feat(marketing-plan): add budget, growth-patterns, and team-and-agency-model reference docs

Three new substantive frameworks integrated from Founding Marketing
(Corey Haines book) into the marketing-plan skill. Bumps
marketing-plan from 1.0.0 to 1.1.0.

New reference files:

- references/budget-planning.md (168 lines) — two scientific methods
  for setting the marketing budget: Method 1 Revenue-Based (5-40% of
  ARR with conservative/standard/aggressive postures) and Method 2
  Goal-Based (formula: [(New ARR / (ARPC * 12)) * CAC] / annual
  retention rate). Includes the 3-3-2-2-2 VC growth path (3x in years
  1-2, 2x in years 3-7 from $1M ARR), the 10-20% experimental buffer
  rule, blended CAC calculation (must include salaries, content,
  tools, retainers - not just paid spend), and the forecasting reality
  check (no startup under $100M ARR reliably hits monthly forecasts).

- references/growth-patterns.md (148 lines) — the real shape of SaaS
  growth. Phase identification ($0-10K, $10K-100K, $100K-1M, $1M+)
  with binding constraints per phase. Linear vs step-function vs
  layered S-curve growth patterns. Channel x Product x Market S-curve
  layering principle (start the next curve before the current one
  plateaus). Includes the "long slow SaaS ramp of death" framing and
  the case against the exponential-growth myth.

- references/team-and-agency-model.md (278 lines) — strategy
  in-house, execution outsourced principle. Three core marketing
  functions (Growth = demand engine, Product = story engine, Content
  = trust engine). pi-shaped marketer framework (vs T-shaped) with
  high-leverage skill-set combinations. Title progression (Manager
  -> Lead -> Director -> VP -> Chief) — don't inflate the first hire.
  Agency selection framework (Individual contractors / Small niche /
  Small generalist). Three-stage scaling model (Early / Growth /
  Scale) with internal-vs-external ratio guidance.

Enhanced existing files to wire in the new frameworks:

- SKILL.md (244 -> 270 lines) — new sections "Setting the budget
  scientifically," "Growth patterns," "Team and agency model" with
  pointers to the new reference docs. Expanded "What every plan must
  customize" from 7 items to 9 (added unit economics + phase of
  growth). Description still 949 chars (under 1024).

- references/funding-stage-unlocks.md — Related docs pointer block.

- references/measurement-framework.md — Related docs pointer block,
  new "Anchoring against the VC growth path" section, new
  "Forecasting reality check" section.

- references/methodology.md — Intake 5 (Team) now probes for
  pi-shaped vs T-shaped vs tactical-only marketing owner. Intake 6
  (Budget) now probes for blended CAC, ARPC, retention rate.

- references/plan-template.md — Section 3 adds Phase of SaaS Growth.
  Section 8 adds required unit economics table. Section 10 adds
  budget-method framing block at top + per-quarter S-curve position
  field. Section 11 adds RACI table mapping the three core functions
  to internal-owner and external-executor.

Total new content: ~600 lines across three new reference docs plus
~120 lines of integration edits. SKILL.md remains well under the
500-line convention (270).

Validates: 43/43 skills pass validate-skills.sh.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Corey Haines
2026-05-29 15:04:15 -07:00
parent ed63ccd0eb
commit 27f06a2b7b
9 changed files with 713 additions and 14 deletions
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
Every plan needs a measurement section that tells the team how to know if the plan is working. This doc is the source for Section 13's measurement subsection.
**Related docs:**
- `growth-patterns.md` — the 3-3-2-2-2 VC growth path (3× in years 12, 2× in years 37 from $1M ARR) and which phase of SaaS growth the company is in ($010K / $10K100K / $100K1M+)
- `budget-planning.md` — CAC calculation (blended, not paid-only) and the forecasting reality check (forecasts under $100M ARR are educated guesses, not precise predictions)
## The north-star principle
A north star is one metric that captures the business-model thesis at the highest level. It should:
@@ -135,6 +139,28 @@ For each quarter in Section 10, the plan must include 35 specific KPI targets
- Mostly *compound* metrics — is the flywheel turning? "50%+ of new subs from non-paid channels." "Ambassador-driven 1525% of new subs."
- Some *narrative* metrics — does the Series A story write itself? "Blended LTV/CAC > 3."
## Anchoring against the VC growth path
For VC-backed clients past $1M ARR, anchor 12-month and multi-year targets against the **3-3-2-2-2 rule** (3× in years 1 and 2, then 2× in years 3 through 7). Hitting it is rare; most companies don't. Anchoring against it forces the plan to either match it and show how, or explicitly defend choosing a slower trajectory. Full table and context in `growth-patterns.md`.
For non-VC-backed companies (bootstrapped, founder-funded, profit-focused), the 3-3-2-2-2 doesn't apply. Use linear-pattern targets ("$X MRR added per month") or step-function targets ("$Y revenue jump after the enterprise tier launches") instead.
## Forecasting reality check
A plan derives a budget and an annual goal. It does not produce a 12-month month-by-month forecast that's reliably accurate to the dollar.
**Unless the company is publicly traded, all forecasts are educated guesses.** No startup under $100M ARR consistently hits month-by-month forecasts. Quarterly review is when the plan adjusts — not when variance is treated as failure.
What the plan commits to honestly:
- The annual goal is a defensible direction-of-travel
- The budget is the resource commitment that makes the goal plausible
- The 90-day roadmap (Section 9) is what's actionable now
- Month-to-month projection is illustrative, not promised
Founders who over-engineer the forecast end up explaining variance every month instead of executing. The plan should resist this — name the annual target, the quarterly KPIs, and the kill criteria. Don't promise the month.
Full context in `budget-planning.md`.
## Kill criteria
For every channel or initiative, the plan should specify when to stop. Often missing from plans, kill criteria force discipline.