AE Cohort Planning v2

AE Cohort Plan v1.2 · Team Walkthrough · June 15 Start

ARTIST EVOLVE · INTERNAL · TEAM WALKTHROUGH · v1.2

What changed since v1 + v1.2 refinements
The single question
Cohort shape
The Buzz Factory ladder
Gating philosophy
Feature-to-level map
The 6-cell matrix + analytic unit
The yes-ship rubric
The 8-week phase framework
Call cadence
Recruitment + intake
L1 onboarding + kickoff
Mid-cohort rules
At-risk + inactive policy
Post-cohort plan (contingent)
May 14 → June 15 critical path
Team & ownership
Tech work — high level
Decisions to confirm

00 · The First 30

An 8-week proof loop running June 15 → August 9, 2026.

We test whether the Buzz Factory loop reliably moves artists through career-stage levels — and whether visible feature gating creates the focus that helps them get there faster.


Cohort window	June 15 → August 9, 2026
Decision gate	mid-to-late August 2026
Document version	v1.2 · 2026-05-14

1. What Changed

v1.1 reflected the 2026-05-13 Jacob session + 2-week timeline shift. v1.2 (this version) reflects the 2026-05-14 Rajib session — operational refinements on intake mechanics, L1, payments, support, and team load.

Area	Change
Intake	No public application. Only pre-qualified candidates get invited; non-L2/L3/L4 candidates simply aren’t reached out to. Removes the “above-L4 observer” and “below-L2 declined” framings from v1.1. Cohort = hardcoded users in the database, admin-marked.
L1 grad	L1 graduation criteria cleaned up. “1 post via connected account” removed. L1 grad now = questionnaire + brand pillars + ideal-fan + connected-account setup. No posting requirement.
L1 prep	L1 onboarding (June 8–14) is off-app. Brand / story / aesthetic reflection happens via Cohort Lounge prompts, not in-app. Artists enter the app fresh on June 15 with levels already assigned. Avoids the confusion of in-app activity before level assignment is wired in.
Outreach	Outreach starts week of May 18 (not June 1). Pre-qualified candidate list of ~60 is already loaded in HubSpot; Jacob runs the level script, then John + Eliana (+ possibly Jacob) start invites next week.
Levels	Manual level assignment by team prior to June 15, based on HubSpot 90-day scrape data. Not auto-computed at intake. Will surface edge cases as we go.
Landing page	No public landing page — access link distributed privately via Whop to confirmed candidates. Cohort is invite-only.
Outreach team	Ashish off outreach roster. Stays focused on social media. Outreach distribution: John + Eliana (+ possibly Jacob).
Tech support	Cohort tech support channel added (separate from cohort programming support). Rajib looped in.
Payments	Payment-failure retry + pause logic. If next month’s payment fails, retry in a week. If it fails again, account paused with upgrade screen. Stripe refund commission factored — net refunds, not flat $20.
Alumni	Account-migration policy for lifetime alumni: if a user loses access to their original email/account, admin-request handles migration to a new account with same alumni status preserved.
Future pricing	$30 standard / $50 premium confirmed as post-cohort tier structure. Token-based usage model on roadmap (Claude-style “buy extra usage” once base limit hit). Alumni at $20/mo sits below the standard tier.
Kickoff	Rajib joining kickoff Zoom June 15 6 PM ET.
Smart Calendar	Smart Calendar classed as “nice to have” for cohort, not a blocker. Needs load testing — multiple fixes already shipped but reliability still a concern. Functional bar over UI polish for cohort window.

v1.0 → v1.1 Changes · 2026-05-13 (Jacob session + timeline shift)

Area	Change
Timeline	Cohort start moved to Mon June 15 (was June 1). All downstream dates pushed +2 weeks. Decision gate moved to mid-to-late August. Extra runway buys proper alpha testing of the cohort flow.
Drops	Inactive artists stay in. No drops for inactivity. After multiple nudges with no response, we stop nudging — but the artist remains in the cohort.
Normalization	Everyone starts at zero in their assigned level. Fresh slate. Exception: ~20% rule bumps near-graduation artists up.
L3 grad	L3 graduation hardened to 15 posts (was 10–15 range).
Stratification	Genre stratification dropped. Electronic-artist as the only filter.
Alumni	Alumni offer revised to $20/mo lifetime (was $30/mo).
Ownership	John + Jacob own cohort day-to-day. Henry stays focused on coding.
Reporting	Reporting cadence shifts to start of Week 5 (was end of Week 4).
Tech scope	L5 needs UI built. Current Buzz Factory UI only goes through L4.

2. The Single Question

“Can Artist Evolve reliably help artists post consistently enough to create meaningful retention?”

We’ve stacked two decisions on top of that question.

Decision 1 · binary — Scale or refactor? Does the loop reliably produce Buzz Factory level growth? If yes → ramp shipping the app more broadly. If no → refactor before scaling.

Decision 2 · multi-option — Open vs gated — which ships? Does visible feature gating (focus on level-appropriate actions) drive faster growth than open access (full app from day one)?

The headline metric the team will read in mid-to-late August: average Buzz Factory levels crossed per cohort cell. Inactive rate as side metric.

3. Cohort Shape

Metric	Value
New artists (target)	30
Cells	6 · 3 levels × 2 arms
Artists per cell	~5

The Matrix

	Open arm	Gated arm
L2	~5 artists	~5 artists
L3	~5 artists	~5 artists
L4	~5 artists	~5 artists

How Candidates Get In (v1.2 · invite-only)

No public application. Team pre-qualifies ~60+ candidates via HubSpot + Chartmetric, runs the level script against their 90-day social activity, then sends invites only to artists landing at L2/L3/L4. Artists outside that range are simply not contacted — no “decline” step. Cohort = hardcoded users in the database, admin-marked.

Tagging Exception

Existing alpha testers — can participate in the cohort experience but tagged separately so their data is NOT in the decision read. Too warm to be a clean signal.

4. The Buzz Factory Ladder

Level	Theme	Graduation Criteria (cumulative)
L1	Set Intentions & Get Rolling	Questionnaire · brand pillars · ideal-fan · connected-account setup (v1.2 · no post requirement)
L2	Kick-Start Content	5 qualifying posts
L3	Develop Content Systems	15 qualifying posts (v1.1 · hard 15)
L4	First Release	30 qualifying posts + 1 track released
L5	Build Momentum	50 posts + 3 tracks ⚠️ UI build needed — Buzz Factory currently surfaces only to L4
L6	Expand Markets & Team	3+ new markets · functional micro-team documented

Why the 8-Week Cohort Window Is the Right Test

L2 and L3 graduation criteria are written in 8 weeks — the exact cohort length. The cohort window aligns with the system’s own design pace. L4→L5 is reachable in 8 weeks (counts compound: an L4 starter needs +20 posts and +2 tracks).

Placement Rule (v1.2 · manual assignment)

Prior 90-day connected-account activity (HubSpot + Chartmetric scrape) → team manually assigns each artist to L2, L3, or L4 before June 15. Not auto-computed at intake. Everyone starts at zero in their assigned level — fresh slate, blank grid. Exception: artists within ~20% of the next level get bumped up at intake.

L5 / L6 / L7 Status

L5 — confirmed present in the product (Rajib is at L5 in current data). Graduation criteria 50 posts + 3 tracks holds. UI for the L5 view needs to be built; current Buzz Factory UI surfaces only to L4.
L6 — expanding-markets framing confirmed but criteria still need final spec (Rajib + Jacob, by May 29).
L7 — still “??”. Either spec or formally defer. Emergency-meeting protocol if anyone reaches L5+ during cohort.

5. Gating Philosophy

“Locks bring focus to the core actions that matter at each level. L2 artists shouldn’t be worried about analytics — they should be working on reps.”

Open arm — Full app access from day one All features available regardless of level. Artist self-selects what to engage with. Tests: does breadth of access drive growth?

Gated arm — Level-appropriate features only Higher-tier features visible but locked, with copy framed as “focus on X first.” Tests: does feature restriction drive focus drive growth?

Universal Across Both Arms

BF level progression UI — every artist sees their own level + progress to next
L1 onboarding (questionnaire, brand pillars, ideal-fan, connected accounts, first post)
Coaching, community, Whop access, weekly calls — gating is product UX only, never human support

6. Feature-to-Level Map · v0

Level Unlocks	Features Available at This Level and Below
L1	Onboarding questionnaire · brand pillars · ideal-fan profile · connected-account setup
L2	+ Idea Center · post creation / scheduling · Smart Calendar · the basic loop
L3	+ In-app analytics · brief generation · richer loop
L4	+ Release Hub / track-release tools · Arti deeper modes
L5	+ Growth / amplification tools · top-performing-content views
L6	+ Market expansion · team docs · enterprise-style views

⚠️ Spot-check needed by May 30 — Each locked feature should be confirmed as a genuine distraction for the level it’s locked from. Jacob (product reality) + Rajib (technical feasibility) review and sign off before build commits.

7. The 6-Cell Matrix · Analytic Unit

Per Artist Growth Score

Levels crossed (full level transitions during cohort window) + fractional progress (% toward next crossing). Example: L2 starter who hit L3 and is 80% to L4 = 1.8.

Per Cell

Average growth score across artists in the cell. Plus inactive rate as a side metric (counts artists who went non-responsive during cohort — they remain in the cohort but their data is segmented).

Within-Level Normalization (v1.1 clarified)

Every artist starts at zero in their assigned level on June 15. A near-L3 starter (14 posts in prior 90 days) and a fresh L2 starter (5 posts in prior 90 days) both begin with a clean grid. They’re measured identically — fill the grid, hit the next level. Exception: if intake activity places someone within ~20% of the next level, we bump them up to that level at intake.

Data Layer Needs to Support Both Views

Lifetime cumulative — official BF level outside the cohort
Cohort-window delta — fresh counter from level entry, scoring the cohort

8. The Yes-Ship Rubric

Read 1 — Scale or Refactor (reads open arm)

Open Arm Avg	Decision
≥ 1.0 across cells · no cell at 0	✅ Scale — ramp shipping broadly
0.7–0.99 · L2/L3 strong · L4 weak	Conditional scale — ship to L2/L3 personas; hold L4 features. Diagnose the specific L4 component lagging.
< 0.7 · or any cell at 0	⚠️ Refactor — diagnose the loop / persona / onboarding before scaling

Read 2 — Gated, Open, or Both (reads delta within each level)

Pattern	Decision
Gated > open by ≥0.3 in ≥2 cells	Ship gated
Open > gated by ≥0.3 in ≥2 cells	Ship open
Mixed by level	Look at the gated feature at each level — is what’s locked holding back loop completion at that level? Make a granular call per level.
All deltas < 0.3 within levels	Average across all A vs all B. If avg delta > 0.3, that’s the call. Otherwise inconclusive · default to open.

At N≈5/cell, this is a qualitative read with quantitative inputs — not a statistical test. We commit to that framing inside the team before August.

9. The 8-Week Phase Framework

Phase	Weeks	Focus	Outcome
Foundation + Activation	0–1 · Jun 15–21	Brand · story · goals · app onboarding · format discovery starts late Wk 1 so Wk 2 hits the ground running	Artist has clarity + starts publishing
Cadence	2–3 · Jun 22 – Jul 5	Posting · gathering specific content ideas · shooting them · publishing them. Loop fluency.	Posting becomes habitual
Optimization	4–5 · Jul 6–19	Reporting protocol at start of Week 5 — artists look at outliers, what posts worked, what didn’t. L2/L3 return to posting focus; L4 shifts to release alignment.	Artist learns what’s working
Stretch (L2/L3) · Expansion (L4)	6–7 · Jul 20 – Aug 2	Push to next level. L4: releases, shows, community, content connected to release plan.	Artist connects content to real career moments
Continuation	8 · Aug 3–9	Roadmap · next system · case study capture · projects saved in app to keep moving	Artist leaves with a repeatable plan

10. Call Cadence

Week	Synchronous	Format
1	Mon Jun 15 · Kickoff Zoom 6 PM ET · 90 min	All-cohort
1	Wed Jun 17 · First Reps call · 60 min	All-cohort
2–4	L2 Tue · L3 Wed · L4 Thu · 45 min each	Level-grouped
5	Mon Jul 13 · Mid-cohort reporting · everyone back together	All-cohort
6–7	L2 Tue · L3 Wed · L4 Thu	Level-grouped
8	Aug 3–9 · Graduation call	All-cohort

Async Cadence in Cohort Lounge (Whop)

Mon — week prompt
Wed — pre-call thread
Fri — reflection / wins

Cohort Lounge is already activated in Whop. Cohort-housed, but independent of Whop XP/gamification — this is a dedicated cohort space.

11. Recruitment + Intake

“First 30 Artists. 8 weeks. Build your content system, sharpen your brand, release with momentum.”

Commitment

$30 entry fee · “we’re asking $30 to cover AI costs — for a service we’ve been charging $300-500/mo elsewhere”
Complete L1 onboarding by June 14 (questionnaire · brand pillars · ideal-fan · connected accounts · first post)
Participate in weekly Whop call
Attempt to hit their next-level criteria

Channels (v1.2 · invite-only)

~60+ candidates already loaded in HubSpot with cohort tags. Jacob runs the level script against their 90-day social activity, then team manually assigns levels (L2/L3/L4)
Outreach starts week of May 18 (earlier than v1.1) — invites only to artists landing at L2/L3/L4 after the level pass
Continuing to add candidates via Chartmetric graph traversal — target a pool of ~100 to cleanly arrive at 30 confirmed
No public application, no public landing page. Access link distributed privately via Whop to confirmed candidates

Outreach Roster

Distributed across John, Eliana (+ possibly Jacob if his queue permits). Ashish stays focused on social media — not on cohort outreach.

Assignment to Arms (v1.1 simplified)

Stratified-matched within each level on audience size band + Chartmetric cadence trajectory. Genre filter is “electronic artist” only — no sub-genre matching at N=30. Assigned internally before June 15. Transparent A/B — disclosed at kickoff.

12. L1 Onboarding + Kickoff

L1 Window (June 8–14) (v1.2 · off-app)

Drip-fed via Cohort Lounge (Whop) — daily reflection prompts on story · brand · aesthetic · goals. Off-app intentionally — artists do this thinking before they enter the product.
Optional check-in Wed June 10 (Jacob hosts)
Why off-app: level assignment isn’t visible in-app until June 15, and an artist entering early without their level shown would be confused. Front-loading brand work in Whop means they enter the app on June 15 already primed for content creation.
Soft entry signal — if L1 not complete by June 14, artist still starts June 15 but flagged at-risk and prioritized for week-1 outreach. No drop trigger for L1 incompletion · see slide 14.

Kickoff · Mon Jun 15 · 6 PM ET · 90 min

Welcome + framing the 8 weeks
Buzz Factory walk-through — what the system is · each artist sees their assigned starting level · level-specific goals communicated (“L2 people, your first goal is 5 posts; L3 people, you’re at 15; L4 people, content systems + a release”)
Transparent A/B disclosure — “we’re learning what helps artists grow most — focus, or full access”
Team intros · Whop community space tour · weekly cadence preview
Live Q&A
Recorded for asynchronous catch-up
Attendees from team: John (hosts), Jacob (co-host), Rajib (joining)

13. Mid-Cohort Intervention Rules

Bug Fixes

Fix as fast as possible. Arm-symmetry not enforced. Every fix documented in the cohort-window changelog.

New Features

Hard freeze. Ideas surfaced during cohort get RICE-scored and routed to the Product Development backlog for post-cohort.

Feature-to-Level Mapping

Locked through cohort window. Only refactor if the signal is unmistakable and site-wide — e.g., all L3 people stuck for an outlier reason. Natural reflection point: end of Wk 4 / start of Wk 5 reporting moment.

Proactive Support

Universal weekly touch — every artist gets a touch each week (Lounge comment or DM, brief and warm). At-risk outreach layered on top.

Changelog ownership · Rajib. Reviewed twice weekly by John, Jacob, Henry, Umesh (Mon + Fri team meetings).

Cohort tech support channel. Separate channel from cohort programming support — handles bug reports, feature-locked-but-shouldn’t-be requests, and account / payment issues. Rajib looped in. Routes blockers to Jira via the existing decision tree.

14. At-Risk + Inactive Policy

v1.1 policy shift · we don’t drop inactive artists. Inactivity is data. A paying subscriber who doesn’t engage is itself a finding — and a real future-state of the product post-launch. We nudge a few times. If they stay non-responsive, we stop nudging. They remain in the cohort.

At-Risk Triggers

Week	Trigger	Action
1	L1 incomplete by June 14 · or <2 posts via app by end Wk 1	Outreach Mon Wk 2
2–3	7-day no-activity	Outreach
4–6	5-day no-activity	Outreach
7–8	3-day no-activity	Outreach

Outreach Playbook

First touch: DM via Whop or email · from recruiter team member · caring + curious tone
Offer 15-min troubleshoot if needed
Logged in HubSpot outreach tracker
Second touch (different team member) after 3 days no response
After ~3 nudges total with no response: back off · stop nudging. Tag as inactive. They stay in the cohort.

Removal Criteria (the Only Ways Out)

Explicit quit / refund request → fully removed from data
Refund-only request without quitting → remain in cohort but no further charge
Otherwise: stay in. Inactive rate is reported as a side metric per cell.

Payment + Refund Operational Notes (v1.2)

Payment failure (month 2 of cohort): retry in 1 week. If retry fails, account paused with upgrade screen until resolved.
Stripe refund commission: refunds processed net of Stripe’s ~3% commission — not flat $20. Manual via Stripe dashboard when a refund is requested.
Intentional non-payment at month 2 (artist actively chose not to pay): excludes them from alumni offer eligibility at cohort end.

15. Post-Cohort Plan · Contingent

Trigger: open arm hits the scale threshold from Read 1 of the rubric (avg ≥ 1.0 across cells, no cell at 0).

Alumni Offer (if triggered) (v1.1 · $20/mo)

$20 / month for life · unlimited app access — under the $30 standard tier (premium tier is $50/mo). Alumni keep a real price advantage forever.
Free VIP Whop access for life
Permanent “First 30 Alumni” channel in Whop
Optional mentor role for future cohorts — top performers who want to champion the brand

Future Tier Structure (v1.2 confirmed)

$30/mo standard · $50/mo premium (higher usage cap) as the post-cohort tier structure
Token-based usage model on the roadmap — Claude-style “buy extra usage” once base limit hit. Implemented before the next paid-user wave so AI cost doesn’t disrupt the experience
Alumni $20/mo sits below the $30 standard tier — explicit price-discount as alumni benefit

Alumni Account-Migration Policy (v1.2)

If a lifetime alumni loses access to their original email account (account suspended, email migration, etc.), admin-request flow handles migrating alumni status to a new account with the same user data preserved. Treated as same user, not flagged for the lifetime tier. Operational handling via admin panel, no automated migration.

Case Study Capture

Case-by-case based on each artist’s outcomes + relationship strength. Consent captured at intake. Public release Sep–Oct feeds CAS Plan paid acquisition content.

Conversion Math

Cohort produces ~25–30 day-1 alumni paid users at $20/mo (if triggered), feeding the EOY 500 paid Phase 1 target.

16. Critical Path · May 14 → June 15

v1.2 update: outreach launches the week of May 18 (not June 1) — candidate pool is already at ~60 in HubSpot. The team uses the gained 2 weeks to invite earlier, take confirmations, and lock everything in by end of May so June 1–14 is dedicated to final tech validation + off-app L1 onboarding.

Week of May 14–17 · Final Prep Before Outreach

Candidate pool already at ~60+ in HubSpot with cohort tags · John ongoing
Jacob runs the level script against 90-day social activity · manually assigns L2/L3/L4 per candidate · Jacob
Outreach copy drafted · John
Tech sprint continues: BF data layer · L5 UI · gating UI · Smart Calendar load testing · admin views

Week of May 18–24 · Outreach Launches (v1.2 · earlier)

Invites go out to L2/L3/L4 candidates · John + Eliana (+ Jacob if queue permits)
Outreach tracker live in HubSpot · Eliana
No public landing page · access link distributed privately via Whop to confirmed candidates
Continuing to widen the pool via Chartmetric graph traversal · target ~100 candidates to net 30 confirmed

Week of May 25–31 · Confirmations + Builds

$30 Stripe checkout flow live · Anais + Rajib · Sat May 30
L5 ladder duplication resolved + L7 spec drafted or formally deferred · Rajib + Jacob · Fri May 29
Feature-to-level mapping spot-check under focus reframe · Jacob + Rajib · Fri May 30
Confirmations rolling in · payment flow E2E tested · Rajib + Anais

Week of June 1–7 · Final Build + Acceptances Close

Final acceptances close · target Mon June 8
Cohort Lounge welcome post + L1 off-app task templates · Anais + Eliana · Wed June 3
All builds in prod by end of week · Rajib sign-off · Sat June 6
Cohort tech support channel set up in Whop · Rajib + Eliana

Week of June 8–14 · Off-App L1 Prep + Final Arm Assignment

Stratified-matched arm assignment (audience band · Chartmetric cadence) · John · Tue June 9 · admin marks the 30 cohort users in the database
L1 off-app drip begins in Cohort Lounge (brand · story · aesthetic prompts) · Anais + Eliana · Tue June 9 → Sat June 13
Kickoff Zoom rehearsal · Thu June 11 or Fri June 12

Mon June 15 · 6 PM ET · Kickoff Zoom. Cohort live.

17. Team & Ownership

Person	Cohort Role
John	Strategy · kickoff host · arm assignment · escalation authority · decision rubric owner · outreach lead · cohort day-to-day with Jacob
Jacob	Product / alpha tester support · level-script execution · candidate research · feature-mapping check · L1 prep prompts · cohort day-to-day with John
Rajib	Tech lead · BF data layer · L5 UI · gating UI · dashboards · Smart Calendar coord · changelog owner · (v1.2 · joining June 15 kickoff Zoom)
Henry	AI / backend implementer · Smart Calendar fix · backend tickets under Rajib · stays on coding (not client-facing)
Umesh	Backend implementer · BF data layer · counter logic
Srijan	UX/UI · gating UI mocks · L5 UI · dashboard wireframes
Anais	Marketing PM · Cohort Lounge content · L1 prompt scheduling · Stripe checkout flow
Eliana	HubSpot outreach tracking · Whop activation · Cohort Lounge live presence · outreach distribution alongside John
Ashish	Social/marketing coordination · (v1.2 · stays on social, off cohort outreach)

Team rhythm: Mon + Fri standing meetings — Rajib, Umesh, Jacob, Henry, John. Cohort status, changelog review, sprint adjustments, at-risk audit.

18. Tech Work · High Level

All must be live in prod by Sat June 6. Rajib coordinates; detailed scope coming. Tech team continues to ship non-cohort features in parallel — cohort is not the only focus.

Build Queue — Cohort-Critical

BF data layer · dual-mode counters (lifetime + cohort-window delta)
L5 UI · currently surfaces only to L4 — needs L5 view built so artists who graduate there have a real next-rung experience
Gating UI · visible locks with focus-framed copy
$30 Stripe checkout · acceptance flow + payment-retry + pause logic
L5 ladder duplication resolution · L6 spec confirmation · L7 spec or deferral
Cohort user marking in admin (hardcoded test users)
Buzz Factory inspo → ideation polish
Cohort tech support channel set up · Rajib looped in

Build Queue — Admin (lower priority, functional first)

Cell View dashboard · 6-cell matrix
Drill-down dashboard · per-artist view
Standard artist progress view (BF UI universal across both arms)

Nice-to-Have (not blockers) (v1.2 reclassified)

Smart Calendar reliability — multiple fixes already shipped but reliability still uneven. Needs load testing with external eyes before cohort. Functional bar over UI polish.
Polished dashboard UI — CSV export grade is fine for v1 per MVP principle

Acceptable for Cohort v1

Manual level assignment (not auto-computed)
Connected-account post backfill: forward-only acceptable; manual review covers placement
Functional > polished UI for admin views

⚠️ Detailed scope · ETA. Rajib coming back with build-by-build scope. The 2-week shift gives the tech team additional sprint buffer — extra time goes into alpha testing the cohort flow end-to-end, not into expanded scope. Tech team continues on parallel features (e.g., mobile PRD) — cohort doesn’t take over the build queue.

19. Decisions to Confirm

Open Items Requiring Decisions

L5 duplication. Source PDF has two L5 definitions (“Build Momentum” vs “Fine-Tune Growth”). Pick one. Archive the other. Rajib + Jacob · by May 29.
L6 spec finalization. Expanding-markets framing confirmed; criteria need final lock. Rajib + Jacob · by May 29.
L7 specification. Currently “??” in the source. Either spec or formally defer until post-cohort. If anyone reaches L5+ during cohort, emergency-meeting protocol.
L5 UI build approval. Sign off on adding L5 view to current Buzz Factory build.
Feature-to-level mapping sign-off. Each locked feature confirmed as genuine distraction at lower levels. Jacob + Rajib walkthrough by May 30.
Pricing confirmation. Cohort entry $30 confirmed. Alumni $20/mo lifetime confirmed. Post-cohort $30 standard / $50 premium + token model — needs implementation timeline.
Smart Calendar load testing — schedule external-eyes testing before June 6 sign-off. Decision: ship-with-warning if reliability still uneven, or hard-block.
Detailed tech scope. Rajib returning with build-by-build breakdown.
Capacity check on Rajib’s queue. Cohort tech + ongoing tech features in parallel. Confirm sequencing.

Already Locked · For Reference

Cohort composition · placement rule · zero-start normalization · manual level assignment · L1 grad without post requirement · L3 hard 15 · analytic unit · gating philosophy · feature-to-level map (v0) · yes-ship rubric · phase framework · call cadence · invite-only intake (no public app) · no public landing page · $30 commit · simplified stratification (audience band + cadence trajectory only) · A/B transparency · off-app L1 prep · kickoff format · Rajib joining kickoff · mid-cohort intervention rules · cohort tech support channel · at-risk policy · inactive artists stay in · universal weekly touch · changelog ownership · post-cohort alumni offer ($20/mo lifetime, contingent) · alumni account-migration policy · payment-failure retry + pause · Stripe refund net of commission · $30 standard / $50 premium future tier structure · twice-weekly team rhythm · John+Jacob own cohort day-to-day · Henry stays on coding · Ashish stays on social

AE COHORT PLAN v1.2 · JUNE 15 START · TEAM WALKTHROUGH · 2026-05-14