Creator 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":"creator-ads"}'

 1import { $ } from 'startup-builder'
 2
 3return await $.Campaign.create({ play: 'creator-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":"creator-ads"}' --try   # Not live yet (gaps #2)

{
  "name": "do",
  "arguments": {
    "code": "return await $.Campaign.create({ play: 'creator-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": "creator-ads can’t start yet: 1 check fails and 2 warn.",
 6  "checks": [
 7    {
 8      "check": "use-when",
 9      "status": "pass",
10      "observed": "1 creator under Agreement; $600 a month Limit",
11      "doc": "/plays/creator-ads#check-use-when",
12      "then": "Metric.query"
13    },
14    {
15  …

curl "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/events?where=name%20in%20(%22Post.published%22%2C%20%22Post.edited%22%2C%20%22Mandate.revoked%22%2C%20%22Monitor.checked%22%2C%20%22Ad.rejected%22%2C%20%22Experiment.matured%22%2C%20%22Offer.repriced%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_1219"}'

# Not live yet (gaps #7)
curl "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/decisions?where=on%20%3D%20%22post_377%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%22post_377%22" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY"

 1import { $ } from 'startup-builder'
 2
 3const { events: [last] } = await $.Event.list({ where: 'name in ("Post.published", "Post.edited", "Mandate.revoked", "Monitor.checked", "Ad.rejected", "Experiment.matured", "Offer.repriced")', 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 (\"Post.published\", \"Post.edited\", \"Mandate.revoked\", \"Monitor.checked\", \"Ad.rejected\", \"Experiment.matured\", \"Offer.repriced\")","limit":1}'
npx startup-builder do Trigger.fire --json '{"like":"event_1219"}' --try   # Not live yet (gaps #7)
npx startup-builder do Decision.list --json '{"where":"on = \"post_377\""}'   # Not live yet (gaps #7)
npx startup-builder do Action.list --json '{"where":"on = \"post_377\""}'   # Not live yet (gaps #7)

{
  "name": "do",
  "arguments": {
    "code": "const { events: [last] } = await $.Event.list({ where: 'name in (\"Post.published\", \"Post.edited\", \"Mandate.revoked\", \"Monitor.checked\", \"Ad.rejected\", \"Experiment.matured\", \"Offer.repriced\")', 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    "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/decisions/decision_642",
 4    "$type": "Decision",
 5    "choice": "promote-the-post",
 6    "reason": "Jess’s Oct 10 post on 60-day renewal notices held viewers 2.1 times her median; her Agreement grants 90 days of rights, and the screen passed",
 7    "stakes": "medium",
 8    "options": [
 9      "promote-the-post",
10      "ask-for-rights",
11      "keep-it-organic"
12    ],
13    "by": "worker_11",
14    "on": "post_377",
15  …

action_1 builds the partnership Ad from the archived post, with enhancements off. action_2 asks you to approve it in the Venue’s ad manager; nothing spends until you do.

≈ +$500 ARR a month at $600 a month

Worth

40 min week 1, then 10 min a week

Your time

$20 a day plus $95 per 90 days of rights, ~$630 a month

Spend

Day 3: first Lead from a served region

First signal

A creator under Agreement, a post that beat their median, $600+ a month

Use it when

No creator under Agreement: creator-probe · under $600 a month: creator-partnership

Not yet when

Worth’s formula: about +4.0 Leads per $100 × $600 a month ÷ $100 × 0.06 Leads to paid × $348 first order ARR ≈ +$501. Under First signal: A 28-day geo holdout reads once; two windows tell a +3 per $100 lift at $600 a month.

Runs inside: Promote winners, as one of its options; this page keeps its own record and URL.

Start it this weekCopy Anchor Link

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

# 2 · dry run; below, its 422 on 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":"creator-ads"}'

# 3 · keep it, 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":"creator-ads"}'

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

# off: every creator Ad pauses; the posts stay organic
curl -X PATCH https://api.sb/leaseline.app/campaigns/creator-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": "creator-ads can’t start yet: 1 check fails and 2 warn.",
  "checks": [
    {
      "check": "use-when",
      "status": "pass",
      "observed": "1 creator under Agreement; $600 a month Limit",
      "doc": "/plays/creator-ads#check-use-when",
      "then": "Metric.query"
    },
    {
      "check": "baseline",
      "status": "warn",
      "observed": "no paid creator Leads in 90 days",
      "doc": "/plays/creator-ads#check-baseline",
      "fix": "The held-back regions become the comparison; the first window reads at 28 days.",
      "then": "Metric.query"
    },
    {
      "check": "approved-pages",
      "status": "fail",
      "doc": "/plays/creator-ads#check-approved-pages",
      "fix": "Publish the landing Page the Ad links to, with the live Price.",
      "then": "Site.publish"
    },
    {
      "check": "role-unstaffed",
      "status": "warn",
      "roles": [
        "contracts-manager",
        "compliance-officer"
      ],
      "owned": 0,
      "doc": "/plays/creator-ads#check-role-unstaffed",
      "fix": "Leave them: the rights Agreement and each Ad come to you.",
      "then": "Role.staff"
    }
  ]
}

Spend is $20 a day ($600 a month, the Venue’s minimum that reads), plus Jess’s $190 post fee and a $95 usage fee per 90 days of rights. Screens and the watch cost about $0.02 a post (Worker cost). That comes to about $630 a month.

When it startsCopy Anchor Link

{
  "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/events/event_1219",
  "$type": "Event",
  "name": "Post.published",
  "at": "2026-10-10T15:00:22Z",
  "seq": 1219,
  "data": {
    "post": "post_377",
    "handle": "handle_9",
    "venue": "instagram",
    "creator": "Jess Moreno",
    "agreement": "agreement_14",
    "disclosure": true,
    "partnershipLabel": true
  }
}

npx startup-builder trigger Post.published --like event_1219   # replays the delivery
npx startup-builder clock advance --by 3d   # runs the 72-hour screen
npx startup-builder listen Post.published --forward-to http://localhost:3000/hook

Who runs itCopy Anchor Link

Paid media · your agent (role:paid-media-manager, worker_11) holds the Key Result. It hands every Ad build, every rights Agreement and every Limit raise to you (Dana Okafor, person, worker_1), because the Contracts Manager Role has no person; the creator, Jess Moreno (person), signs her own Agreement. Your number links to Did it work.

What it reads · What it may call. It reads the creator’s posts, their hold and engagement, the Agreement’s rights and the targeting each Venue offers the Offer’s category; who watched picks Audiences and never appears in Ad text.

You hold the Paid media Key Result: +5 Leads per $100 against held-back regions by 2026-12-31. ← worker, metric
Promote a post only as published: captions, crop and a shorter trim, nothing else. ← copyRules 1, drift
Every Ad carries the Venue’s partnership label and the creator’s own disclosure line. ← copyRules 2
Text Leaseline adds speaks as Leaseline, never in the creator’s voice.           ← copyRules 5
Keep the Venue’s automatic enhancements off.                                     ← copyRules 8

The slow loop, as a Change. payback paused the Play on day 14, reading the first payment ($26 margin) against $184 per first Transaction. change_27 set the margin in your file to the first year’s ($290), and you merged it; read back at +28d, $211 per first Transaction, under the line.

What it can do nextCopy Anchor Link

When it hands to youCopy Anchor Link

Ad approvals, rights Agreements and Limit raises come to you (Dana Okafor, person). One Brief per Role, as captured (brief is Not live yet, gaps #7).

[
  {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/tasks/task_655",
    "$type": "Task",
    "assignee": "worker_1",
    "due": "2026-10-14T17:00:00Z",
    "on": "post_377",
    "brief": {
      "who": "Jess Moreno, a landlord creator; post_377 on Instagram",
      "said": "How I send renewal notices 60 days out",
      "chose": "promote-the-post",
      "why": "2.1× her median hold; 90 days of rights in agreement_14",
      "spend": "$20 a day; 8 of 40 regions held back",
      "never": [
        "an edit to her or her voice",
        "enhancements on",
        "a Price the Offer lacks"
      ]
    }
  }
]

You answer with POST /{namespace}/approvals/{approval}/approve in the Venue’s ad manager, POST /{namespace}/tasks/{task}/return with a reason, or POST /{namespace}/actions/{action}/redirect. Nothing spends until you approve; an approval left past its due time expires and the Ad never builds. A Limit raise is yours alone, through POST /{namespace}/limits/{limit}/raise.

On time: you, 2 of 2 approved within 1 business day, median 3 h 20 min, n 2, ■□□□ Too early to tell beside Other Startups’ 90 % on time. Your queue: counted by kind: 1 Agreement and 1 Ad approval in week 1; since then, about 1 approval a month.

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 build that ran is the second thread in Example.

{
  "type": "https://startupbuilder.dev/errors/refused",
  "title": "Refused",
  "status": 422,
  "detail": "The Ad from post_291 did not build: its added headline states a result no Page of yours backs.",
  "checks": [
    {
      "check": "approved-pages",
      "status": "fail",
      "doc": "/plays/creator-ads#check-approved-pages",
      "fix": "Cut the headline, or publish the Page that says it.",
      "then": "Site.publish"
    },
    {
      "check": "category",
      "status": "pass"
    }
  ]
}

[
  {
    "reason": {
      "limit": "payback",
      "observed": "$184 per first Transaction",
      "bound": "$26 first-payment margin",
      "window": "14d"
    },
    "doc": "/plays/creator-ads#stop-payback",
    "task": "task_602"
  }
]

Did it workCopy Anchor Link

The 40 regions were drawn at random, 8 held back from every creator Ad for two 28-day windows, so both halves read from the same assignment (rules m–o); the held-back counts are scaled ×4 to the served regions’ size. Each figure’s call is POST /{namespace}/metrics/query by node, and every node above the leaf is Not live yet (gaps #4).

{
  "$id": "decisions/decision_642",
  "$type": "Decision",
  "choice": "promote-the-post",
  "reason": "Jess’s Oct 10 post on 60-day renewal notices held viewers 2.1 times her median; her Agreement grants 90 days of rights, and the screen passed",
  "stakes": "medium",
  "options": [
    "promote-the-post",
    "ask-for-rights",
    "keep-it-organic"
  ],
  "by": "worker_11",
  "on": "post_377",
  "expected": "+3 Leads per $100 against held-back regions within 28d",
  "reopensWhen": "the holdout window closes on Nov 9, or a Stop fires"
}

The leaf counts new Leads in served regions above the held-back regions’ rate, per $100 of creator Ad spend with usage fees included, over each 28-day window.

How it moves it: the post that held Jess’s own viewers 2.1 times her median ran unedited to property managers like them, with the partnership label on.

Guardrails: treated against held back: cost per first Transaction (play-payback), $211 against your first-year margin of $290, and refunds on first Orders, 0 of 7.

{
  "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/campaigns/creator-ads",
  "$type": "Campaign",
  "play": "play:creator-ads@1",
  "path": [
    "creator-ad-lead-lift",
    "new-leads",
    "new-arr",
    "net-new-arr",
    "arr"
  ],
  "experiment": {
    "metric": "creator-ad-lead-lift",
    "unit": "ratio",
    "heldBack": 8,
    "decision": null
  },
  "readout": {
    "value": 4,
    "n": 40,
    "maturing": 0,
    "interval": [
      0.9,
      7.1
    ],
    "readability": "C",
    "basis": "held-back",
    "pooled": false
  },
  "ledger": {
    "spend": 1290,
    "workerCost": 2,
    "hours": 1.6,
    "pipelineArr": 2088,
    "wonArr": 2784,
    "projectedArr": 500,
    "paybackDays": 154
  }
}

Outside benchmark: none recorded for this Play yet; Other Startups’ results print beside every row.

Before it · After it. Before it: creator-probe finds the creator and creator-partnership signs her. After it: promote-winners holds it as one of its winning messages, and instant-response answers the Leads it sends.

ExampleCopy Anchor Link

Leaseline ran it from 2026-08-24 to 2026-10-19 (56 days) with one creator, Jess Moreno, a landlord with 60 doors: 7 posts screened, 2 promoted at $20 a day, and 8 of 40 regions held back. Read every captured thread at ?threads=all; three follow the tables.

Jess Moreno, Instagram, Oct 10 · “How I send renewal notices 60 days out for 60 doors,” her own words and screen, with her paid-partnership line.¹

The Ad, Oct 14 to Oct 19 · the same post, unedited, labeled as a paid partnership with Leaseline, to property managers in 32 regions.² 41 new Leads in 6 days; Leaseline’s own line under it reads as Leaseline.³

- Leaseline cuts late renewal notices by 90 %.
+ Leaseline sends each renewal notice 60 days out, per owner.

Jess, 2026-09-03 11:02 · “Can you add a 20 % code for my followers?” · Paid media · your agent, 11:03 · *Thanks, Jess. Dana handles codes and replies by Sep 4.*⁴ The Brief went to you (task_571); you answered on Sep 3 at 16:40.

¹ The creator’s own disclosure line, in the post. ² The Venue’s paid-partnership label; nothing about her or her voice changed. ³ Text Leaseline adds speaks as Leaseline. ⁴ The routed line, compiled from the Role’s Settings.

Your settingsCopy Anchor Link

---
holdout: 0.2      # 8 of 40 regions see no creator Ad
limit: 600        # dollars a month
margin: 290       # first-year margin per first Transaction
---
Run Jess’s posts that beat her median as paid partnership Ads, exactly as she posted them. I approve every Ad.

$ npx startup-builder show plays/creator-ads
holdout 0.2 · limit 600 · margin 290     your file  plays/creator-ads.mdx:2-4,6 (Ask 2026-08-24; margin by change_27, 2026-09-08)
family demand · runs inside promote-winners · worker role:paid-media-manager, owns never · chooses none (D38) · sequences creator-rights-ask, creator-rights-renewal · checks owned-by-a-person, approved-pages, category, scale-gate · stops 14 · placements instagram, facebook, tiktok, gmail    catalog  play:creator-ads@1 (Not live yet, gaps #5)

Every key from the catalogCopy Anchor Link

Compiled, not written: edit the Play record creator-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.