EPISODE · Feb 19, 2026 · 57 MIN
How Wish Spent $2B on Ads and Became the #3 App in the World | Christian Limon
from Marketing Misfits with Curtis Howland · host Curtis Howland
Christian Limon was the growth executive behind Wish — the ecommerce app that sat right behind Facebook and Instagram as the third most downloaded app in the world. With a tiny team and $2 billion in ad spend, he helped build one of the most sophisticated advertising operations Facebook had ever seen.In this episode, Christian breaks down how Wish was designed from day one to be the perfect ad client, how they co-created Dynamic Product Ads with Facebook, why they ran everything through the API so even their own reps couldn't see what they were doing, and the expected value model that led them to bet on LeBron James joining the Lakers — turning a $40M sponsorship into what may have been a billion-dollar impact on Wish's IPO.He also shares how he got the Mayweather-McGregor fight sponsorship for 1/10th the asking price by telling agencies to call him when deals fell through.Topics covered:Building a company to maximize ad algorithm performanceHacking Facebook app install ads for ecommerce before anyone elseRunning 99.99% of spend through DPAThe LeBron James / Lakers probability modelSponsoring the most-watched fight in history for $1M instead of $11MWhy "hanging around the hoop" is the best dealmaking strategy
What this episode covers
Christian Limon was the growth executive behind Wish — the ecommerce app that sat right behind Facebook and Instagram as the third most downloaded app in the world. With a tiny team and $2 billion in ad spend, he helped build one of the most sophisticated advertising operations Facebook had ever seen.In this episode, Christian breaks down how Wish was designed from day one to be the perfect ad client, how they co-created Dynamic Product Ads with Facebook, why they ran everything through the API so even their own reps couldn't see what they were doing, and the expected value model that led them to bet on LeBron James joining the Lakers — turning a $40M sponsorship into what may have been a billion-dollar impact on Wish's IPO.He also shares how he got the Mayweather-McGregor fight sponsorship for 1/10th the asking price by telling agencies to call him when deals fell through.Topics covered:Building a company to maximize ad algorithm performanceHacking Facebook app install ads for ecommerce before anyone elseRunning 99.99% of spend through DPAThe LeBron James / Lakers probability modelSponsoring the most-watched fight in history for $1M instead of $11MWhy "hanging around the hoop" is the best dealmaking strategy
NOW PLAYING
How Wish Spent $2B on Ads and Became the #3 App in the World | Christian Limon
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
No similar episodes found.
Similar Podcasts
No similar podcasts found.