pay for pipeline, not just leads
We track every lead through the CRM, judge every channel on qualified pipeline and closed revenue, and cut what doesn't pay for itself. The CRM, analytics and ad accounts stay in the company's name.
the SaaS marketing agency for private equity
We diagnose the unit economics first: CAC, CAC payback and net revenue retention, reported the way your board reads them.
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board view · unit economicsvs. value creation plan
- CAC payback15 moon track
- Net revenue retention111%on track
- Pipeline from target accounts58%on track
- Cost per qualified opportunity$2.6Kon track
one set of definitions, reported the way the board reads it
net new ARRvalue creation planillustrative
growth at any cost is over
Sponsors now underwrite efficient growth, not growth alone. Every marketing dollar in a PE-backed software company has to answer three questions. What's the CAC payback (how fast gross profit recovers what it cost to win the customer)? What's net revenue retention (NRR), the share of last year's customer revenue kept and grown? Do revenue growth and margin clear the rule of 40? Most marketing teams were never set up to report on any of them.
The bar keeps rising. A buyout used to need about 5% annual EBITDA growth for a 2.5x return (MOIC) over five years. Bain now puts it at 10 to 12%1. Debt and rising exit multiples used to do much of that work. Today they do less, so more of the growth has to come from the company itself. In software, marketing is one of the biggest levers on that gap, and one of the easiest places to burn cash.
what we fix in PE-backed SaaS
Most PE-backed software companies don't lack website visitors. Their system leaks between functions: leads that never become pipeline, closed revenue nobody can trace to a source, and renewals and expansion that get no marketing support.
We find the leaks, put a price on each one, and fix them in order of how much EBITDA they add.
signs you need this
- CAC payback is stretching, and nobody can say which channel is driving it
- Ad spend is rising to cover a drop in organic search traffic
- Tracking stops when someone fills in a form, not when they buy
- Renewals and upgrades get no marketing help at all
- Self-serve sign-ups and the sales team fight over the same budget
- Add-ons still run their own brands, websites and CRMs
find the leaks before the next board meeting
The free Portfolio Marketing Audit is a leak report built from what’s visible outside the business: site, search, ads, reviews and response speed. It estimates the cost where the evidence allows and names what we’d validate first inside. No call needed.
how much is marketing adding to EBITDA?
The free audit starts the answer: where marketing is likely losing money, what each leak may cost, and what to validate first.
Free Delivered by email No call needed
the PE SaaS playbook
Five steps, in the order the diagnosis sets. Only what the value creation plan needs.
- (01)
pay for pipeline, not just leads
We track every lead through the CRM, judge every channel on qualified pipeline and closed revenue, and cut what doesn't pay for itself. The CRM, analytics and ad accounts stay in the company's name.
- (02)
CAC payback the CFO trusts
CAC payback overall and by channel, reconciled to finance, and defined one way across the platform and every add-on. One number the board sees monthly, and a plan to bring it down.
- (03)
marketing support for retention and expansion
Onboarding, product-use and upgrade campaigns built with your customer success team, which owns retention. Retained revenue is cheaper than replacement revenue, and easier for a buyer to underwrite.
- (04)
the right way to sell: self-serve, a sales team or both
Most B2B buyers prefer to buy without talking to a salesperson2. We build the SEO and content that let them buy on their own, and the handoff that tells sales when to step in.
- (05)
rebrand after a deal without losing sales
The platform plus its add-ons, one story. We plan how the brands fit together, website moves and redirects, so organic rankings and pipeline survive the change.
a lead-gen retainer vs. us
What counts as success
a lead-gen retainer
Marketing leads and website visits
us
Pipeline, CAC payback and NRR
How far ahead we plan
a lead-gen retainer
The next three months
us
The hold period
Who sees the reports
a lead-gen retainer
The marketing team
us
The CEO, the board and the sponsor
Add-ons
a lead-gen retainer
Out of scope
us
Integrated on one set of definitions
At exit
a lead-gen retainer
A dashboard download
us
A documented record of where revenue comes from, built to hold up in diligence
questions, answered
Something we didn’t cover? Ask it on the audit form.
It starts with a diagnosis and plans around the value creation plan and the hold period, not a three-month lead target. Every channel is judged on pipeline, CAC payback and its contribution to NRR, in terms a board and a buyer's diligence team accept.
Both, and the mixes in between. We map how buyers evaluate your product, then build the self-serve path, the handoff to sales, or both.
It can contribute, working with customer success, which owns retention. Net revenue retention is how much of last year's customer revenue you keep and grow. Onboarding, product-use and upgrade campaigns can reduce churn and support expansion. Retained revenue is usually easier for a buyer to underwrite than new customers won at a high CAC.
We decide how the brands fit together first, then plan website moves, redirects and CRM integration, so organic rankings and open pipeline carry over.
A leak report built from what’s visible outside the business: site, search, ads, reviews and response speed. It estimates the cost where the evidence allows and names what we’d validate first inside the business. No call needed.
keep reading
- value creation leversThe four value creation levers marketing contributes to in a PE-backed company: brand, acquisition, retention and exit readiness. Get a free audit.read more
- portfolio supportPE portfolio company marketing support: diagnose the growth system, rebuild what matters, report one set of numbers the company owns. Free audit.read more
- financial advisorsA financial advisor marketing consultant and digital agency for PE-backed and growing RIAs: find where organic growth leaks, then fix it. Free leak report.read more
see where marketing is losing you money.
the free audit
what you get
- (01)
Where demand leaks
Search, the website, speed to lead and paid media: the leaks visible from outside the business.
- (02)
What each one may cost
An annual cost estimate wherever the evidence supports one, with the assumptions shown.
- (03)
What to fix first
Fixes ranked by likely payback for the work involved.
- (04)
What we’d validate inside
The CRM, ad and revenue data we’d check first to turn the estimates into numbers for your value creation plan.
what lands in your inbox
how much is marketing adding to EBITDA?
The free audit starts the answer: where marketing is likely losing money, what each leak may cost, and what to validate first.
Free Delivered by email No call needed