Stern Capital

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Research Notes

Bottom-Up Market Sizing That Survives Reality — Bottom-up market sizing starts with a defined buyer and transaction, then counts eligible buyers, buying frequency and net price.
Build vs. Buy Software: A 36-Month Cost Model — Build software when a capability creates real margin, speed, trust, or something hard for a competitor to copy, and the expected advantage justifies…
Marketplace Unit Economics: Who Earns the Margin — A marketplace should measure unit economics from a completed transaction.

Business Metrics From Day One: Build the Decision Loop — A new business should measure demand, delivery, cash, and quality from day one. Start with the decisions each number must change.
Pricing Research Before You Set a Price — Research pricing by defining the buyer, offer, unit, scope, and terms first. Record real alternative prices with dates and exclusions.
Reverse Engineering a Business — Reverse engineering a business means figuring out how it works from the outside, by watching what it does. You almost never get the manual.
How to Test Demand for a Business Idea in 14 Days — Test demand by asking a defined buyer to take a costly action for a specific offer.
What Breaks When You Scale AI Content — AI content operations fail in five predictable ways as volume rises. The defect rate hides inside the average so spot-checking looks clean.

Why Fake Accounts Still Beat Detection — Fake accounts still get through because detection and evasion are a moving fight, and most defenses catch last quarter's attack.
Keeping Adult Content Away From Minors — Adult or harmful content reaches minors not because of one broken control but because of a chain of weak links.
Trust & Safety — Stern Capital runs a Trust and Safety practice built on operating experience, not just defensive theory.

How We Work — Stern Capital works by four principles earned over twenty years of running digital businesses. Start with reality, meaning evidence before story.
Track Record — Stern Capital's method comes from more than twenty years of operating. Twelve years founding and leading a global digital platform company as CEO and CTO.
What We Do — Stern Capital is a research and execution firm for owners, companies and investors.
Work With Us — Working with Stern Capital starts with a direct conversation.