# Unit economics and product model

## Meter every video

`video_cost = script_cost + voice_cost + avatar_cost + assembly_cost + storage_cost + retry_allowance`

Never price from one provider's marketing-plan headline. Record actual provider usage per campaign and calculate a rolling p50 and p95 unit cost.

## Initial commercial packaging

Use a setup fee plus a monthly production allowance rather than “unlimited” generation:

- Starter: one brand kit, a small licensed template library, approval workflow, and limited monthly renders.
- Growth: more templates, batch generation, campaign metadata, variations, and QA scoring.
- Agency: multiple brands, role-based access, separate cost centers, approval chains, and export integrations.

Target gross margin only after measuring three real provider-connected batches. A safe internal rule is to pause new renders when estimated cost exceeds the campaign budget or when provider usage cannot be measured.

## Product moat

The defensible asset is not access to an avatar API. It is the repeatable operating system: strong brief templates, quality-scored scripts, licensed asset registry, brand templates, approval history, provider failover, cost data, delivery integrations, and a growing library of performance-tested creative patterns.