Equilibria · Tipsy Sampler · for the CEO

The Forward Picture

Where the program lands by its Nov 30 stop — projected from what customers have already proven they do, not from assumptions.

Sep – Nov 2026
net of tax · a floor
CPA band $10 – $15
01

The projection stands on proof

Everything below is one number multiplied by cohort size: what a single sampler is already proven to be worth. Rebuilt from Equilibria's live Shopify + Meta on the matured March / April / June cohorts — real bills, net of tax, no modelling.

$12.20
contribution at the first auto-bill — stable across 3 cohorts
$23.07
lifetime contribution per customer, over ~9 months
48.4%
activate to a paid subscription by day 28
3.03×
contribution ROAS on the matured cohorts
02

Revenue climbs because cohorts stack

Base case — 2,500 new samplers a month at $10 CPA. Each month is carried by the cohort acquired the month before, hitting its first bill. As more cohorts pile up, the maturing tail thickens and the total keeps rising.

$15.0k
$39.9k first bills
SEPTEMBER
$61.7k
+$11.1k net
$15.0k
$39.5k first bills
$16.8k tail
OCTOBER
$71.3k
+$18.5k net
$15.0k
$39.5k first bills
$22.8k tail
NOVEMBER
$77.2k
+$23.1k net
First bills — last month's cohort (the engine, ~$39.5k)
Maturing tail — all older cohorts still paying
Just acquired — this month's samplers (mostly shipping)

The engine: every month ≈ the prior cohort × its first bill. A 2,500 cohort × ~$16 = ~$39.5k, arriving like clockwork 28 days later. A year ago a cohort was ~200 customers; today it is 2,500 — that is why the ramp is real.

03

Contribution by month — and who pays it

Each month's contribution, with the cohort makeup underneath. Same engine: the cohort acquired last month is 60–85% of this month's number as its first bills land; older cohorts are a thinning tail. The highlighted diagonal is that first bill moving forward one month at a time. December is the peak — November's cohort bills after the Nov 30 stop.

CohortAugSepOctNovDec
Month total $14.1k $36.1k $43.5k $48.1k $51.2k
Older (Feb–Jun) 16%$2.3k 4%$1.6k 3%$1.2k 2%$0.8k 1%$0.6k
July 84%$11.8k 10%$3.7k 5%$2.2k 3%$1.5k 2%$1.1k
August 85%$30.9k 22%$9.6k 12%$5.8k 7%$3.8k
September 70%$30.5k 20%$9.5k 11%$5.8k
October 63%$30.5k 19%$9.5k
November 60%$30.5k

Read a column top-down: the total, then who paid it. Base case — 2,500/mo at $10 CPA; no December cohort (acquisition stops Nov 30).

04

The Nov 30 decision: how hard to push at $10–$15 CPA

The program stops acquiring at Nov 30. Every customer bought at ≤$15 returns $23.07 over their life — so the last three months are the final chance to lock subscribers in. All three paths are profitable; they differ in how much you buy before the door closes.

CPA path (Sep–Nov) New customers Ad spend Lifetime contribution Profit / customer Total profit
Hold $102,550 / mo 7,647$76,470 $176,416+$13.07+$99.9k
Step $10 → $12 → $15ramp confidence 9,432$119,558 $217,596+$10.39+$98.0k
Push $15max volumequality-check first 11,472$172,080 $264,659+$8.07+$92.6k
Whole program · banked by Nov 30
Hold $10$167k
Step to $15$173k
Push $15$203k
Locked in · lands Dec – summer '27
Hold $10$287k
Step to $15$329k
Push $15$376k

Push to $15 to maximize scale; step into it to protect profit. Pushing to $15 buys the most customers (11,472) and locks in the most contribution ($376k) before the stop — but because each customer is worth $23, the extra spend is thinner, so total profit dips slightly (~$93k vs ~$100k at $10). Every path is strongly profitable. The case for $15 is owning the most subscribers before the door closes, not more profit per dollar — so re-check day-28 activation before committing November.

05

What you are actually building

$235k → $323k

of lifetime contribution from the four scaled cohorts (Aug–Nov) — depending on how hard you push. Most of it lands after the Nov 30 stop.

  • ~10,200–14,000 customers acquired in four months — versus ~200/month a year ago.
  • Today's blended 2.11× hides all of this: 70% of spend hasn't been billed once yet.
  • The one free lift: a day-20–28 save flow before the first charge adds ~$1.80/customer and raises the ceiling to ~$25 CPA.