Growth agency, growth hire or do it yourself?
For an early-stage startup the honest answer depends on stage. Doing it yourself is cheapest and teaches you the most, but it's slow. A growth hire builds knowledge in-house, but takes months to hire and ramp and covers what one person can run. An agency gets you executing without a hire, but most are paid the same whether it works or not. A partner paid partly on results sits in between: live in weeks, covering the whole funnel, with fees tied to the numbers.
Side by side
| Typical agency | BSM | Growth lead | Do it yourself | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time to live | 4 to 6 weeks | 1 to 2 weeks | 1 to 3 months to hire and ramp | Days, if the founder has the time |
| Coverage | Ads only | The whole funnel | What one person can run | Whatever the founder has hours for |
| Creative | Monthly refresh | New every 72 hours | Depends on their skills | Founder-made, when there's time |
| Optimisation | Manual tweaks | Weekly tests | When they have time | Between everything else |
| How you pay | High fixed retainer | Fee plus a share of the growth | Full-time salary and equity | No fees, paid in founder time |
| Tracking | Platform metrics | Ad click to payment | Built from scratch | Usually platform metrics |
| Reporting | Static PDF reports | Live dashboard | Their own spreadsheets | Spreadsheets |
When each makes sense
- Do it yourself when you're pre-revenue, testing whether anyone wants the product, and have more time than budget.
- Hire a growth lead when one channel already works and you need someone full-time to run and grow it in-house.
- Use a typical agency when you know exactly which channel you need and want execution, not strategy.
- Use a partner paid partly on growth when you have budget to put behind growth, don't yet know what a customer should cost, and need the whole funnel working, not just the ads.
Questions to ask any option
- How are you paid, and what happens to your fee if the numbers don't work?
- How soon will we see real data?
- Who works on the landing page and onboarding, not just the ads?
- Can we see every number, every day?
Comparison reflects typical setups, not any specific company. Results vary by product, audience, offer, and budget.