Acquisition is solved.
Retention is infrastructure.
We build the lifecycle systems that turn first-time users into compounding revenue. Email, SMS, promotional bonus engines, and the compliance architecture underneath them. Engineered, measured, tied to your numbers.
We are not a creative agency. We are the operating system underneath one.
Most retention vendors sell campaigns. We build the systems that make campaigns work. The decision layer underneath email and SMS, the bonus engine that targets specific behavior changes, the attribution layer that proves it. Three principles drive everything we ship.
Infrastructure over campaigns
A campaign is a single send. An infrastructure is the engine that decides which user gets which message on which channel with which offer. We build the second one. The first one falls out of it.
Measurement before margin
We define the baseline before the work begins, instrument attribution into the system from day one, and report against it monthly. If we cannot prove the lift, we did not produce it. That principle is structural, not aspirational.
Compliance as a feature
TCPA, CAN-SPAM, state sweepstakes law, and promotional bonus structures are not adjacent concerns. They are part of the build. We engineer them in from the consent flow forward, not as a legal review at the end.
A complete retention system, shipped in one engagement.
Every workstream below is part of the same architecture. They share a segmentation layer, a measurement layer, and a compliance layer. None of them is sold as a standalone deliverable, because none of them works as one.
Promotional bonus architecture sized against predicted LTV.
First deposit matches. Second deposit accelerators. Sweeps graduation offers. Loyalty tiers tuned to behavior, not vibes. Every bonus type instrumented and measured per cohort. Subsidy ROI tracked individually so we can kill the ones that do not work and double down on the ones that do.
Lifecycle Email System
Welcome, drop announcement, contest cycle, post-deposit nurture, abandoned bundle, win-back, and cohort-specific sequences. Built on Klaviyo. Wired to your production data.
SMS & Direct Messaging
TCPA-compliant consent capture, contest deadline messaging, drop launch alerts, balance expiration warnings. Frequency-capped. Restraint as a feature, not an oversight.
Legal & Regulatory Infrastructure
TCPA, CAN-SPAM, state sweepstakes law, bonus structure analysis. Documentation suitable for due diligence. Audit-ready from launch.
Attribution & Reporting
Per-flow, per-drop, per-cohort attribution. Baseline establishment. Cohort retention curves. Monthly performance reports tied to revenue, not vanity metrics.
Diagnostic & Roadmap
The work starts with a free audit. We diagnose the funnel, identify the highest-leverage levers in your data, and propose what to build. No build until you decide.
What we are not.
There are good reasons to hire a traditional Klaviyo agency. There are good reasons to bring lifecycle in-house. There are some reasons to work with us instead. Worth being honest about all three.
Traditional Klaviyo agency
Mid-tier retainer model
- Account manager focused on campaign deliverables
- Generic SOPs adapted from prior ecommerce clients
- Static flow templates with limited A/B testing
- Reports vanity metrics (opens, CTR) over revenue
- $4,500-$7,500 monthly retainer, paid regardless of lift
- Performance plateaus after initial setup
Our model
Infrastructure build with optional ongoing partnership
- Founder-operator with lifecycle and legal-engineering background
- Custom architecture built around your data and your funnel
- Bonus engine and measurement layer most agencies do not build
- Reports against revenue, retention, and cohort LTV
- $20K upfront priced at cost, retainer or performance share after
- Compliance baked in (TCPA, sweepstakes, bonus structures)
In-house hire
Single senior lifecycle marketer
- One person with limited channel and platform breadth
- Needs direction, technical scaffolding, and management
- Inconsistent testing without clear leverage analysis
- High fixed cost, slow ramp, narrow legal awareness
- $150K-$250K loaded salary plus tooling
- 12+ months to reach the output a built system produces in 4 weeks
Two paths forward. Same build. Pick the path that fits.
Both options start with the same $20,000 upfront fee that covers the 4-week build at cost. From there, choose: continuous partnership at a fixed monthly rate, or aligned compensation tied to actual lift. Both are real choices.
Build + Monthly Retainer
- Build of email, SMS, bonus engine, and measurement layer
- Ongoing flow optimization and A/B testing
- One new lifecycle flow added per quarter
- Monthly performance reporting and quarterly strategic review
- Compliance updates and attribution dashboard maintenance
- Klaviyo and SMS platform pass-through up to $500/mo included
Build + Commission on Lift
- Build of email, SMS, bonus engine, and measurement layer
- Hand-off at Week 8 with full documentation
- 90 days of post-launch support included
- Monthly attribution reports for the 12-month measurement window
- Performance share measured against 90-day pre-engagement baseline
- Carve-outs for new product launches, IRL activations, single deposits over $5K
A note on the honest math. Option B is materially cheaper for clients in every realistic performance scenario. Option A is structurally better for us in most realistic outcomes. We offer both because the right structure depends on what you need, not on what maximizes our compensation. If neither lands cleanly, we are open to negotiating a hybrid.
From audit to measured lift in six steps.
The work starts with a free audit. Nothing gets built until both sides are aligned on what the diagnostic actually says, what the baseline is, and what the engagement should produce.
Free audit
30-minute scoping call followed by a written diagnostic of your funnel, your retention metrics, and the highest-leverage levers in your data. No fee. No commitment. If we are not the right fit, we say so.
Baseline & engagement letter
Establish the 90-day pre-engagement baseline (Option B), define carve-outs, lock the build scope, sign engagement letter. Production database read access is set up for measurement.
Build (4 weeks)
Foundation in Week 1. Email lifecycle in Weeks 2-3. SMS and bonus engine in Weeks 3-4. Measurement layer instrumented throughout. Compliance review runs in parallel.
Launch
System goes live at Week 5. 12-month measurement window begins. Initial flows fire. Bonus engine becomes active. First wave of users hits the new lifecycle architecture.
Operate & report
Monthly attribution reports. Quarterly performance review. Either ongoing partnership (Option A) or measured hand-off (Option B). System tunes itself over time as data accumulates.
True up
Final attribution report at Month 17. Performance share invoiced (Option B) or retainer concludes (Option A). System remains operational under your control. We are paid for what we produced.
"The retention problem most platforms face is the same operational problem I solved repeatedly for Fortune 500 marketing teams at Idea Farmer. The vertical changes, the channels evolve, but the underlying system stays the same."Tyler Malin, Formless Creature
Tyler Malin
Founder of Idea Farmer, a digital marketing agency that ranked #95 on the Inc. 500. Built and ran lifecycle, audience strategy, and digital marketing execution for global brands including Whirlpool, Toyota, Microsoft, and Dreamworks. Idea Farmer was acquired by Maker Studios.
Prior to that, founded and exited Social Animal, a VR gaming and panoramic video startup. The legal-engineering background comes from earlier work as a litigation associate at Cravath Swaine & Moore, a regulatory fellow at the CFTC during post-Enron enforcement, and labor and IP law practice.
Currently CEO and Co-Founder of Mālama Labs, a seed-stage climate infrastructure platform. Formless Creature is the consulting vehicle through which retention engagements run.
Questions worth answering up front.
Start with a free audit.
30-minute scoping call. Written diagnostic of your funnel. No fee. No commitment. If we are not the right fit, we say so.