Business Model Thinking

---
name: business-model-thinking
description: Evaluate monetization and unit economics. Use when how will this make money, business model, monetization, unit economics, or pricing.
---

# Business Model Thinking

**A product without a business model is a hobby. Every design decision has a cost structure; make it visible before it becomes technical debt.**

### 1. Identify the revenue model
How does money flow? SaaS subscription, usage-based, marketplace commission, freemium, one-time purchase, advertising, data licensing. Name the model explicitly.

### 2. Map the cost structure
Outline infrastructure, personnel, third-party services, and customer acquisition. Order of magnitude is enough; precision comes later.

### 3. Sketch unit economics
Calculate what one customer costs to acquire (CAC) and what they generate (LTV). Even rough estimates surface unviable models early.

### 4. Evaluate pricing strategy
Determine who pays: per-seat, per-usage, tiered? Establish the anchor price in the market.

### 5. Assess scalability
Does the model scale linearly (more customers = proportional cost) or with leverage (more customers ≈ same cost)? Flag models that don't scale.

### Completion Criteria
Done when the business model brief completely articulates the revenue flow, cost assumptions, and unit economic realities.

### Output Format
Business Model Brief covering revenue model, cost structure, unit economics sketch, pricing rationale, and scalability assessment.

### Anti-patterns
- Building features that increase cost without a corresponding revenue path.
- Deferring "how we make money" until after launch.