Software Economics

Real budget ranges (mobile app, custom AI, SaaS MVP, design systems), ROI math, vendor selection economics, fixed-bid vs. T&M trade-offs, and dev-team economics — for buyers in the budget-research stage.

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Software EconomicsJun 12, 20266 min read

AI feature pricing: how to charge for model-powered features

AI feature pricing is the single product decision that turns model cost into a revenue stream rather than a P&L leak. Charge by tokens and you compress margin; charge for value and you can capture 2x–4x more revenue from enterprise buyers while keeping per-user adoption predictable.

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Software EconomicsJun 8, 20267 min read

Engineering bench strategy: when to staff vs. contract

Engineering bench strategy determines whether you hire full-time engineers or buy on-demand capacity. The wrong choice can add $500k–$1.2M in avoidable cost over three years for a single product team; the right one saves runway and preserves velocity. This piece gives a three-year TCO and a practical break-even framework for CTOs.

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Software EconomicsMay 31, 20267 min read

Internal developer platform ROI: a 3‑year TCO framework

Internal developer platform ROI decides whether you hire a platform team or license an IDP. The right decision flips on three numbers: your loaded engineer cost, per-engineer time saved, and the vendor price — not on vague claims about 'developer happiness'.

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Software EconomicsMay 20, 20266 min read

Usage-based pricing: when to adopt and how to model revenue

Usage-based pricing is not a growth lever — it's a product-fit probe that doubles your operational complexity. Usage-based pricing requires instrumentation, billing plumbing, and forecasting discipline; done wrong it costs you $150k–$600k in engineering and tooling in year one and erodes churn instead of revenue.

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Software EconomicsMay 10, 20266 min read

Outsourced engineering costs: compare T&M, fixed-bid, retainers

Outsourced engineering costs are rarely lower than hiring until you factor time-to-market and hiring risk. Vendors sell velocity and risk transfer; you pay for predictability. Compare offers using three-year TCO, ramp months, and explicit switching costs before you sign a retainer.

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Software EconomicsMay 5, 20266 min read

Custom AI feature cost: how to budget and decide

Custom AI feature cost is not a single line item — it's a multi-year liability that lives on your balance sheet as people, cloud spend, and product complexity. Mis-budgeting a single feature can turn a $150k experiment into a $1.2M maintenance burden inside 18 months.

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