Context 🛠️#

Even after a rough Fermi estimate, you may find your idea doesn’t meet your MSC. In the course, Steve identifies the riskiest assumptions in his AR/VR business. For DBB, we can follow the same framework and ask: what levers can make our business viable while keeping it manageable?

Lever 1 — Raise Your Pricing#

Higher pricing reduces the number of customers needed to hit MSC. For DBB:

• Original plan: $1,000/month → 10k ARPA
• Potential: If we justify value through time savings and compliance assurance, some municipalities might pay more, lowering the number of accounts needed.

Lever 2 — Find a Bigger or More Frequent Problem#

A bigger problem or one that happens often allows higher pricing or longer customer lifetime. DBB:

• Bigger: Citywide compliance failure risks
• Frequent: Monthly agenda updates and legal deadlines
  This increases ARPA and reduces customer acquisition pressure.

Lever 3 — Pivot to a Different Customer Segment#

Targeting higher-value segments can justify higher prices:

• Small departments → large city agencies
• Departments with multiple boards or higher compliance exposure

Lever 4 — Plan on Crossing the Chasm Sooner#

Adopt a multi-stage approach if feasible:

• Start with a small city segment for proof-of-concept
• Expand to larger agencies later

Caution: this adds complexity, so Level 1 businesses may avoid this unless absolutely necessary.

Lever 5 — Lower Your MSC#

If the first four levers aren’t enough, recalibrate goals:

• Focus on Level 1 ($100k ARR) rather than$1M ARR
• Keeps DBB achievable for a solo founder

Course Example: Steve Fixes His Business Model#

Steve raised pricing 5–10x to reduce required customers, showing how identifying key levers early allows smarter experimentation. DBB can learn from this by testing pricing and target segments before building more features.