Pricing · GTM · Unit Economics

Commercial clarity for complex technical products.

Q: How should I start?

Most founders start with a free one-page diagnostic note, the lowest-risk way to see how I think before anything is paid. From there, the two-week Commercial Architecture Diagnostic is the usual next step.

I help AI-infrastructure, API, and data-platform founders make pricing, packaging, and growth decisions they can defend - to buyers, teams, and investors.

Request a free diagnostic note Explore the practice

Sarah Zou, PhD · Independent economist and operator

The practice

Economist discipline. Operator context. Advice built for the commercial realities of deep technology.

Independent commercial strategy for founders navigating consumption-shaped pricing, uncertain cost floors, and technical buying journeys. Every engagement ends with a clear recommendation, the tradeoffs named, and a practical path forward.

Selected credentials

Research depth, quantitative training, and operating context.

A background built to connect economic reasoning with the commercial decisions technical companies face in practice.

Academic training

PhD, Economics

Rutgers University

Economic research

NBER & World Bank

Applied research across markets and institutions

Operating perspective

Infrastructure, finance & consulting

Operator experience; formerly Citigroup and Capgemini

Architectural detail of modern data infrastructure and cooling systems — The economics begin at the physical layer

Start here

The Commercial Architecture Diagnostic

A focused two-week engagement for the pricing, packaging, or unit-economics decision currently constraining growth. Built for consumption- and capability-shaped economics, not generic per-seat SaaS.

Request a free diagnostic noteTwo weeks · $9,500 fixed fee

A defensible value metric01
Pricing and packaging recommendation02
Unit-economics and cost-floor view03
Prioritized commercial decisions04

Decisions, not deliverables

The commercial layer should be as carefully engineered as the product.

Pricing architecture

A model that reflects how customers receive value and how the product creates cost.

Value metric selection

A clear basis for charging across usage, credits, capacity, outcomes, or hybrid models.

Packaging and GTM

Offers that technical buyers can evaluate, adopt, and expand without unnecessary friction.

Unit economics

Cost floors, margin logic, and commercial assumptions that hold up in diligence.

Why this practice

Operator context, not outside advice.

Analytical work in progress with models, charts, and written annotations — Recommendations grounded in the model, not a template

I operate the same kind of company I advise: an infrastructure data platform, pricing against real cost floors and building diligence-ready models.

My background spans economic research, finance, consulting, and operating work. That combination makes it possible to move between the product, the model, and the board-level commercial narrative without losing the underlying economics.

About Sarah

Other engagements

Deeper and ongoing commercial strategy support.

Published work

The methodology is open.

Read the frameworks before hiring me - or instead of hiring me. The work should be useful on its own.

Fifty percent is credited toward a deeper engagement booked within thirty days.

Reference library

Pricing & Monetization Wiki

An open reference library for pricing, packaging, and monetization decisions.

Reference library

Startup Fundraising Library

Clear explanations of funding mechanics, instruments, valuation, and dilution.

Selected writing

Research Notes

Published analysis on pricing, unit economics, and commercial strategy for infrastructure founders.

FAQ

Before we begin.

What kinds of commercial questions do you work on?

Pricing architecture, value-metric selection, usage, credit and committed-use model design, GTM for technical buyers, paid-pilot structuring, unit economics, cost-floor modeling, and fundraising-ready commercial narratives. Read more about the practice.

How should I start?

Most founders start with a free one-page diagnostic note: the lowest-risk way to see how I think before anything is paid. From there, the two-week Commercial Architecture Diagnostic is the usual next step. If the work is already clearly broader, a deeper sprint may fit.

What does it cost?

The Commercial Architecture Diagnostic is a fixed fee of $9,500 and begins with a free one-page diagnostic note. Deeper engagements are also fixed-fee: the Pricing & Monetization Build is $22,000 and the Growth Economics Build is $18,000. Ongoing advisory is $9,000 per month with a three-month minimum.

A useful first step

Bring me the commercial decision you cannot yet defend.

Request a free diagnostic note

No commitment. No pitch.
Prefer a conversation? Book 15 minutes.