# Business Model — PCDesigner

## 1. The product is a funnel

The free WordPress.org plugin is the top of a funnel that ends in Printcart Cloud SaaS subscriptions and adjacent revenue (marketplace fees, AI credits, integration partnerships).

```
  WP.org search & install     → very cheap acquisition channel
  Activation in WP admin      → low friction (one click)
  Setup wizard (4 steps)      → friction step #1 (account creation, dashboard)
  5-product cap               → friction step #2 (forces upgrade decision)
  Tier upgrade                → main conversion event
  Expansion (AI, marketplace) → primary growth motion after first year
```

Every roadmap decision should map to one of: increase install volume, decrease activation friction, increase upgrade rate, or increase expansion.

## 2. Customer segments

| Segment | Characteristic | Willingness to pay | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo merchant | 1 store, ≤ 200 SKUs | low ($0–29) | Lifetime fan if first impression is good |
| SMB print shop | 1 store, 200–2,000 SKUs | medium ($29–99) | Wants templates + production output |
| Agency | Multi-store | medium-high ($99–299) | Wants white-label + multi-store sync |
| DTC brand | 1 store, modest SKUs but high volume | high ($99–499) | AI + 3D + AR is the lure |
| Enterprise / print-house | Custom | $1k+ MRR | Wants headless API, SLA, ICC, on-prem |
| Designer (marketplace) | Personal account | revshare | Earns via Launcher; their pull keeps merchants |

Today the plugin is most aligned with solo merchants and SMB print shops. Agencies + DTC are biggest upside.

## 3. Pricing model (proposed packaging)

```
Starter (free)
  - 5 design-enabled products
  - Basic editor
  - Local PDF rendering
  - Limited cloud storage
  - Community support

Growth — $29/mo (annual $290)
  - 50 products
  - AI assist (200 credits/mo)
  - 5 GB storage
  - Email support

Pro — $99/mo (annual $990)
  - Unlimited products
  - AI assist (1,000 credits/mo)
  - 50 GB storage
  - Marketplace publishing
  - Priority support
  - 3D preview

Scale — $299/mo (annual $2,990)
  - 3 stores
  - 5,000 AI credits/mo
  - Headless API
  - Custom ICC profiles
  - Dedicated CSM
  - 99.9% SLA

Enterprise — custom
  - Unlimited stores
  - SSO, SCIM, DPA
  - On-prem option
  - Custom RIP integration
```

Levers to test:

- $29 vs $19 vs $39 entry point
- Annual prepay discount: 15% / 20% / 25%
- AI credit pack: $5 / 100 vs $10 / 250
- Storage overage billed in 5 GB blocks

## 4. Unit economics (sketch)

| Line item | Starter | Growth | Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARPU (mo) | $0 | $29 | $99 |
| Cloud storage | $0 | $0.40 | $4 |
| AI credits cost | $0 | $1.20 | $6 |
| Cloud render | $0 | $0.30 | $1.50 |
| Stripe / payment fees | $0 | $1.30 | $4 |
| Support load | $0.50 | $1.00 | $3 |
| **Gross margin** | **negative** | **~85%** | **~80%** |

Free users are subsidised by paid; budget the loss as CAC. Watch hosting + cloud invoices monthly.

## 5. Acquisition channels

Ranked by likely CAC:

1. WordPress.org search & repository
2. Programmatic SEO (template gallery pages — niche-specific)
3. WooCommerce extension marketplace
4. YouTube tutorials + influencer print niches
5. Partnership: print-on-demand fulfilment (Printful, Printify, Gelato)
6. Affiliate program (designers, agencies)
7. Paid social — only after organic CAC is benchmarked

Channels that probably don't work:
- General display ads
- Generic SaaS directories (G2, Capterra) without ratings effort

## 6. Conversion events to instrument

Capture these via telemetry (opt-in):

```
plugin_activated
setup_wizard_started
setup_wizard_completed
dashboard_connected
product_design_enabled
template_assigned_to_product
design_saved (storefront)
design_added_to_cart
order_placed_with_design
pdf_downloaded
ai_request_made
marketplace_template_published
marketplace_template_purchased
upgrade_intent (clicks "Upgrade")
upgrade_completed
churn (cancel)
```

Funnel views to build:

- Install → Connected
- Connected → First customer design
- Connected → Tier upgrade
- Tier 1 → Tier 2 expansion

## 7. Retention drivers

What keeps merchants paying:

- Templates that match their niche (top driver)
- Reliable PDF output (zero refunds)
- Editor speed
- AI credits that earn back their cost
- Marketplace revenue (becomes income, not cost)

What causes churn:

- Editor bugs on mobile
- Hosting / WP / WC version mismatch breaking checkout
- Migrating to Shopify
- License complexity

## 8. Adjacent revenue

Beyond core subscription:

- **Marketplace fees**: 20% on designer template sales
- **AI credit packs**: pay-as-you-go after monthly allotment
- **Storage overage**: $0.10/GB-month
- **Cloud rendering surge**: charge for high-throughput batches
- **White-label add-on**: $99 one-time + revshare
- **Implementation services**: agency-style for enterprise

Avoid: per-design fees on storefront (annoys merchants), hidden fees on PDF download.

## 9. Competitor map (commercial lens)

| Competitor | Pricing today | Where we beat them | Where they beat us |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fancy Product Designer | $59 lifetime | Cloud sync, marketplace | Storefront UX polish |
| Lumise | $69 once | 3D, cloud | Template count |
| Customily | Tiered Shopify | AI maturity (theirs) | Multi-platform (ours) |
| Customer's Canvas | Enterprise | Headless | Low-end pricing |
| Spiff | Shopify-only | We have WP+API | Shopify ecosystem |
| Inkybay | $19/mo | Premium feel, ICC | We are heavier code |

## 10. Operating principles

- Free tier must remain useful enough to be a daily tool. Otherwise the funnel collapses.
- Never break checkout for an unrelated feature.
- Enterprise customers earn an SLA; don't sell SLA to growth tier.
- Cloud cost per free user must be negligible — push compute to client when possible.
- Localisation matters more than features past the second year.
- Trust beats features: zero CVE quarter > AI shiny demo.

## 11. KPI dashboard (target)

Daily:
- Plugin installs (WP.org metric)
- Wizard completions
- Dashboard connects

Weekly:
- Free → Paid conversion rate
- Editor LCP p75
- p95 PDF render time
- Open Sev-1 tickets

Monthly:
- MRR / ARR
- Logo + revenue churn
- NRR
- Marketplace GMV
- AI credit usage / cost

Quarterly:
- Cohort retention curves
- NPS from paid customers
- Time-to-first-design (cohort)
- Hosting / cloud unit cost trend

## 12. Decisions to make (open questions)

- What is the canonical "primary metric" — revenue, NRR, or paid conversion?
- Lifetime deal: yes (volume), no (poison long-term)?
- Build a Shopify variant: when?
- Launcher revshare: 20% or 30%?
- AI credits margin target: 50%, 70%?
- Free tier cap: 5 products is right, or move to "1 month, then upgrade"?

These should be reviewed quarterly with founder + finance.