Business
Costs & monetization
A $20k MVP delivered with sub-$300/mo run-rate at launch, scaling to a $9.99 subscription model with projected breakeven at month 11.
MVP build cost ($20k cap)
| Line item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lead Mobile Engineer (14 wks @ $4k/wk equivalent contract or equity-blended) | $10,000 | Most senior hire; full mobile build |
| Backend Engineer (0.5 FTE × 14 wks) | $4,500 | Supabase, edge functions, geo |
| Product Designer (0.5 FTE × 10 wks) | $3,500 | Design system + screens + motion |
| QA (contract, 40 hrs @ $50) | $800 | Pre-launch regression |
| Apple + Google developer accounts | $124 | $99 Apple + $25 Google one-time |
| Domain + brand | $200 | Domain, brand essentials |
| Mapbox + Supabase (3-mo dev) | $200 | Dev tier; production toggle at launch |
| Sentry / PostHog (free tiers) | $0 | Free below thresholds |
| Contingency | $676 | Buffer for App Store rejection cycles |
| Total | $20,000 |
Monthly run-rate scenarios
Launch · 1k MAU
- Supabase Pro: $25
- Mapbox: $0 (under 50k loads)
- OneSignal: $0
- Resend: $0
- Sentry/PostHog: $0
~$25 / mo
Growth · 25k MAU
- Supabase: $25 + add-ons ~$60
- Mapbox: ~$120
- OneSignal: $9
- Resend: $20
- Sentry + PostHog paid: $80
~$315 / mo
Scale · 250k MAU
- Supabase team + compute: $599 + ~$300
- Mapbox: ~$1,400
- OneSignal Growth: $99
- Resend Scale: $80
- Sentry+PostHog: $400
- AWS Rekognition: $200
~$3,100 / mo
Monetization model
Free tier
- Unlimited map browsing
- Up to 10 marker creations/month
- Basic filters
- 5 journal entries/month
Premium · $9.99 / mo or $79 / yr
- Unlimited markers + journal entries
- Advanced filters (intensity ranges, mood combos)
- Energy analytics dashboard
- AI Resonance Recommendations (Phase 2)
- Heat map overlay
- Offline maps for saved regions
- Profile flair (cosmic frame)
Financial projection · Year 1
MAU EOY 1
60k
Premium conv.
4%
ARPPU
$8
blend monthly/annual
ARR EOY 1
~$230k
Breakeven projected at month 11, assuming $40k post-MVP capital for growth (paid acquisition + community manager). Year 2 target: 5% conversion, $9 ARPPU, 250k MAU → ~$1.35M ARR.
Secondary revenue (Phase 3)
- Retreat marketplace — 12% take rate on bookings.
- Brand sponsorships of curated 'energy trails' (premium-tier users see them ad-free).
- API licensing to wellness platforms — tiered annual contracts.