Invent a Product Users Get at No Cost and Show How It Earns Revenue

Design a product that people can use for free, then explain how you would make money from it. ### Clarifying Questions - Can I choose any domain, or should the product fit the interviewing company's business, such as rides or delivery for Uber? - Must the core product stay free for every user permanently, or can some users or features eventually be paid? - Should it be a new product, or may I redesign an existing one around a free model? - Is the priority revenue soon after launch, or growth first with revenue later? ### Part 1 — Design the product Pick the product, the users it is for and the problem it solves, describe what it does, and explain why charging users nothing is the right choice for it. ```hint Make free part of the design Favor a product whose value grows as more people use it, or whose users attract someone else who would pay, so that the zero price is a deliberate strategy. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - A chosen user segment and a specific, frequent problem - A focused core experience and a prioritized first version - Why a zero price helps this particular product: adoption, network effects, or an audience others value ### Part 2 — Monetize it Explain how the product earns revenue without undermining what makes it valuable to users. Say which model you would start with and in what order you would add others. ```hint Look past the user List everyone who gains when your users show up and act, then ask which of them would pay and what that payment would cost your users in trust or experience. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - Revenue options mapped to who pays and for what - A chosen model and sequence, judged on fit with user value, revenue potential and trust - A rough sizing with labeled assumptions, and when to start charging ### What a Strong Answer Covers - Monetization designed into the product so that revenue and user value reinforce each other - Success metrics for both user value and revenue, with guardrails such as retention and trust - Risks such as privacy, conflicts between paying partners and users, and backlash when free features become paid ### Follow-up Questions - If revenue in the first year covers only part of the running costs, what would you change first? - How would you decide whether to move a popular free feature behind a paywall? - A large paying partner wants more prominent placement than your users would want. How do you respond?