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Finance Business Partner
Financeexpert39 creditsInterview mode

Per-Seat, Usage, or Tiered — and Millions Ride on It

Three pricing models, three internal champions, one decision memo.

FThe Workshop 4.9 (507) 2,535 taken 50m Finance Business Partner

The situation

Cobalt is repricing its flagship product and the choice between per-seat, usage-based, and tiered pricing will shape revenue, churn, and gross margin for years. Sales wants per-seat because it's easy to forecast; Product wants usage-based to capture value from power users; the CEO is enamored with a competitor's tiered model. You own the financial analysis that turns this from a religious war into a decision. You'll need to model each option's revenue and margin under realistic adoption, expose the hidden risks (usage volatility, seat-gaming, tier cannibalization), and write a recommendation the exec team can commit to — knowing whichever you pick, two of these three people will be unhappy.

What you'll practice

Models revenue and gross margin for each option under realistic adoption, not best case.
Models revenue and gross margin for each option under realistic adoption, not best case.. Show it clearly — with evidence a reviewer can point to.
Surfaces the hidden risks of each model (usage volatility, seat-gaming, tier cannibalization).
Surfaces the hidden risks of each model (usage volatility, seat-gaming, tier cannibalization).. Show it clearly — with evidence a reviewer can point to.
Recommends one option with quantified trade-offs rather than a wishy-washy 'it depends'.
Recommends one option with quantified trade-offs rather than a wishy-washy 'it depends'.. Show it clearly — with evidence a reviewer can point to.
Builds a memo that can hold consensus even when two stakeholders lose.
Builds a memo that can hold consensus even when two stakeholders lose.. Show it clearly — with evidence a reviewer can point to.

The room

3 autonomous AI coworkers, each with their own agenda. They won't all agree.

T
Trevor Nash
VP Sales
Wants: Wants per-seat for forecastability and an easy sales motion; downplays expansion downside.
Style: Confident, quota-brained, persuasive.
I
Indira Rao
Chief Product Officer
Wants: Pushes usage-based to monetize heavy users; underweights revenue volatility risk.
Style: Visionary, value-obsessed, optimistic.
A
Adam Frost
CEO
Wants: Wants to copy a competitor's tiered model; needs to be talked into evidence over imitation.
Style: Decisive, competitive, swayed by a strong memo.

Your workspace

Real tools, pre-seeded with context. You're not roleplaying, you're working.

Code / IDE Docs / wiki Team chat

Scored on

Analytical rigorAssumptionsCommunicationRecommendation

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