Balanced Boost: The Subscription Distribution Formula

The Balanced Boost is WikiDeal's core financial formula. It determines how subscription revenue is divided between Cash Rewards (paid to early supporters) and Miles Credits (contributed to the ecosystem) based on WikiDeal's financial health at any moment.

The Core Principle

WikiDeal must maintain a minimum operational budget of CHF 25,000 per month to cover:

Project management and coordination
Governance and voting infrastructure
Annual community events and sessions
Administrative overhead

The Balanced Boost formula automatically adjusts the cash-to-miles ratio to ensure this minimum is always met, while maximizing the flow of value back to the community.

The Formula

Balanced Boost Distribution:

IF Monthly Subscription Revenue ≥ CHF 25,000:
  • Cash Rewards: Variable (remaining after minimum)
  • Miles Credits: Balance (prioritized)

IF Monthly Subscription Revenue < CHF 25,000:
  • Cash Rewards: Priority (to meet minimum)
  • Miles Credits: Remainder only

How It Works: Two Scenarios

Scenario	Monthly Subscription Revenue	Cash to Early Supporters	Miles to Ecosystem	Decision
Growing (Healthy)	CHF 100,000+	~25% (CHF 25,000)	~75% (CHF 75,000+)	Generous reward ratio; ecosystem gets most
Bootstrapping (Lean)	CHF 25,000–50,000	~50% (CHF 12,500–25,000)	~50% (CHF 12,500–25,000)	Balanced; operational needs met
Critical (Survival)	<CHF 25,000	~100% (all available)	0% (deferred)	All funds to minimum operational budget

Why "Balanced"?

The formula is called "Balanced" because it:

Protects early supporters: They're guaranteed a minimum return if subscription revenue meets targets
Protects the ecosystem: As revenue grows, Miles flow increases exponentially, not linearly
Protects operations: The CHF 25,000/month minimum ensures governance and events never suffer
Creates incentives: Growing user adoption benefits everyone—no one benefits from stagnation

Examples

Example 1: Early Growth (10K Users)

Monthly subscription revenue: CHF 100,000 (10,000 users × CHF 10/year ÷ 12)

Distribution:

Operational minimum: CHF 25,000
Cash rewards (25%): CHF 25,000
Miles credits (remaining): CHF 50,000

Early supporters receive their share; ecosystem gets most.

Example 2: Bootstrapping (2K Users)

Monthly subscription revenue: CHF 16,667 (2,000 users × CHF 10/year ÷ 12)

Distribution:

Operational minimum: CHF 16,667 (all available)
Cash rewards: CHF 8,334 (50% of total)
Miles credits: CHF 8,334 (50% of total, still contributes)

No surplus; everything goes to operations and core rewards.

Example 3: Momentum (50K Users)

Monthly subscription revenue: CHF 416,667 (50,000 users × CHF 10/year ÷ 12)

Distribution:

Operational minimum: CHF 25,000
Cash rewards (25%): CHF 104,167
Miles credits (remaining): CHF 287,500

Explosive ecosystem growth; early supporters well-rewarded; operations fully funded.

The CHF 25,000/Month Minimum

This budget covers:

Project Coordination (50%)

CHF 12,500/month

Leadership, planning, stakeholder engagement

Governance & Events (30%)

CHF 7,500/month

Voting infrastructure, annual conference, monthly sessions

Administration & Operations (20%)

CHF 5,000/month

Legal, accounting, facilities, misc.

This is not fixed forever. As WikiDeal scales, operational costs may increase (more events, larger team, etc.). The formula will adjust accordingly, but the principle remains: operational health comes first, ecosystem growth second.

Miles vs. Cash: The Trade-Off

In early, bootstrapping phases, there's an important trade-off:

⚠️ When revenue is tight: More cash goes to operations, fewer Miles flow to the community. This is intentional. It's better to have a stable, well-run ecosystem with slower Miles growth than an underfunded one that collapses.

However, as WikiDeal grows, Miles accelerate exponentially because the operational minimum becomes a tiny fraction of total revenue.

Transparency & Auditing

WikiDeal commits to monthly public reporting of:

Total subscription revenue
Cash and Miles distributions (absolute and percentage)
Operational spending against the CHF 25,000 budget
Cumulative totals toward the CHF 500M break-even target

Early adopters will have real-time visibility into how their subscription money flows through the system.

The Long-Term Vision

Balanced Boost is designed to be self-liquidating. As subscription revenue grows and early supporters' initial contribution is repaid (via the 25% allocation in the four-lot model), their need for cash rewards diminishes. Eventually, nearly 100% of subscription revenue can flow to ecosystem Miles and community projects.

This creates a natural evolution:

Years 1–3: Balanced (cash ↔ miles)
Years 3–5: Miles-heavy (70–80% Miles)
Years 5+: Ecosystem-first (90%+ Miles)

WikiDeal transforms from a startup (needing to repay founders) to a commons (where value flows to participants).