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{# Platform Economics — Askama page, NOT a docengine markdown surface. |
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This page carries live disclosure (paying-creator counts pulled from |
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the DB at request time) which docengine's static markdown pipeline |
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can't express. It shadows the catch-all /docs/{slug} route so the |
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URL stays at /docs/about/economics for backwards-compatibility with |
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inbound links. |
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Prose mirrors the previous economics.md content (deleted in the same |
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commit). To edit prose, edit this file. To edit the runway figure, edit |
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docs/business/assumptions.toml. #} |
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{% extends "base.html" %} |
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{% block title %}Platform Economics - Makenot.work{% endblock %} |
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{% block head %}{% endblock %} |
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{% block content %} |
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{% include "partials/site_header.html" %} |
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|
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<article class="doc-container"> |
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<nav class="doc-breadcrumb"> |
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<a href="/docs">Docs</a> / <span>About</span> |
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<div class="docs-search-container docs-search-inline"> |
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<input type="text" class="docs-search-input" placeholder="Search docs..." autocomplete="off" /> |
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<div class="docs-search-results hidden"></div> |
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</div> |
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</nav> |
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<h1 class="doc-title">Platform Economics</h1> |
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<div class="doc-body"> |
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<p><em>As of {{ runway_config.last_updated_iso }}.</em></p> |
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<p>What you pay, what it covers, the position we're operating from, and what we commit to.</p> |
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<hr> |
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<h2>What You Pay</h2> |
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<p>See <a href="/docs/pricing">Pricing</a> for the current tier prices, the founding-creator rate, and the provisional standard rate.</p> |
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<hr> |
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<h2>What It Covers</h2> |
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<p>Your subscription funds three things, at a high level:</p> |
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<p><strong>Cost to deliver.</strong> The infrastructure that hosts your content (application servers, database, object storage, bandwidth) and the payment processing fee Stripe charges on each transaction.</p> |
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<p><strong>Platform overhead.</strong> Ongoing development, day-to-day operations, legal and compliance work, and reserves held against unexpected costs so a bad month doesn't force a price increase or a shutdown.</p> |
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<p><strong>Returned to creators.</strong> Surplus beyond what cost-to-deliver and platform overhead require is earmarked to come back to you as earn-back credit. We've committed to launching that program no later than 2027-01-01.</p> |
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<p>No surplus goes to investors, shareholders, dividends, executive bonuses, paid acquisition, or marketing spend. We have none of those things.</p> |
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<hr> |
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<h2>Where We Are</h2> |
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<p>Numbers refresh at the close of every two-month sprint, alongside the <a href="/changelog">changelog</a> recap. The paying-creator count is read live from the database at the time you load this page.</p> |
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<ul> |
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<li>Paying creators today: <strong>{{ paying_creators }}</strong></li> |
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{% if trialing_or_grace > 0 %} |
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<li>In trial or 30-day cancellation grace: <strong>{{ trialing_or_grace }}</strong></li> |
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{% endif %} |
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<li>Break-even at the assumed tier mix: approximately <strong>22.5</strong> paying creators at the standard rate, <strong>46.8</strong> at the founding rate. (Derivation in the build's <code>assumptions.toml</code>.)</li> |
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{% if runway_config.is_published() %} |
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<li>Cash runway at current burn: <strong>{{ runway_config.quarters }}</strong> quarter{% if runway_config.quarters != 1 %}s{% endif %}.</li> |
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{% endif %} |
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</ul> |
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<p>Reserve capacity (twelve months of fixed costs plus a legal reserve and a single-incident shock reserve) is approximately <strong>$62k</strong>, derived from the build's assumptions. Reserves shrink before prices change; a single bad month doesn't move the headline rate.</p> |
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<hr> |
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<h2>What We Commit To</h2> |
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<p>The binding commitments live in <a href="/docs/guarantees">What We Guarantee</a>. The short version:</p> |
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<ul> |
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<li>No surprise raises. Prices only change under conditions stated in writing.</li> |
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<li>At least 90 days notice on any change.</li> |
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<li>Existing creators are grandfathered at their current rate for at least 12 months when standard rates rise.</li> |
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<li>When our cost structure permits, the direction is downward. Cost-favorable changes apply retroactively to active subscriptions.</li> |
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</ul> |
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<hr> |
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<h2>What We Won't Do</h2> |
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<ul> |
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<li><strong>Percentage cuts.</strong> We will not skim a percentage of what fans pay you.</li> |
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<li><strong>Per-transaction fees on top of Stripe.</strong> The only deduction is Stripe's processing fee, which goes to Stripe.</li> |
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<li><strong>Surge pricing.</strong> Tier prices do not move based on demand, time of day, or who you are.</li> |
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<li><strong>Quiet plan-gating.</strong> Features won't migrate between tiers without notice and grandfathering.</li> |
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<li><strong>Paid acquisition or marketing.</strong> We don't fund growth by spending your subscription on ads.</li> |
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</ul> |
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<hr> |
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<h2>See Also</h2> |
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<ul> |
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<li><a href="/docs/pricing">Pricing</a>: Current rates, founding-creator rate, standard rate</li> |
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<li><a href="/docs/guarantees">What We Guarantee</a>: Binding commitments in writing</li> |
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<li><a href="/docs/how-we-work">How We Work</a>: Business model and operating principles</li> |
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</ul> |
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</div> |
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</article> |
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<footer class="text-reader-footer"> |
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<a href="/">Makenot<span class="dot">.</span>work</a> |
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</footer> |
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<script src="/static/docs-search.js"></script> |
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{% endblock %} |
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