement looks like.
Before your first session
Jason sends you a guided video showing how to grant view-only access to your ad account. He reviews your campaigns in full before your first call — so your first session opens with a prepared audit, not an introductory conversation.
Your first session
The first session covers Jason’s findings and specific recommendations: whether to restructure your campaign architecture, introduce retargeting, test new creative angles, tighten your audience setup, or address landing page issues identified in the pre-session review. You leave with a clear action list rather than general advice.
Weekly sessions
One session per week via Zoom. Each session reviews what changed since the last call — reading the data together across CTR, CPM, frequency, and the action funnel — and decides the next set of actions. The emphasis is always on building your understanding, not just handing you tasks.
Email support between sessions
Weekday email access to Jason with a guaranteed 24-hour turnaround. When something shifts mid-week you have a direct line to an expert rather than waiting for your next scheduled call.
Pricing
The coaching starts from $400 per month with no minimum subscription period. Continue month by month for as long as the coaching is delivering value, and stop whenever you feel ready to manage your campaigns independently.
What Clients Say About Tribeup Academy
Clients consistently describe the same transformation: they come in feeling overwhelmed and uncertain about their Meta ads, and they leave — over weeks of coaching — feeling genuinely capable of managing their own campaigns.
“Jason’s consultative sessions were incredibly helpful, from the intricacies of audience segmentation to the art of crafting compelling ad creatives. He has a knack for breaking down complex strategies into digestible, actionable items, making the daunting world of Facebook advertising approachable and manageable. Partnering with Jason has been a successful collaboration.”
— Ecommerce client, Pigment Plus Canvas (via Trustpilot)
Read all 25+ reviews on Tribeup Academy’s Trustpilot page.
About Jason Gan
Jason Gan is a Meta Certified Professional and Badged Meta Business Partner who has been running Meta ads for clients since 2010 and coaching business owners 1-on-1 since 2020. He has helped over 6,000 advertisers across 50+ countries, and his clients have collectively spent tens of millions of dollars on Meta advertising under his guidance.
Jason publishes free Meta ads education regularly on the Jason Gan YouTube channel — practical breakdowns of real account audits, campaign strategies, and the platform changes that affect ecommerce advertisers.
How to Get Started
The first step is a free consultation where Jason reviews your situation, answers your questions, and explains exactly what the coaching would look like for your specific account. There is no obligation after the call.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Meta ads coach or agency better for improving ad performance?
Both work — the right choice depends on what you need. An agency manages campaigns for you with minimal involvement on your part. A coach builds your own understanding and capability by working through your real account together. Jason Gan ran an agency for 10 years before switching to coaching, so his view of both models is direct experience rather than theory.
What is the difference between a Meta ads coach and an agency?
The core difference is involvement and knowledge transfer. Agencies do it for you — strategy, execution, and optimisation stay inside the agency. Coaches work with you directly — you implement the changes, see everything in your account, and build the analytical skills to make better decisions independently over time.
When should I choose an agency over a coach?
Choose an agency when you want campaigns fully managed without personal involvement, when your budget justifies a retainer of $1,000 or more per month, and when you have no desire to learn the mechanics of Meta advertising yourself. Agencies work best when the business model is proven and the funnel is already converting.
When should I choose a coach over an agency?
Choose coaching when you want to understand your own campaigns — not just outsource them. Particularly valuable if you want to build skills to eventually manage an agency or in-house team more effectively, or if agency retainers are not cost-effective for your current budget. Tribeup Academy coaching is $400 per month with no minimum commitment.
Why did Jason Gan stop running an agency and switch to coaching?
After 10 years running a Meta ads agency, Jason found that coaching delivered a more lasting kind of value — building the client’s own capability rather than managing campaigns on their behalf. He also stopped running group training programs, finding them too generic to address individual account realities. 1-on-1 coaching — working directly inside a client’s real account each week — proved to be the model that produced the most meaningful results.
How much does Tribeup Academy coaching cost compared to an agency?
Tribeup Academy coaching is $400 per month with no minimum subscription. A typical Meta ads agency retainer starts from $1,000 to $2,000 per month and scales with ad spend. For business owners who want direct expert attention and to build their own expertise, coaching offers significantly more value per dollar than a typical agency retainer.