3 builders who never spoke to each other

Push the prepaid year and take the cash now

A prepaid year reduces what the customer pays over twelve months and hands you the money today, which can be put straight back into acquisition. Open the option on every tier rather than the expensive one only, and express the incentive as extra time rather than money off. If almost nobody takes it, deepen the discount or pitch it properly rather than concluding there is no appetite, and point trials at the annual plan so the trial ends in a year long commitment.

The method

1. 01

   Push prepaid yearly plans even though they reduce what a customer pays over a year, because the cash arrives now and can be put back into the business; if almost nobody takes the annual option, deepen the discount or send a proper year-end pitch.

2. 02

   Front load customer funding with annual plans, lifetime deals and paid custom features built for a specific customer, while monthly subscriptions carry the bulk of the revenue.

3. 03

   Open prepayment to every tier rather than only the expensive one, and express the incentive as extra time instead of money off.

4. 04

   Point the free trial at the yearly plan rather than the monthly one, so the trial ends in an annual commitment.

5. 05

   Show the annual plan as its monthly equivalent so the cheaper long commitment reads as the smaller number next to the monthly price.

What it returned

• 3

  Indy Hall accepted 3 and 6 month prepayments at all membership levels and threw in a free seventh month on the 6 month option, working towards $60,000 of cash needed for the expansion.

• $99

  Zach Yadegari's app tied trials to a $99 annual plan.

• $8.33

  The yearly plan displayed as $8.33 a month against a $9.99 monthly option.

• Promoter offered prepaid annual terms on every plan and they contributed almost nothing to recurring revenue; the author credits annual plans with once covering his own rent and points to Patrick McKenzie's end-of-year email as the pitch to copy

Sources

• Not a Joke: Indy Hall v3.0 - The Future of Indy HallAlex Hillman · dangerouslyawesome.com · Financing · 2012-04-01
• Calm Business Misconceptions – The Bootstrapped FounderArvid Kahl · thebootstrappedfounder.com · Myth 3: Early Revenue Hinders Growth · 2022-11-03
• 💰 How Did This 17-Year Old Build a $1.12M/Year AI App? - Trends.vcZach Yadegari · trends.vc · 🎧 Listen To · 2025-04-01
• Digging in to the Open Startups List - Tyler TringasTyler Tringas · tylertringas.com · MRR contribution by plans, Number of plans and price discrimination · 2015-04-24