You don't need a $300K VP. You need a system, run by an operator who's done it.
Every RDG engagement follows the same three phases. We diagnose, we operate, we hand off. The Half-Life moves — measurably — or the engagement isn't a success.
Three ways to work with RDG.
Start where you are. Most engagements begin with the Durability Diagnostic and roll into the Fractional Leadership retainer.
1. Durability Diagnostic
2–3 week scored assessment
Working sessions with founder + post-sale lead. Data pull across CRM, billing, product, support. Five churn post-mortems on recent losses. Delivered: your Revenue Half-Life™ across all five pillars, plus a written 90-day fix plan prioritized by leverage and effort.
Best for: founders who want to know where the leaks are before committing to a retainer.
2. Fractional CS Leadership
3–6 month retainer
In-seat one to two days a week. We run the renewal calendar, the weekly health review, the activation review. We sit in your leadership cadence and own the CS lane. We build and document the pillar playbooks in flight. Monthly Half-Life re-check against baseline — the trajectory is the contract.
Best for: teams past diagnosis who need the fix executed, not just recommended. Outcome-linked pricing available.
3. Build & Hand-off
Final 30–60 days
Recruit and onboard your first full-time CS leader (or train an internal successor). Transition playbooks, dashboards, rhythms, and stakeholder relationships. Final Revenue Half-Life™ delivered to the board with year-over-year comparison. Optional ongoing advisory at 25% of retainer.
Best for: engagements approaching close — hand the seat to someone who inherits a working function.
Three phases. Every time.
Phase 1
Diagnostic — 2 to 3 weeks
Get to a scored baseline and a prioritized fix plan.
- Working sessions with founder and post-sale lead
- Data pull: CRM, billing, product telemetry, support
- Five churn post-mortems on recent losses
- Baseline Revenue Half-Life™ across all five pillars
- Written 90-day fix plan, prioritized by leverage and effort
Phase 2
Operate — 3 to 6 months, retained
We sit in the seat and run the function alongside your team.
- In-seat one to two days per week
- Run the renewal calendar, weekly health review, activation review
- Sit in the leadership cadence — own the CS lane
- Build and document the pillar playbooks in flight
- Monthly Half-Life re-check against baseline — trajectory is the contract
Phase 3
Hand-off — final 30 to 60 days
Transition to a full-time leader who inherits a working function.
- Recruit and onboard your first full-time CS leader (or train an internal successor)
- Transition playbooks, dashboards, rhythms, and stakeholder relationships
- Final Revenue Half-Life™ delivered to the board with YoY comparison
- Optional ongoing advisory at 25% of retainer
Priced against the outcome, not the hour.
Every engagement is scoped to your stage, ARR, and starting Revenue Half-Life. Two things are true of every RDG engagement:
- The Half-Life is the contract. We set a baseline at kickoff, define a target Half-Life for the engagement window, and re-measure at the close. If the number doesn't move, the engagement isn't a success — regardless of how good the slides looked.
- Skin in the game is on the table. On multi-month retainers, we offer an outcome-linked variant: a portion of fees rides on the NRR/GRR delta against plan. Not for every engagement — but if you want it, we're built for it.
Who we work best with — and who we don't.
✓ Great fit
- Post-product-market-fit; seed or Series A in the last 24 months
- $1M–$10M ARR, 10–60 employees, 0–1 dedicated CS hires
- B2B SaaS with a real renewal curve (25+ paying logos)
- Founder-led CS today; ready to hand parts of it over
- Preparing the retention narrative for the next raise
✗ Not a fit
- Pre-product-market-fit (that's a product problem, not CS)
- Sub-$500K ARR (the math doesn't work — the free quiz still helps)
- Transactional / one-time-purchase business
- Looking for a glorified CSM at IC rates — we are not the cheapest, by design
- Founders unwilling to commit weekly time — we're operators, not magicians
Not sure where you'd start?
The 10-question Half-Life quiz tells you where the biggest leaks are. Ten minutes. Free. No signup.