Account ads

# Not live yet (gaps #2)
curl -X POST "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/campaigns?mode=try" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"play":"account-ads"}'

 1import { $ } from 'startup-builder'
 2
 3return await $.Campaign.create({ play: 'account-ads' }, { mode: 'try' })   // dry run on the day-0 Startup, 2026-08-24 · Not live yet, gaps #2

npx startup-builder do Campaign.create --json '{"play":"account-ads"}' --try   # Not live yet (gaps #2)

{
  "name": "do",
  "arguments": {
    "code": "return await $.Campaign.create({ play: 'account-ads' }, { mode: 'try' })   // dry run on the day-0 Startup, 2026-08-24 · Not live yet, gaps #2",
    "mode": "try"
  }
}

 1{
 2  "type": "https://startupbuilder.dev/errors/refused",
 3  "title": "Refused",
 4  "status": 422,
 5  "detail": "account-ads can’t start yet: 2 checks fail and 1 warns.",
 6  "checks": [
 7    {
 8      "check": "owned-by-a-person",
 9      "status": "pass",
10      "observed": "0 listed companies have an open Deal a person owns; 4 Customers left the List",
11      "doc": "/plays/account-ads#check-owned-by-a-person",
12      "then": "Task.assign"
13    },
14    {
15  …

curl "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/events?where=name%20in%20(%22Organization.listed%22%2C%20%22Message.scheduled%22%2C%20%22Visit.recorded%22%2C%20%22Visitor.identified%22%2C%20%22Ad.clicked%22%2C%20%22Lead.qualified%22%2C%20%22Deal.created%22%2C%20%22Organization.delisted%22%2C%20%22Post.published%22%2C%20%22Audience.resized%22%2C%20%22Consent.withdrawn%22%2C%20%22Monitor.checked%22%2C%20%22Experiment.matured%22)&limit=1" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY"

# Not live yet (gaps #7)
curl -X POST "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/triggers/fire?mode=try" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"like":"event_1398"}'

# Not live yet (gaps #7)
curl "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/decisions?where=on%20%3D%20%22organization_88%22" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY"

# Not live yet (gaps #7)
curl "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/actions?where=on%20%3D%20%22organization_88%22" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY"

 1import { $ } from 'startup-builder'
 2
 3const { events: [last] } = await $.Event.list({ where: 'name in ("Organization.listed", "Message.scheduled", "Visit.recorded", "Visitor.identified", "Ad.clicked", "Lead.qualified", "Deal.created", "Organization.delisted", "Post.published", "Audience.resized", "Consent.withdrawn", "Monitor.checked", "Experiment.matured")', limit: 1 })   // { play } compiled to this Play’s Trigger Events
 4const { subject } = await $.Trigger.fire({ like: last.$id }, { mode: 'try' })   // the same Event again, in try mode · Not live yet, gaps #7
 5const { decisions: [decision] } = await $.Decision.list({ where: `on = "${subject}"` })   // what it chose, and why · Not live yet, gaps #7
 6const { actions } = await $.Action.list({ where: `on = "${subject}"` })   // what it did, with its checks · Not live yet, gaps #7
 7return { decision, actions }

npx startup-builder do Event.list --json '{"where":"name in (\"Organization.listed\", \"Message.scheduled\", \"Visit.recorded\", \"Visitor.identified\", \"Ad.clicked\", \"Lead.qualified\", \"Deal.created\", \"Organization.delisted\", \"Post.published\", \"Audience.resized\", \"Consent.withdrawn\", \"Monitor.checked\", \"Experiment.matured\")","limit":1}'
npx startup-builder do Trigger.fire --json '{"like":"event_1398"}' --try   # Not live yet (gaps #7)
npx startup-builder do Decision.list --json '{"where":"on = \"organization_88\""}'   # Not live yet (gaps #7)
npx startup-builder do Action.list --json '{"where":"on = \"organization_88\""}'   # Not live yet (gaps #7)

{
  "name": "do",
  "arguments": {
    "code": "const { events: [last] } = await $.Event.list({ where: 'name in (\"Organization.listed\", \"Message.scheduled\", \"Visit.recorded\", \"Visitor.identified\", \"Ad.clicked\", \"Lead.qualified\", \"Deal.created\", \"Organization.delisted\", \"Post.published\", \"Audience.resized\", \"Consent.withdrawn\", \"Monitor.checked\", \"Experiment.matured\")', limit: 1 })   // { play } compiled to this Play’s Trigger Events\nconst { subject } = await $.Trigger.fire({ like: last.$id }, { mode: 'try' })   // the same Event again, in try mode · Not live yet, gaps #7\nconst { decisions: [decision] } = await $.Decision.list({ where: `on = \"${subject}\"` })   // what it chose, and why · Not live yet, gaps #7\nconst { actions } = await $.Action.list({ where: `on = \"${subject}\"` })   // what it did, with its checks · Not live yet, gaps #7\nreturn { decision, actions }",
    "mode": "try"
  }
}

 1{
 2  "decision": {
 3    "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/decisions/decision_418",
 4    "$type": "Decision",
 5    "choice": "proof-ads",
 6    "reason": "Cedar Row Management clicked the problem ads 4 times in 9 days and opened no lead form",
 7    "stakes": "low",
 8    "options": [
 9      "problem-ads",
10      "proof-ads",
11      "offer-ads",
12      "name-the-company",
13      "sponsor-your-post",
14      "to-the-ae",
15  …

action_2 moves Cedar Row from the problem company list to the proof list at the next 06:00 upload. action_3 is the proof change set, which lands paused until you approve it (You approve each one).

≈ +$1,800 ARR a month at 750 listed

Worth

60 min week 1, then 1 h a week

Your time

$1.33 per listed company, $1,000 a month

Spend

Day 19: first qualified Lead from a listed company

First signal

350+ fitting companies, a sending Play, $1,000 a month

Use it when

Under 350: cold-email · under $1,000 a month: founder-voice

Not yet when

Worth’s formula: about +0.51 Deals and trials opened per 100 listed companies a month × 751 treated × 0.29 opens to paid × $1,669 first order ARR ≈ +$1,850. Under First signal: About 5 months to tell a +0.4 lift at 750 listed (90 days to read, 2 reads to pool); at 350 listed, 180 days can tell only +1.1 or more, so it reads beside Other Startups’ results.

Start it this weekCopy Anchor Link

npx startup-builder add play account-ads   # 1 · writes plays/account-ads.mdx (Not live yet, gaps #5)

# 2 · dry run; below, its 422 on the day-0 Startup (clock at 2026-08-24)
curl -X POST "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/campaigns?mode=try" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"play":"account-ads"}'

# 3 · keep it: every change set lands paused, at You approve each one
curl -X POST https://api.sb/leaseline.app/campaigns \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"play":"account-ads"}'

# on
curl -X PATCH https://api.sb/leaseline.app/campaigns/account-ads \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"endsAt":null}'

# off: every ad set pauses through the ad proxy
curl -X PATCH https://api.sb/leaseline.app/campaigns/account-ads \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"endsAt":"now"}'

{
  "type": "https://startupbuilder.dev/errors/refused",
  "title": "Refused",
  "status": 422,
  "detail": "account-ads can’t start yet: 2 checks fail and 1 warns.",
  "checks": [
    {
      "check": "owned-by-a-person",
      "status": "pass",
      "observed": "0 listed companies have an open Deal a person owns; 4 Customers left the List",
      "doc": "/plays/account-ads#check-owned-by-a-person",
      "then": "Task.assign"
    },
    {
      "check": "use-when",
      "status": "pass",
      "observed": "1,083 fitting companies; cold-email live; $1,000 a month Limit",
      "doc": "/plays/account-ads#check-use-when",
      "then": "Metric.query"
    },
    {
      "check": "baseline",
      "status": "pass",
      "observed": "0.31 Deals opened per 100 listed companies in 90 days, n 1,083",
      "doc": "/plays/account-ads#check-baseline",
      "then": "Metric.query"
    },
    {
      "check": "conversion-send",
      "status": "fail",
      "doc": "/plays/account-ads#check-conversion-send",
      "fix": "Connect LinkedIn ads and send one test qualified Lead; that Venue stays off until it lands.",
      "then": "Integration.connect"
    },
    {
      "check": "approved-pages",
      "status": "fail",
      "doc": "/plays/account-ads#check-approved-pages",
      "fix": "Publish one Customer result Page; proof ads quote only your own pages.",
      "then": "Site.publish"
    },
    {
      "check": "role-unstaffed",
      "status": "warn",
      "roles": [
        "sales-lead"
      ],
      "owned": 0,
      "doc": "/plays/account-ads#check-role-unstaffed",
      "fix": "Staff the AE, or leave it: qualified Leads come to you.",
      "then": "Role.staff"
    }
  ]
}

Media is your $1,000 a month on LinkedIn, held by a Limit: $800 to the company lists and $200 to sponsoring your own posts. Contact and company data cost $0.02 per listed company (POST /{namespace}/contacts/{contact}/enrich) and each drafted concept costs $0.30 (Worker cost). That comes to about $1,030 a month at 750 listed, $30 of it not media.

When it startsCopy Anchor Link

{
  "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/events/event_1398",
  "$type": "Event",
  "name": "Ad.clicked",
  "at": "2026-10-19T06:00:41Z",
  "seq": 1398,
  "data": {
    "organization": {
      "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/organizations/organization_88",
      "name": "Cedar Row Management",
      "list": "treated"
    },
    "clicks": 4,
    "leadFormOpens": 0,
    "window": "14d",
    "adSet": "problem"
  }
}

# each delivery is signed with the Watch’s secret
curl -X POST https://api.sb/leaseline.app/watches \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"selector":"Ad.clicked","url":"https://leaseline.app/hooks/sb"}'
npx startup-builder trigger Ad.clicked --like event_1398   # replays the company report row
npx startup-builder clock advance --by 1d   # runs the 06:00 upload that moves Cedar Row (action_2)

Who runs itCopy Anchor Link

Marketing Lead · your agent (role:marketing-lead, worker_6) holds the Key Result and runs the ad sets as Paid media (role:paid-media-manager). It hands qualified Leads to AE · Priya Shah (person) (role:sales-lead, worker_3, staffed on day 9), and every company-name ad and sponsored post to you (Dana Okafor, person, worker_1). Your number links to Did it work.

What it reads · What it may call. A Visit, a page read or an ad click chooses which company is listed and which ad set it sees; none ever appears in an ad, a Page or a Message. It writes only through the ad proxy, and the holdout list is excluded from every Campaign you run. Its tools are PATCH /{namespace}/audiences/{id}, POST /{namespace}/ads, PATCH /{namespace}/ads/{id}, POST /{namespace}/content/draft, POST /{namespace}/leads/{lead}/assign, POST /{namespace}/tasks/{task}/assign, POST /{namespace}/suppressions, and any other call becomes an Approval under the Role’s Mandate.

You hold the Marketing Lead Key Result: 1.0 Deals opened per 100 listed companies by 2026-12-31. ← worker, metric
On each listing, click report or Lead, choose one option and say why.            ← triggers, chooses
Start ads 9 days before the first cold email to that company.                    ← your file, line 6
Every sentence maps to an approved Page or the company’s own public source.      ← copyRules 1
Never name a Visit, a page, a click or a Person in an ad.                        ← copyRules 3, 5
Never change an ad set for a company whose open Deal a person owns.              ← worker.owns, owned-by-a-person

The slow loop, as a Change. decision_431 (2026-10-05, weekly) read proof concepts falling under their ad set’s median by day 14, so change_22 moved the refresh from 21 to 14 days (your file, line 7) and Dana merged it with POST /{namespace}/changes/{change}/merge. Replayed on past weeks, POST /{namespace}/changes/{change}/review put qualified Leads per 100 treated at 2.1; read back at +14d it is 1.9, n 751, ■□□□ Too early to tell (Example, day 42).

Bring your own agent (folded) starts at You approve each one when it matches the seated agent on the eval suite; ad change sets never pass that rung for any agent. POST /{namespace}/roles/{role}/staff seats it.

npx startup-builder eval --scenario account-ads-1073 --agent "claude -p" --seat marketing-lead   # seated: 1.86 qualified Leads per 100, 0 Checks failed served, $131 per qualified Lead · yours: 1.71, 1 failed, $144

What it can do nextCopy Anchor Link

When it hands to youCopy Anchor Link

Qualified Leads go to AE · Priya Shah (person); company-name ads and sponsored posts come to you, and before day 9 every qualified Lead did. What lands in each queue, as captured: one Brief per Role, then the Approval (brief, draft, route and checks are Not live yet, gaps #7).

[
  {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/tasks/task_207",
    "$type": "Task",
    "assignee": "worker_3",
    "due": "2026-09-12T15:02:00Z",
    "on": "lead_61",
    "brief": {
      "who": "Tomas Reyes, Oakmere Lettings",
      "said": "90 units for 2 owners; asked how owner statements work",
      "chose": "to-the-ae",
      "why": "a qualified Lead at a listed company",
      "saw": "problem, proof and offer ads since 2026-08-28",
      "never": [
        "mention the ads",
        "a price beyond the list",
        "a discount"
      ]
    }
  },
  {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/tasks/task_233",
    "$type": "Task",
    "assignee": "worker_1",
    "due": "2026-10-20T17:00:00Z",
    "on": "organization_102",
    "brief": {
      "who": "Calloway Residential, Priority 1",
      "chose": "name-the-company",
      "why": "Priority 1 on the List; their public site says they took on 3 new owners this year",
      "source": "calloway-residential.example/news"
    }
  },
  {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/approvals/approval_58",
    "$type": "Approval",
    "verdict": null,
    "deadline": "2026-10-20T17:00:00Z",
    "draft": "Calloway Residential: three new owners this year. Every renewal notice, 60 days out, per owner.",
    "route": "name-the-company",
    "checks": [
      {
        "check": "approved-pages",
        "status": "pass"
      },
      {
        "check": "organization-stop",
        "status": "pass"
      }
    ]
  }
]

Each receiver answers with POST /{namespace}/tasks/{task}/claim (Take this one), POST /{namespace}/tasks/{task}/return with a reason, POST /{namespace}/actions/{action}/redirect, POST /{namespace}/approvals/{approval}/approve or POST /{namespace}/approvals/{approval}/refuse, each a one-call window, and an Approval unanswered by its deadline expires and the ad stays paused. Once a person claims a Lead, the agent changes nothing for that company but the List, and every reply goes to the claimer’s queue. A Task nobody claims by its due time goes up a Role through POST /{namespace}/tasks/{task}/escalate (AE to you), and person-promise fires.

On time: AE · Priya Shah, 9 of 9 claimed within 60 min, median 24 min, ■■□□ Early sign, n 9; you, 5 of 5 within 60 min and 5 of 6 approvals by their deadline (1 expired; the ad stayed paused), n 11. Your queue: counted by kind: in week 1, 1 List approval, 1 claims source and 1 change set; since, about 1 change set, 1 hand-off and 1 sponsored post a week.

The fixed line: POST /{namespace}/deals/{deal}/assign sets owner to the receiving person, the agent is never a Deal’s owner, and Meetings land on the owner’s calendar under the owner’s name.

When it won’t sendCopy Anchor Link

The captured refusal, then the Stop that fired as a Campaign.paused reason (Not live yet, gaps #2); the upload that went after the fix is day 33 in Example.

{
  "type": "https://startupbuilder.dev/errors/refused",
  "title": "Refused",
  "status": 422,
  "detail": "The 06:00 upload to the proof company list did not go: 3 rows match a Suppression.",
  "checks": [
    {
      "check": "audience-guard",
      "status": "fail",
      "observed": "3 suppressed members of 412 rows",
      "doc": "/plays/account-ads#check-audience-guard",
      "fix": "Remove the 3 rows the Guard lists, then upload again.",
      "then": "Audience.update"
    },
    {
      "check": "customer-collision",
      "status": "pass"
    }
  ]
}

[
  {
    "reason": {
      "limit": "frequency",
      "observed": "7.8 a week",
      "bound": "7.4 (double the 3.7 target)",
      "window": "7d"
    },
    "doc": "/plays/account-ads#stop-frequency",
    "adSet": "proof"
  }
]

Did it workCopy Anchor Link

Both halves are read from the same salted-hash assignment (rules m–o), and each figure’s call is POST /{namespace}/metrics/query by node and by arm; a company counts once its 30-day window has closed. The parent field and every node above the leaf are Not live yet (gaps #4).

{
  "$id": "decisions/decision_418",
  "$type": "Decision",
  "choice": "proof-ads",
  "reason": "Cedar Row Management clicked the problem ads 4 times in 9 days and opened no lead form",
  "stakes": "low",
  "options": [
    "problem-ads",
    "proof-ads",
    "offer-ads",
    "name-the-company",
    "sponsor-your-post",
    "to-the-ae",
    "off-the-list"
  ],
  "by": "worker_6",
  "on": "organization_88",
  "expected": "a qualified Lead at Cedar Row within 30d",
  "reopensWhen": "no Lead.qualified at organization_88 within 30d"
}

The leaf counts Deals opened within 30 days of listing, after a held Meeting or a written request, per 100 companies assigned, to 300 matured in each half; at 520 and 223 matured the Experiment runs on, and the day-90 read lands 2026-11-22.

How it moves it: the median treated company saw 26 impressions across problem, proof and offer ads in the 9 days before its first cold email, where a held-back company saw none (the Venue’s company report).

Guardrails: treated against held back: cold-email reply rate at listed companies, 4.1 % against 3.6 %, and Meetings held per Deal opened, 1.0 against 1.0.

{
  "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/campaigns/account-ads",
  "$type": "Campaign",
  "play": "play:account-ads@1",
  "path": [
    "account-deal-rate",
    "opened-deals-and-trials",
    "new-arr",
    "net-new-arr",
    "arr"
  ],
  "experiment": {
    "metric": "account-deal-rate",
    "unit": "per-100",
    "heldBack": 322,
    "decision": null
  },
  "readout": {
    "value": 0.32,
    "n": 743,
    "maturing": 330,
    "interval": [
      -0.62,
      1.26
    ],
    "readability": "inadmissible",
    "basis": "held-back",
    "pooled": false
  },
  "ledger": {
    "spend": 1862,
    "workerCost": 14,
    "hours": 7.4,
    "wonArr": 3338,
    "projectedArr": 1850,
    "paybackDays": 31
  }
}

Outside benchmark: 0.20 to 0.58 Deals opened per 100 companies on LinkedIn company lists, median, 211 advertisers (an ad-analytics vendor’s 2026 report).

Before it · After it. Before it: cold-email and account-visits nominate the companies, and founder-voice writes the posts it sponsors. After it: instant-response answers the lead forms, and buying-committee takes a company once 2 or more of its people engage. If the List stays under 350, run cold-email alone.

ExampleCopy Anchor Link

Leaseline ran it from 2026-08-24 to 2026-10-19 (56 days). 1,083 property managers cleared the List rule; Dana struck 6 and pinned 4, which see ads and stay out of the readout. The hash held 322 of the other 1,073 back and treated 751; LinkedIn matched 709 of the 755 rows uploaded. Read every captured run at ?threads=all; three follow the tables.

Wrenfield Rentals, listed 2026-08-28 · 212 units; the cold-email cell of Sep 6 joined the company list 9 days early. Problem ads from day 7: “Renewals slip when notices go out late.”¹

Sep 9 · 4 clicks · moved to proof ads: “Leaseline sends every renewal notice 60 days out, per owner.”² Sep 14 · a pricing Page read moved it to the offer set and its lead form.³

Sep 15 · Elena Park filled the lead form · POST /{namespace}/leads/{lead}/qualify, then POST /{namespace}/leads/{lead}/assign to AE · Priya Shah, who held the call on Sep 19; Wrenfield took the $2,400 plan on Oct 4 (+$2,393 ARR).

- Leaseline cuts renewal work in half for every property manager.
+ Leaseline sends every renewal notice 60 days out, per owner, from your own lease dates.

Oakmere Lettings, 2026-09-12 14:02 · Tomas Reyes became a qualified Lead after the offer ads. POST /{namespace}/leads/{lead}/assign → AE · Priya Shah, due 15:02 (response-60m); she claimed it at 14:26 with the Brief (task_207), which tells her never to mention the ads.⁴ Oakmere took Team on Sep 23 (+$945 ARR).

¹ Problem ads name the problem, never the company, a Visit or a click. ² Every sentence maps to an approved Page. ³ The page read chose the ad set; it never appears in an ad or a Message. ⁴ No Message from a sending Play mentions these ads.

Your settingsCopy Anchor Link

---
holdout: 0.3      # 30 % of the List sees no ads from this Play
budget: 1000      # a month, held by a Limit
---
List property managers with 50 to 500 units.
Start ads 9 days before the first cold email.
Refresh each concept every 14 days.
Sponsor my posts that rank in my top quarter.

$ npx startup-builder show plays/account-ads
holdout 0.3 · budget 1000 · List rule · 9-day lead · 14-day refresh · sponsored posts    your file  plays/account-ads.mdx:2,3,5,6,7,8 (Ask 2026-08-24; line 7 by change_22, 2026-10-05)
family demand · worker role:marketing-lead, owns never · chooses 7 (4 rule, 3 read) · approval every-send · person rung off · checks owned-by-a-person, customer-collision, audience-guard, organization-stop, approved-pages · stops 12 + person-rung    catalog  play:account-ads@1 (Not live yet, gaps #5)

Every key from the catalogCopy Anchor Link

Compiled, not written: edit the Play record account-ads and its Leaseline run, then regenerate. Every step runs from a sentence or a line of code. In your words: the CRM words you know, and where each lives here.