Calculator 03 · reverse funnel · 5 inputs

Pipeline target in. Season plan out.

Enter the pipeline you need in a quarter. The planner works backward: opportunities, recorded guests, accepted invitations, invitations sent. Then it names the tier that carries that volume and shows when each stage comes online, from go-live on day 18 to steady state on day 90.

Run the numbers ↓ Start the engine →

four divisions · no black box · runs in your browser, nothing is sent

// plan.reverse_funnel

Work back from the number.

Start with the target your board or forecast needs. Keep our sample rates or use your own; the plan redraws as you drag.

plan.inputs
$400,000
$40,000
33%
23%

41% pass the pre-interview × 56% of those record

34%
plan.output / per quarterModel assumptions
invitations to send
388

129 a month · 30 a week

recorded guests / mo
10

30 a quarter · 5 hrs on the record

bar widths on a square-root scale, so small stages stay visible

Estimates, not guarantees. Your numbers will differ.

tier.match / recorded_per_monthProposed pricing
recommended for ≈10 recorded / mo

Engine

$6,900/ month

≈10 recorded guests a month sits inside Engine's 8–10 target.

Start the engine →See Engine pricing

How the tiers differ →

≤ 6 / moPilot$3,900 / motarget 4–6
7–10 / moEngine$6,900 / motarget 8–10
11–16 / moNetwork$11,500 / motarget 12–16
17+ / moMulti-Showfrom $18,000target 25+
program cost / quarter$20,700 pipeline ÷ program cost19.3× host time on the record5 hrs / mo people invited / year1,552
// ramp · days 1–90

Quarter one is a ramp.

Invitations can't go out on day one. Mailboxes warm first. The plan above is a steady-state quarter; here is when each stage of it comes online.

  1. days 1–5 · brief

    ICP and show locked

    ICP workshop, guest criteria, show name and format, host prep session.

  2. days 6–17 · warm

    Mailboxes warm, guests researched

    Invitation domains warm while we research the first 300 guests and write sequences for host approval. Warm-up keeps invitations out of spam.

  3. day 18 · go live

    First invitations

    Sent under the host's name at low daily volume, ramping toward ≈30 a week.

  4. day 25 · first recording

    First episodes

    First pre-interviews scored, first episodes recorded, first clips cut. Pace builds toward ≈10 recordings a month.

  5. day 60 · first review

    Plan vs. real data

    Acceptance, qualification and opportunities checked against the plan: ≈44 accepted guests a month at 34%. Targeting and format adjust here.

  6. day 90 · steady state

    The plan holds

    ≈10 recorded guests and ≈3.3 opportunities a month. Past guests start referring peers.

ramp.plan / quarter_01days 0–90

Plan quarter one lower. Recordings start on day 25, so quarter one has 65 recording days out of 90. Even at full pace from the first recording, that's about 72% of a steady quarter, and invitations ramp. Start a quarter ahead of the number you need. See the full timeline

// plan.math · your inputs

Four divisions. Nothing hidden.

Each step divides by one conversion rate. Change a rate above and every step below it moves.

[01]÷ acv

Opportunities

How many qualified deals the target needs.

$400,000 ÷ $40,000 = 10
in: target → out: 10 opps
[02]÷ 33%

Recorded guests

At the default 33%, about 1 in 3 recorded guests becomes an opportunity.

10 ÷ 0.33 = 30.3 → ≈30 · 10 / mo
in: 10 opps → out: 30 recorded
[03]÷ 23%

Accepted guests

The default 23%: 41% pass the producer pre-interview, 56% of those record.

30.3 ÷ 0.23 = 131.8 → ≈132
in: 30 recorded → out: 132
[04]÷ 34%

Invitations

At the default 34%, about a third of invited buyers say yes to a seat on the show.

131.8 ÷ 0.34 = 387.5 → ≈388
in: 132 accepted → out: 388
source / season_01 funnelSample data

The default rates come from one sample season on Engine: 1,240 invited → 418 accepted (34%) → 171 qualified (41%) → 96 recorded (23% of accepted) → 32 opportunities (1 in 3). Sample data, not a client result. How we measure

check / market sizeyour plan

At 388 invitations a quarter you invite 1,552 people a year, without repeats. If your ICP has fewer reachable buyers than that, plan a second segment within the year. Engine includes two.

// objections · planning

Before you commit a number.

"We need results this quarter."

Invitations go live on day 18; first recordings land around day 25. Many guests become conversations before their episode is published.

"What if acceptance runs under 34%?"

The invitation count rises; the host's hours don't. At 25% acceptance the default plan needs about 527 invitations a quarter, and still 30 recordings.

"Our buyers are too senior to say yes."

Senior buyers turn down pitches, not platforms. Being featured is one of the few asks executives accept.

"Our founders can't give up that much calendar."

Thirty minutes per guest, about two hours a week. Research, invitations, pre-interviews, editing, clips and CRM notes run without them.

// next_calculation

Run the next number.

All calculators →
01 · guest-roi

Guest-to-pipeline ROI

Recorded guests a month in; pipeline, closed revenue, ROI multiple and break-even deals out.

See the pipeline math 02 · cost-per-meeting

Cost per meeting

Invitations, cold email and paid social side by side, per meeting and per opportunity.

Run the numbers → field_notes

Guest-list math

The same reverse funnel worked through by hand, with the edge cases a slider hides.

Read the note →
next step: a plan on your ICP

Bring the target. We'll size the list.

Send your quarterly number and your ICP. We come back with a guest list size, an invitation schedule and a tier, sized on your market instead of our sample rates.

Start the engine →See pricing