letter nº 19 2025 · 12 · 01 / ≈ 1 min read

You're not bad at marketing. You're just alone.

Hey,

“I’ll just hire an agency.”

I hear this a lot from Shopify app founders who are drowning in marketing work.

Makes sense on paper. You’re busy. They’re experts. Hand it off and focus on the product.

Here’s what actually happens:

They send you a questionnaire. You fill it out.

They ask for screenshots. You take them.

They need copy reviewed. You write feedback.

They schedule a call to “align on strategy.” You show up.

Two months later, you realize something uncomfortable:

You’ve become the project manager for your own marketing.

The agency model breaks down at PLG stage.

Not because agencies are bad. But because you don’t have the context to evaluate if what they’re doing is working.

You’re trusting people you can’t verify.

And when results don’t come? You can’t tell if it’s their execution or your product or the market.

You just… keep paying.

The other option is a full-time hire.

Someone who lives inside your business. Learns your customers. Owns the outcomes.

But a solid marketing person in the US runs $80-120K per year.

That’s a big bet when you’re still figuring out what works.

There’s a third path.

It’s what I do with a small number of Shopify app founders.

Monthly retainer. I work alongside you — not above you or below you.

I don’t hand you homework. I do the work.

Listing updates. Ad campaign management. Positioning. Playbooks you can hand off later when you DO hire.

You get senior-level thinking without the senior-level salary.

If you’re spending on ads without results, or you’re done figuring this out on your own, let’s talk.

I have one spot opening in December. Link below:

Best,

Ohad.