Revenue Optimizer

Build revenue features and monetization systems. Analyze existing codebases to understand features, calculate costs, and create data-driven pricing strategies.

Workflow

Discover - Scan codebase for features, services, and integrations
Cost Analysis - Calculate per-user and per-feature costs from services
Design - Create pricing tiers based on value + cost data
Implement - Build payment integration, pricing logic, and checkout flows
Optimize - Add conversion optimization and revenue tracking

Feature Discovery

Scan codebase to build feature inventory:

Feature Discovery Process:
1. Scan routes/endpoints → identify user-facing features
2. Scan components/pages → map UI features
3. Scan service integrations → identify cost-generating features
4. Scan database models → understand data entities
5. Cross-reference → map features to their cost drivers

Look for these patterns:

Routes/Controllers: Each endpoint = potential feature
React/Vue components: Feature-specific UI modules
Service clients: AWS SDK, OpenAI, Stripe, Twilio, etc.
Background jobs: Compute-intensive operations
Storage operations: S3, database writes, file uploads

Example feature inventory output:

Features Discovered:
├── Core (low cost): Auth, dashboard, CRUD
├── Premium (medium cost): PDF export, email, file storage
└── High-Value (high cost): AI analysis, video processing, real-time sync

Cost Analysis

Analyze services to calculate true costs per user/feature. See references/cost-analysis.md for detailed patterns.

Service Detection

Scan for these cost sources:

Config files: .env, config/, secrets
Package.json/requirements.txt: SDK dependencies
Infrastructure: terraform/, cloudformation/, docker-compose
Code imports: aws-sdk, openai, stripe, twilio, etc.

Cost Mapping

Map fixed costs, variable costs (per user), and feature costs (per use). See references/cost-analysis.md for detailed cost mapping patterns and output format.

Pricing Strategy Design

Combine feature value + cost data:

Calculate cost floor (break-even per user)
Assess feature value (what users pay for alternatives)
Set price = max(cost + margin, perceived value)
Group features into tiers by cost similarity:
- Free: Low-cost features only, cap variable costs, goal < $0.50/user/month
- Pro: Medium-cost features, price at 3-5x cost, primary revenue driver
- Enterprise: High-cost features (AI, video), value-based pricing (10x+ cost OK)

Optimal Price = (Cost Floor x 0.3) + (Value Ceiling x 0.7) where Cost Floor = Cost to Serve / (1 - Target Margin).

See references/pricing-patterns.md for implementation examples.

Complete Analysis Example

When asked to create a pricing strategy, produce a full analysis:

PRICING STRATEGY REPORT
=======================================

CODEBASE ANALYSIS
---------------------------------------
Services: AWS S3, OpenAI GPT-4, SendGrid, Auth0, Vercel, PlanetScale

Features:
  Core (6): Dashboard, project mgmt, collaboration, reporting
  Premium (3): PDF export (Lambda), analytics (Postgres), API access
  AI-Powered (2): AI writing + smart suggestions (GPT-4)

COST BREAKDOWN
---------------------------------------
Fixed (Monthly):
  Vercel $20 + PlanetScale $29 + Auth0 $0 = $49/month

Variable (Per User/Month):
  Auth0 $0.02 + Storage $0.01 + Email $0.01 = $0.04/user

Feature (Per Use):
  AI Writing $0.03 | PDF Export $0.01 | API $0.001

USAGE PATTERNS
---------------------------------------
  API Calls/month:   Casual 50% ~50 | Regular 40% ~500 | Power 10% ~5K
  AI Generations:    Casual ~5 | Regular ~50 | Power ~300

Tier Limits: Free 100 API/10 AI | Pro 5K API/100 AI | Business unlimited

REVENUE MODEL
---------------------------------------
Distribution: Free 80% | Pro 15% | Business 5%
ARPU: (80% x $0) + (15% x $19) + (5% x $49) = $5.30/user
LTV: ($5.30 x 0.87) / 0.04 = $115
Cost to Serve: Free $0.10 | Pro $2.50 | Business $12
Break-Even: 62 users

12-Month Projection (15% growth):
  M1: 100 users, $530 MRR
  M6: 266 users, $1,410 MRR
  M12: 814 users, $4,314 MRR -- $51,768 ARR

RECOMMENDED TIERS
---------------------------------------
FREE ($0)       3 projects | 100 API | 10 AI | 500MB
PRO ($19/mo)    Unlimited | 5K API | 100 AI | 10GB | Margin 87%
BUSINESS ($49)  All Pro + 50K API | 500 AI | 50GB | 5 seats | Margin 76%
ENTERPRISE      Custom $200+ | Unlimited | SSO | SLA

Overage: AI $0.10/use | API $0.005/call
=======================================

Payment Provider Selection

Provider	Best For	Integration Complexity
Stripe	SaaS, subscriptions, global	Low
Paddle	SaaS with tax compliance	Low
LemonSqueezy	Digital products, simple	Very Low
PayPal	Marketplaces, existing users	Medium

For detailed integration patterns, see:

Stripe: references/stripe.md

Pricing Tier Design

Common patterns:

Good-Better-Best: 3 tiers with clear value escalation
Freemium: Free tier with premium upsell
Usage-Based: Pay per API call, storage, or compute
Per-Seat: Charge per team member

For tier structure examples and implementation, see references/pricing-patterns.md.

Subscription Implementation

Key components:

Subscription state management - Track active, canceled, past_due
Webhook handling - Process payment events reliably
Entitlement system - Gate features based on plan
Billing portal - Self-service plan management

For subscription system patterns, see references/subscription-patterns.md.

Checkout Optimization

Conversion-focused checkout implementation:

Minimize form fields (email → payment in 2 steps max)
Show trust signals (security badges, money-back guarantee)
Display social proof near purchase button
Offer annual discount prominently (20-40% standard)
Pre-select recommended plan

For checkout implementation details, see references/checkout-optimization.md.

Feature Gating Pattern

// Entitlement check pattern
async function checkFeatureAccess(userId: string, feature: string): Promise<boolean> {
  const subscription = await getSubscription(userId);
  const plan = PLANS[subscription.planId];
  return plan.features.includes(feature);
}

// Usage in route/component
if (!await checkFeatureAccess(user.id, 'advanced_export')) {
  return showUpgradePrompt('advanced_export');
}

Revenue Tracking

Essential metrics to implement:

MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue)
Churn Rate (cancellations / total subscribers)
LTV (Lifetime Value = ARPU / churn rate)
Conversion Rate (paid / total signups)

Implementation: Send events to analytics (Mixpanel, Amplitude, or custom) on:

subscription.created
subscription.upgraded
subscription.canceled
payment.succeeded
payment.failed

Quick Implementation Checklist

Payment provider account and API keys configured
Webhook endpoint receiving and verifying events
Subscription state synced to database
Feature entitlement checks on protected routes
Billing portal or plan management UI
Upgrade prompts at key user moments
Revenue events tracked in analytics
Failed payment retry and dunning emails

revenue-optimizer