course-business-model-stack

name	course-business-model-stack
description	Use when modeling course business holistically. Stack = layers of revenue streams.

Course Business Model Stack

Course business stack: free content (top) → course (middle) → premium tiers (high). Multiple revenue streams stack.

Revenue stream layers

Bottom (free):

• Blog, YouTube, podcast
• Lead gen, audience building

Middle (course):

• $99-297 main course
• Mid-tier flexible products

Upper-middle (cohort):

• $497-997 cohort
• Premium community + access

Top (mastermind):

• $4,900+ elite
• Premium 1:1 + small group

Each layer feeds next.

Per-layer economics

Free: $0 direct revenue, audience builds Course: $99/customer × 1,000 customers = $99K Cohort: $497/customer × 200 customers = $99K Mastermind: $4,900/customer × 20 customers = $98K

Total annual: $300K from 3 paid tiers. Free layer not direct revenue but enables 3 paid layers.

Building the stack

1. Start with free (build audience)
2. Add course (validate paid)
3. Add cohort (deepen value)
4. Add mastermind (premium)
5. Add adjacent products (cross-sell)
6. Eventually: enterprise / B2B tier

Layered over 3-5 years.

Where this fits in the X3 empire

Business model architecture for CardPrepAI Academy long-term.