How Nick Shackleford Scaled E-Commerce to $100M+ in Facebook Ads and Built Structured Social

Introduction

At age 16, Nick Shackleford swapped goalie gloves for ad dashboards. From substitute keeper at LA Galaxy earning $30K a year, he moved into marketing and quickly realized that mastering Facebook ads would unlock budgets most people only dream of. Today he’s spent over $100M in ad spend, built a viral fidget spinner brand, and founded Structured Social, a marketing agency driving millions in monthly ad spend for e-commerce clients.

From Soccer to Marketing

Nick studied Copywriting Journalism in college and interned at a marketing firm doing experiential campaigns. While training kids in soccer for an extra $50 a day, he met a PepsiCo exec who hired him to speak for Millennials in brand meetings. There he suggested Facebook ads. A creative agency got $50K to test his idea, and that moment hooked him on ad buying.

Breaking into Facebook Ads

Nick learned under a mentor, then joined an LA agency working on Ford, Nissan and, crucially, Apple. He was handed millions in ad budgets to launch iPhone 7, iPad Pro and iWatch globally. Seeing first-hand what seven-figure budgets could do reshaped his sense of what was possible.

Viral Fidget Spinner Success

After Apple, Nick co-founded Fidgetly, riding the fidget spinner craze to $1M in revenue within two months. He used a teacher-focused angle—special-needs instructors buying in bulk—to turn a small dropship product into a branded phenomenon. Ads at $2 cost per purchase delivered $25 checkouts, and limited editions kept buyers coming back.

Building Structured Social

Realizing his strength was in marketing, not inventory, Nick teamed up with top advertisers like Tim Burd to launch Structured Social. Today the agency has over 50 team members, spends $15M monthly on client campaigns, and posted nearly $16M in Q4 revenue by focusing on data tracking, creative testing, and aggressive scaling.

Key Lessons Learned

• Confidence comes from understanding your targets and cost structures before ad spend begins.
• Proper planning and a clear process reveal where campaigns leak cash and when to pivot.
• Testing real-world angles—like teacher use cases—can differentiate a product in a crowded market.
• High budgets unlock special audience access in ad platforms, but ROI focus must remain intensive.
• Building an agency requires both creative skill and robust tracking infrastructure.