How I’d Build a $1M/year Cold Email Agency in 2026 (If I Had to Start Over)

In this video, Hans Dekker from Instantly.ai and I break down how I built and scaled my AI outbound agency from scratch into a multi-million operation, including the exact strategies behind our growth, content, and client acquisition. We also dive into our biggest edge: content. I explain how posting on LinkedIn helped us build trust before it generated leads, and why most agencies fail by copying competitors instead of dominating a specific niche. Finally, I share practical advice on what actually drives growth. Finding real customer pain points, focusing on daily revenue-generating activities, and building a multi-channel outbound strategy that works today. We'll build your outbound system and book sales calls for you: https://www.coldiq.com/ Book 1:1 consulting call w/ me: https://coldiq.com/consulting/mich Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michel-lieben The best AI tools to grow scale your agency: Common Room: https://coldiq.com/tools/common-room (Buyer Signal Tracking System) Apollo: https://coldiq.com/tools/apollo (Sales Prospecting and Engagement Platform) Artisan: https://coldiq.com/tools/artisan (AI-powered Outbound Automation Platform) FullEnrich: https://coldiq.com/tools/fullenrich (Find Phone Numbers & Verified Emails) Relevance AI: http://go.coldiq.com/relevance-ai (Build Custom AI Agentic Workflows) PredictLeads: https://coldiq.com/tools/predictleads (B2B Company Signals Provider) OpenMart: https://coldiq.com/tools/openmart (AI Local Lead Generation System) Nooks: https://coldiq.com/tools/nooks (AI-Powered Dialer and Virtual Salesfloor) Hyperline: https://coldiq.com/tools/hyperline (Quote-to-Cash Revenue Platform) Expandi: https://coldiq.com/tools/expandi (LinkedIn Outreach Automation Tool) Instantly: https://go.coldiq.com/instantly (Automated Email Outreach at Scale) Lemlist: https://go.coldiq.com/lemlist (Multi-channel Outreach at Scale) Prospeo: https://coldiq.com/tools/prospeo (B2B Contact Data Finder) Attention: https