/feature-investment-advisor

Example: Feature Investment Advisor Conversation Flow

This shows a full conversation using the feature-investment-advisor skill.

Scenario: Evaluating a Time Tracking Add-On

Step 0: Initial Request

User: "Should we build time tracking as a paid add-on to our project management tool?"

Step 0: Context Gathering

Agent: "Let's evaluate the financial impact of this feature investment. Please provide:

Feature description:

• What's the feature? (1-2 sentences)
• Target customer segment (SMB, mid-market, enterprise, all)

Current business context:

• Current MRR/ARR
• Current ARPU/ARPA
• Current monthly churn rate
• Gross margin %

Constraints:

• Development cost estimate (team size × time)
• Any ongoing COGS or OpEx implications?

You can provide estimates if you don't have exact numbers."

User: "Here's our context:

Feature: Time tracking add-on with start/stop timers, time reports, and invoice export. Target all segments.

Business context:

• MRR: $2M (1,000 customers)
• ARPA: $2,000/month
• ARPU: $200/month (average 10 users per account)
• Monthly churn: 3%
• Gross margin: 80%

Development:

• 2 engineers × 3 months = ~$100K dev cost
• No significant ongoing COGS (minimal compute cost)
• Might add 10-20 support tickets/month"

Step 1: Revenue Connection

Agent: "How does this feature impact revenue? Choose the option that best describes the revenue connection:

1. Direct monetization (new revenue stream) — We'll charge for this (new pricing tier, paid add-on, usage-based fee)
2. Retention improvement (reduce churn) — Addresses key churn reason; keeps customers from leaving
3. Conversion improvement (trial-to-paid) — Helps convert free/trial users to paid customers
4. Expansion enabler (upsell/cross-sell) — Creates upsell path or drives usage-based expansion
5. No direct revenue impact — Table stakes, platform improvement, or strategic value only

Choose a number, or describe a custom revenue connection."

User: "1 — Direct monetization. We'll charge $5/user/month as an add-on."

Agent: "Got it. You're planning to charge $5/user/month for time tracking.

Follow-up questions:

1. How many users do you have total?

   • Current: 1,000 accounts × 10 users/account = 10,000 users

2. What adoption rate do you expect?

   • Conservative (10-15%)
   • Base case (20-25%)
   • Optimistic (30-40%)
   • Or provide your own estimate

3. Have you validated willingness-to-pay?

   • Surveyed customers
   • Prototype tested
   • No validation yet"

User: "We have 10,000 users total.

I'll go with base case: 20% adoption (2,000 users).

We've surveyed 50 customers and 30% said they'd pay $5-10/user for time tracking, so 20% feels conservative."

Agent calculates:

Total Users: 10,000
Adoption Rate: 20%
Users Adopting: 2,000
Price: $5/user/month

Monthly Revenue: 2,000 × $5 = $10,000/month
Annual Revenue: $120,000/year
Gross Profit: $120,000 × 80% = $96,000/year

Agent: "Great! Based on 20% adoption at $5/user:

Revenue Impact:

• Monthly: $10,000 MRR
• Annual: $120,000 ARR
• Gross profit (80% margin): $96,000/year

Now let's look at costs."

Step 2: Cost Structure

Agent: "You mentioned:

• Dev cost: $100K (2 engineers × 3 months)
• COGS: Minimal
• Support: 10-20 tickets/month

Let me confirm the full cost picture:

One-time development: $100,000

Ongoing monthly costs:

• COGS (compute, storage): $___
• Support (est. 15 tickets/month × $50/ticket): $750/month = $9K/year
• Total ongoing: $9K/year

Does this look right?"

User: "Yes, that's right. COGS is negligible (maybe $100/month for compute), and support is probably $750/month."

Agent calculates:

Development Cost (one-time): $100,000

Ongoing Annual Costs:
- COGS: $100/month × 12 = $1,200/year
- Support: $750/month × 12 = $9,000/year
- Total: $10,200/year

Net Annual Profit:
$120,000 revenue - $10,200 ongoing costs = $109,800/year gross profit
After initial dev cost recovery: $109,800 - $100,000 = $9,800 in year 1

Agent: "Got it. Here's the cost structure:

Costs:

• One-time dev: $100,000
• Ongoing: $10,200/year (COGS + support)

Net Impact:

• Year 1: $109,800 revenue - $100,000 dev - $10,200 ongoing = -$200 (essentially breakeven)
• Year 2+: $109,800/year profit (no dev cost)

Payback Period: ~11 months"

Step 3: Constraints

Agent: "What constraints or timing considerations apply?

1. Time-sensitive competitive threat — Competitor launched this; we're losing deals
2. Limited budget/team capacity — We can only build one major feature this quarter
3. Dependencies on other work — Requires platform improvements or other features first
4. No major constraints — We have capacity and flexibility

Choose a number, or describe your constraints."

User: "2 — We can only build one major feature this quarter. We're also considering a Gantt chart view (similar dev cost, but no monetization—retention play)."

Agent: "Got it. You're choosing between:

• Time tracking (direct monetization, $120K ARR)
• Gantt chart (retention/competitive feature, indirect impact)

Let me calculate the trade-off to help you decide."

Step 4: Recommendation

Agent: "Based on your inputs, here's my analysis and recommendation:

✅ Recommendation: Build Time Tracking Now

Financial Case: Strong

Revenue Impact:

• $10K MRR / $120K ARR
• 2,000 users × $5/user (20% adoption)
• Gross margin: 80%
• Net annual profit: $109,800 (after ongoing costs)

Costs:

• Development: $100,000 (one-time)
• Ongoing: $10,200/year (COGS + support)

ROI:

• Year 1: Essentially breakeven (-$200)
• Year 2: 2.2:1 ROI ($109,800 profit / $100K investment)
• Payback: 11 months

Contribution Margin:

• Revenue: $120K/year
• Variable costs: $10.2K/year
• Contribution margin: 91.5% (excellent)

Why This Makes Sense

1. Fast payback (11 months)

• You recover the investment in under a year
• Low risk—if adoption is even 15% (not 20%), still profitable

2. High-margin revenue

• 80% gross margin on add-on revenue
• Minimal ongoing costs (only $10K/year)
• Scales well (more users = more revenue, same cost)

3. Validated demand

• 30% of surveyed customers said they'd pay $5-10/user
• 20% adoption is conservative

4. Direct revenue > indirect retention (vs. Gantt chart)

• Gantt chart = retention play (indirect, hard to measure)
• Time tracking = direct revenue (measurable, predictable)
• If you can only build one: choose measurable revenue

Comparison: Time Tracking vs. Gantt Chart

Verdict: Time tracking has clearer ROI. Build it first.

BUT: If churn interviews show Gantt charts are a top 3 churn reason, reconsider.

Next Steps

1. Build MVP (Weeks 1-8)

   • Core time tracking (start/stop timers)
   • Time reports (basic)
   • Delay invoice export to v2 if scope is tight

2. Beta Test (Weeks 9-10)

   • Launch to 50-100 customers
   • Validate $5/user pricing
   • Measure adoption (target: 20%+)

3. Broad Launch (Week 11)

   • If beta adoption is >15%, launch broadly
   • If <15%, adjust pricing or positioning

4. Monitor Metrics (Ongoing)

   • Track adoption rate weekly (target: 20%)
   • Monitor support load (should stay <20 tickets/month)
   • Measure MRR growth from add-on

5. Re-evaluate Gantt Chart (Q2)

   • If time tracking hits 20% adoption: build Gantt next
   • If adoption is low: investigate why before building more features

Decision Criteria to Proceed

Build if:

• Beta adoption >15%
• Support load manageable (<30 tickets/month)
• Pricing validated ($5/user is acceptable)

Pause/pivot if:

• Beta adoption <10% (pricing too high or low demand)
• Support costs >$2K/month (unsustainable)
• Churn increases (feature causes confusion)

Sensitivity Analysis (What If?)

If adoption is 15% (not 20%):

• Revenue: $90K/year
• Payback: 14 months (still acceptable)
• ROI: 1.6:1 in year 2 (still positive)

If adoption is 30% (optimistic):

• Revenue: $180K/year
• Payback: 7 months (excellent)
• ROI: 3.6:1 in year 2 (very strong)

If you can reduce dev cost to $75K:

• Payback: 8 months (great)
• ROI: 2.9:1 in year 2

Bottom line: Even conservative scenarios are profitable. Build it.

Want to explore further?

1. See detailed math breakdown
2. Compare to Gantt chart (if you have churn data)
3. Adjust assumptions (pricing, adoption, cost)
4. Export this recommendation (for stakeholder review)"

User: "This is super helpful. Can you show me the detailed math?"

Agent: "Sure! Here's the full financial breakdown:

Detailed Calculations

Revenue:

Total Users: 10,000
Adoption Rate: 20%
Users Adopting: 10,000 × 20% = 2,000 users

Price per User: $5/month
Monthly Revenue: 2,000 × $5 = $10,000 MRR
Annual Revenue: $10,000 × 12 = $120,000 ARR

Costs:

Development (one-time):
  2 engineers × 3 months × $16,667/eng-month = $100,000

Ongoing Monthly Costs:
  COGS (compute): $100/month
  Support: 15 tickets/month × $50/ticket = $750/month
  Total: $850/month

Ongoing Annual Costs:
  $850 × 12 = $10,200/year

Profit:

Gross Margin: 80%
Gross Profit (Annual): $120,000 × 80% = $96,000/year

After Ongoing Costs:
  $120,000 revenue - $10,200 costs = $109,800 net profit/year

Year 1 (with dev cost):
  $109,800 - $100,000 dev = $9,800 net profit

Year 2+ (no dev cost):
  $109,800 net profit/year

ROI:

Year 1 ROI:
  $9,800 profit / $100,000 investment = 0.098:1 (basically breakeven)

Year 2 ROI:
  $109,800 profit / $100,000 investment = 1.098:1

Cumulative 2-Year Profit:
  Year 1: $9,800
  Year 2: $109,800
  Total: $119,600 profit on $100K investment = 2.2:1 ROI

Payback Period:

Monthly net profit = $109,800 / 12 = $9,150/month

Payback = $100,000 / $9,150 = 10.9 months (11 months)

Contribution Margin:

Revenue: $120,000/year
Variable Costs: $10,200/year (COGS + support)
Contribution Profit: $109,800/year
Contribution Margin: $109,800 / $120,000 = 91.5%

Does this breakdown help?"

User: "Yes! One more question: what if we charge $10/user instead of $5/user?"

Agent: "Great question! Let's recalculate at $10/user:

Scenario: $10/user (double the price)

Assumptions:

• Higher price likely reduces adoption
• Conservative: 15% adoption (down from 20%)
• Optimistic: 20% adoption (same as $5/user base case)

Conservative (15% adoption at $10/user):

Users: 10,000 × 15% = 1,500 users
Revenue: 1,500 × $10 = $15,000 MRR = $180,000 ARR
Net Profit: $180,000 - $10,200 = $169,800/year
Year 1 Profit: $169,800 - $100,000 = $69,800
Payback: 7 months
ROI (Year 2): 2.7:1

Optimistic (20% adoption at $10/user):

Users: 10,000 × 20% = 2,000 users
Revenue: 2,000 × $10 = $20,000 MRR = $240,000 ARR
Net Profit: $240,000 - $10,200 = $229,800/year
Year 1 Profit: $229,800 - $100,000 = $129,800
Payback: 5 months
ROI (Year 2): 3.3:1

Recommendation on Pricing

$10/user is better IF:

• Adoption stays >15% (survey data shows 30% would pay $5-10, so likely yes)
• Higher ARPU, same/similar adoption = better unit economics
• Faster payback (5-7 months vs. 11 months)

Test Approach:

1. Launch beta at $10/user with 50 customers
2. If adoption >15%, keep $10/user
3. If adoption <10%, drop to $7/user or $5/user

My recommendation: Start at $10/user. Easier to lower price than raise it later."

User: "Perfect. I'm convinced. Let's build time tracking at $10/user."

Agent: "Excellent decision! Here's a summary you can share with stakeholders:

Feature Investment Decision: Time Tracking Add-On

Decision: ✅ Build now (Q1 priority)

Pricing: $10/user/month (test in beta, adjust if needed)

Target: 15-20% adoption (1,500-2,000 users)

Financial Projections:

• Year 1 Revenue: $180-240K ARR
• Year 1 Net Profit: $70-130K (after $100K dev cost)
• Payback: 5-7 months
• Year 2 ROI: 2.7-3.3:1

Next Steps:

1. Kickoff: Week 1 (2 engineers, 3 months)
2. Beta launch: Week 10 (50-100 customers, validate $10/user pricing)
3. Broad launch: Week 12 (if beta adoption >15%)
4. Monitor: Track adoption weekly, support load, MRR growth

Success Criteria:

• Adoption >15% within 3 months of launch
• Support <30 tickets/month
• $15K+ MRR within 6 months

Good luck with the build! 🚀

Want me to create a feature brief or PRD template for this?"

User: "No, that's all I needed. Thanks!"

Agent: "You're welcome! Good luck building time tracking. Feel free to come back if you need to evaluate other features."