Engagements
Three or four engagements per year, Performance Health subscription companies before Series B. The wedge is the first 90 days of the subscription — activation, paywall, first invoice, first pricing tier — because that's where the LTV ceiling gets set.
The trade
Time to first ship
2–3 weeks
~10× faster
Loaded year-1 cost
Retainer only
No equity, benefits, payroll tax
Exit cost
30-day notice
No hiring-mistake risk
Year-one cost, line by line
| Before · Full-time hire | After · This practice | |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $170–210K | Monthly retainer — quoted in the intake |
| Equity (annualized) | $40–80K | none |
| Benefits + PTO | ~$30–40K | none — 1099 contract |
| Payroll tax + 401k | ~$15–20K | none — 1099 contract |
| Hiring + onboarding | ~$30–60K (one-time) | none — week-1 ramp included |
| Exit / severance | 1–3 mo salary (on departure) | 30-day notice |
| Year-1 total | $285–410K | Retainer only |
Ship in week two. Exit in 30 days. The cost of being wrong is a month, not a year.
Loaded cost ranges reflect Series A/B subscription benchmarks. Retainer is fixed per engagement and quoted in the intake.
The four formats
See past engagements →01
A first-90-days teardown. The four-mechanism read, a written report, and a 60-minute walkthrough.
Best for: “We think churn is the problem, but we're not sure where the leak is.”
02
Embedded part-time PM on the highest-leverage first-90-days surface — activation, paywall, first invoice, or pricing tier.
Best for: “We have the team. We don't have the operator.”
Terms · 3-month minimum, 30-day notice thereafter.
03
Operator in the room. I run the surface end-to-end with your team until the metric moves.
Best for: “We need this rebuilt, not advised on.”
Terms · 3-month minimum, 30-day notice thereafter.
04
Monthly working session plus async review of specs, experiments, and roadmap. The lowest-touch shape.
Best for: “We have a PM. They want a second pair of eyes on the first 90 days.”
Not a fit if: no data infrastructure · outside product (marketing, ads, upper-funnel) · Shopify work.