Back to Offer, Product, and Pricing
In progressOwner: Founder + DesmondFounder decision required

Workstream

Pricing and commercial model

The pricing strategy is already serious and differentiated: the repo defines a ladder from point solutions to research infrastructure, and the external-signals work validates moving beyond pure seat-based SaaS. What is still missing is the beta commercial stance that makes this sellable without pretending billing, entitlements, and willingness-to-pay evidence are more mature than they are.

Why this matters

Pricing is where the platform stops being a story and becomes a business. It shapes who can buy, how quickly deals move, and whether the suite feels coherent.

Because the thesis pushes beyond seat-based SaaS, the launch posture has to feel both intentional and simple enough to explain in one conversation.

Current state

Public EUR tiers are now the working direction: Starter at EUR 260 per seat per month, Foundation from EUR 1,750 per month, Growth from EUR 5,850 per month, and Enterprise as contact us.

The unresolved issues are final founder sign-off, package inclusions, whether Starter is genuinely sellable during assisted beta, pilot-to-annual conversion, and how plans translate into actual entitlements, usage limits, and commercial FAQs.

The delivery model is also not fully locked. Enterprise SaaS is the default stance, but the strategy docs explicitly keep assisted and software-under-service delivery modes open for pilots, which affects onboarding design, support posture, and pricing simplicity.

The external-signals document makes the pricing direction more defensible than the current workstream copy shows. Coatue's per-output thesis supports the move away from pure seat pricing, Vista's data-sovereignty argument reinforces why knowledge value belongs in the commercial model, and Thoma Bravo's mission-critical lens supports the long-term infrastructure tier as the real destination rather than the point-solution wedge.

Checklist

What still has to happen

Foundation

The minimum decisions and assets needed so the launch story is coherent rather than aspirational.

BlockedImportant before first customers

Approve the EUR pricing and beta package rules

The public EUR structure is set as the working direction; figures, inclusions, beta eligibility, and conversion rules still need founder sign-off.

Private preview

The hardening work required for founder sharing, pilot conversations, and limited buyer-facing use.

In progress

Tie plans to entitlement, usage, and contract logic

Billing docs already acknowledge runtime entitlement checks, but plan definition, usage limits, metering, and contract mechanics are still underbuilt.

Ready for betaImportant before first customers

Create beta-ready commercial collateral

The founder pricing sheet now uses the current EUR anchors and assisted-beta caveats; it is ready for founder approval.

What exists

Value-based pricing thesis

The pricing model already explains why value should scale with research activity, knowledge reuse, and organisational reach rather than only seats, while the strategy context keeps enterprise SaaS as the default with possible assisted delivery modes for pilots.

Buyer-readable plan draft

A buyer-readable pricing page already exists, which puts the company ahead of many early-stage products on commercial articulation even before the deck and FAQ are packaged.

Commercial-operating caveat

The repo is honest about where the pricing system is still operationally thin: plan definition, usage limits, billing, and metering are not yet complete.

External validation for pricing direction

The investor-market analysis gives the commercial model stronger backing than a normal early-stage pricing draft: it explicitly supports a shift from per-seat logic toward work delivered, while reinforcing why proprietary knowledge and infrastructure depth should matter economically.

What is missing

  • The public display decision is made, but the EUR figures and plan inclusions still need final founder sign-off.
  • Willingness-to-pay evidence, pilot-to-paid terms, usage rules, and commercial FAQ / procurement support are still thin.
  • The outcome-oriented and programme-oriented packaging ideas are strategically supported but not yet translated into a founder-approved beta offer shape.

Open strategic questions

  • Sign off the EUR 260 / EUR 1,750 / EUR 5,850 public figures and the inclusions, exclusions, users, limits, and sample-cost treatment behind them.
  • Confirm whether Starter remains externally visible and genuinely sellable during the assisted beta.
  • Define who qualifies for a free strategic pilot, who pays, and the explicit pilot-to-annual conversion rule.
  • Confirm whether beta is sold primarily as enterprise SaaS, assisted do-it-together delivery, or a software-under-service wedge for pilot customers.
  • Decide whether beta packaging should stay subscription-first in public while privately exploring outcome-style or programme-style offers for early pilots.