Layer 2 · SF-2 · Lite Diagnostic-on-Retainer

Senior outside reads every month, calibrated to your board cadence.

Sunday evening, 8:42 PM. You are writing the monthly investor update. The marketing section is two paragraphs and you are not sure either is true. A senior read every month, before the update goes out, is what closes that gap.

Built for Bootstrapped sub-$5M B2B founder or early-Series A founder needing senior monthly reads without a fractional CMO. Applies to Founder-led marketing operators, Heads of Growth at small teams, marketing-responsible CFOs, and similar buyers between SF-1 one-off and SF-5 fractional.

Lite Diagnostic-on-Retainer is a Bay Area Layer 2 engagement product priced at $1,500/month. Format: Monthly · 3-month minimum · cancellable thereafter. Deliverable: 1 strategy call/month + 2-page monthly diagnostic + Slack check-ins between sessions. Built for Bootstrapped sub-$5M B2B founder or early-Series A founder needing senior monthly reads without a fractional CMO. Routes through ICP funnels, problem pages, and referrals; reached when the buyer has matched their state to the tier. Each engagement is fixed-scope at the start and cannot drift mid-engagement.

What The Work Covers

Inside the SF-2 engagement. Specific deliverables, specific cadence.

What the work covers

1 strategy call per month (60 minutes) with the same senior strategist
2-page written monthly diagnostic delivered before each call
Slack channel access for between-session check-ins (response within 1 business day)
Calibrated to monthly VC reporting or board cadence
Bay Area buyer-attribution-model context for sub-$5M operators
Quarterly priority review (one priority per quarter, not per month)

Format and cadence

Month 1: 60-min intake call, baseline 2-page diagnostic, first 30-day priority lock
Month 2 onward: 60-min monthly call, 2-page monthly diagnostic, Slack between calls
Quarterly: priority refresh and reporting alignment with board cadence
3-month minimum, then month-to-month cancellable with 30 days notice

Anonymized Outcome

What the work actually produced.

A bootstrapped B2B SaaS founder in Berkeley engaged SF-2 at month four post-launch. By month nine, the monthly investor update marketing section had moved from "two uncertain paragraphs" to a structured monthly read referenced by the lead investor in two follow-on rounds. ARR moved from $1.4M to $3.2M in the same window. SF-2 did not produce that growth; it produced the strategic legibility that compounded with founder execution.

// Fit

This engagement fits when

Bootstrapped sub-$5M B2B founder OR early-Series A founder ($1M–$5M ARR)
Monthly board or investor cadence in place
Founder ready to be the strategic owner; the retainer augments, does not replace
3-month commitment (compounding takes a quarter to read clearly)

// Not fit

This engagement does not fit when

Series A-B teams with internal CMO seat (SF-5 Fractional CMO is the right scope)
One-off questions (SF-1 Bay Area Diagnostic Call is the right format)
Buyers wanting execution labor, not strategic reads (look elsewhere in the network)
Operators below $1M ARR (the monthly cadence is not yet useful at that stage)

Buyer Questions

Before you scope the engagement.

How is SF-2 different from SF-5 Fractional CMO?

SF-2 is the monthly senior read. The founder remains the strategic owner; we augment. SF-5 Fractional CMO is the embedded strategic seat at $15,000-$20,000/month; we own the strategy. SF-2 fits when the founder wants senior outside reads without handing over ownership; SF-5 fits when the founder wants to hand it over.

Can SF-2 escalate to SF-5?

Yes. SF-2 retainer fees credit toward SF-5 setup if the founder escalates within 90 days. The 2-page monthly diagnostics fold into the SF-5 strategic baseline.

Why a 3-month minimum?

AI compounding and strategy compounding both take a quarter to read clearly. One-month engagements produce no signal. Three months produce a measurable trajectory the founder and the board can both see.

Is the same strategist on every call?

Yes. Same senior strategist month over month. No team handoff. The compounding effect requires continuity.

How quickly do Slack questions get answered?

Response within 1 business day for tactical questions. Strategic questions get answered on the monthly call (not in Slack threads).

Does SF-2 include the 2-page diagnostic content sharing?

The 2-page diagnostic is the founder's. Confidential. We do not share or reference externally.

Can two co-founders attend each call?

Yes. Recommended for founder-CTO duos where marketing decisions affect product roadmap. Larger team attendance dilutes the format.