✓ Anyone can use Forgery for free (Community tier)
✓ Anyone can fork, modify, redistribute
✓ Commercial use allowed
✗ Proprietary modifications allowed (but not integration with Sparki)
✗ Our trademark/branding required for official features

Community Tier = 100% open-source
All code on GitHub (public repository)
No proprietary dependencies
Buildable from source

GitHub: sparki/forgery
├─ Core engine (100% open-source)
├─ Smith test harness
├─ Ritual orchestrator
├─ Domain scanner
└─ Bubbletea TUI

vs.

Proprietary Features (Tier-gated):
├─ Polar payment integration
├─ Leaderboard persistence (DB)
├─ Guild/team features
├─ Crucible (network stress testing)
└─ Marketplace (if using Sparki services)

Forgery Core (Free, Open-Source)
├─ Download, build, run locally
├─ All basic quests
├─ Local achievements
├─ Bubbletea TUI
└─ NO cloud dependency

Forgery Cloud (Paid Tiers)
├─ Managed hosting
├─ Leaderboards (shared persistence)
├─ Team/guild sync
├─ Centralized monitoring
├─ Polar billing
└─ Enterprise SLAs

User's Choice:
  "I'll run my own Forgery locally" → Community (free)
  "I want synced progress with team" → Team/Pro (paid, Polar)

Examples: GitLab, Grafana, Mattermost
├─ Core = open-source (free)
├─ Premium = cloud hosting + advanced features
├─ Success rate: High ($10M+ ARR typical)
└─ Community approval: Excellent

GitLab:
  Self-hosted: Free
  SaaS: €228/month
  Revenue: $200M+ ARR

Examples: Linux, WordPress (plugins)
├─ Core = completely free
├─ Monetization = plugins/extensions
├─ Success rate: Medium (hard to sell to community)
└─ Community approval: Mixed

Limitation: Core team doesn't capture value

Examples: Red Hat, Canonical
├─ Core = free
├─ Monetization = professional support, SLAs
├─ Success rate: Medium ($500M+ for Red Hat)
└─ Community approval: Good

Potential for Forgery:
  "Enterprise Support Plan" ($500/mo)
    ├─ Priority issue resolution
    ├─ Custom domain integration
    ├─ Compliance testing
    └─ Dedicated Slack support

Examples: Open Collective, GitHub Sponsors
├─ Community funds development
├─ Success rate: Low ($10K-$100K/year typical)
└─ Limitation: Unreliable, not sufficient for team

For Forgery: Supplement only (target $5K/month)

Layer 1: Free Community Tier (Open-Source)
├─ All core functionality
├─ Local-only leaderboards
├─ No persistence required
├─ 100% buildable from source
└─ No Polar dependency (can work offline)

Layer 2: Team Tier ($25/mo, Paid)
├─ Add: Team leaderboards, guild system
├─ Add: 7-day cloud persistence
├─ Add: Polar billing integration
├─ Same core code (open-source)
└─ Optional cloud features (proprietary)

Layer 3: Pro Tier ($99/mo, Paid)
├─ Add: Crucible stress testing
├─ Add: AI quest suggestions
├─ Add: Tournaments, global leaderboards
├─ Add: 90-day persistence, real-time monitoring
└─ Still based on open-source core

Layer 4: Enterprise (Custom, Paid)
├─ Add: White-label features
├─ Add: Custom domains, compliance
├─ Add: Governance, audit trails
├─ Add: Dedicated infrastructure
└─ Premium support

// Core package (open-source, always available)
package forgery

func (s *SmithEngine) RunQuest(quest Quest) QuuestResult {
  // Load quest definition
  // Run tests
  // Calculate XP
  // Return results
  return result
}

// Premium features (gated behind subscription)
package forgery_cloud

func (s *SmithEngine) SyncToLeaderboard(result QuuestResult) error {
  // Check tier
  if user.Tier != "team" && user.Tier != "pro" {
    return ErrTierRequired
  }

  // Sync to Polar-authenticated cloud
  return s.cloudClient.ReportResult(result)
}

// Example: Run locally (free)
result := engine.RunQuest(quest)        // ✓ Works offline
engine.SyncToLeaderboard(result)        // ✗ Fails (no tier)

// Example: Run with Team tier
result := engine.RunQuest(quest)        // ✓ Works
engine.SyncToLeaderboard(result)        // ✓ Works (tier verified)

Target Users: 10,000+/month
Revenue: $0 direct
Indirect Value:
  ├─ User acquisition (convert to paid)
  ├─ Developer goodwill (open-source credibility)
  ├─ Network effects (grow ecosystem)
  └─ Data insights (anonymized usage patterns)

Target Users: 1,000+ (Month 6)
Revenue Model:
  ├─ Conversion: 3-5% of community
  ├─ MRR: 1,000 × $25 = $25,000
  ├─ Cost per user: ~$3 (infrastructure)
  ├─ Gross margin: $22 per user
  └─ Annual ARR: $300,000

Use Cases:
  ├─ Small teams (2-5 devs)
  ├─ Want synced progress
  ├─ Need team leaderboards
  └─ Collaborative testing

Target Users: 100+ (Month 6)
Revenue Model:
  ├─ Conversion: 10% of Team users
  ├─ MRR: 100 × $99 = $9,900
  ├─ Cost per user: ~$15 (advanced features)
  ├─ Gross margin: $84 per user
  └─ Annual ARR: $118,800

Use Cases:
  ├─ Power users, engineering teams
  ├─ Need stress testing (Crucible)
  ├─ Want global recognition
  ├─ Host tournaments
  └─ Use marketplace

Target Users: 5-10 (Year 1)
Revenue Model:
  ├─ Annual contract: $24K-$120K+
  ├─ Implementation: $10K-$50K one-time
  ├─ Support: $5K-$20K/month ongoing
  ├─ Total ACV: $100K-$500K+
  └─ Annual ARR: $500K-$2M

Use Cases:
  ├─ Large enterprises (500+ devs)
  ├─ Compliance/regulated industries
  ├─ White-label requirements
  ├─ Custom domain testing
  └─ Dedicated support needed

1. Free, Forever Open-Source
   └─ Core engine always free
   └─ No vendor lock-in
   └─ Fork if you want

2. Community Contributions
   ├─ New quest templates
   ├─ Domain integrations
   ├─ Custom smithy themes
   ├─ Lore contributions
   └─ Bug fixes & improvements

3. Contribution Recognition
   ├─ GitHub Sponsors integration
   ├─ Credits in documentation
   ├─ Cosmetic achievements
   └─ Community vote on features

4. Monetization Path (Optional)
   ├─ Sell custom quests on marketplace
   ├─ Earn from cosmetic sales (revenue share)
   ├─ Sponsorship rewards
   └─ Become core team member

Members (elected annually):
  ├─ 3 core maintainers (Sparki team)
  ├─ 3 community contributors
  ├─ 2 enterprise customers
  └─ 1 independent open-source advocate

Responsibilities:
  ├─ Approve major feature roadmap
  ├─ Resolve licensing conflicts
  ├─ Manage community guidelines
  ├─ Review tier gating decisions
  └─ Ensure open-source integrity

Feature Proposal: Should Crucible stress-testing be community-only?

Criteria:
  ├─ Impact on community: Does it require paid infrastructure?
  ├─ Fairness: Is it essential for free usage?
  ├─ Sustainability: Is paid tier needed for support?
  └─ Ethics: Is this exploitative?

Vote:
  ├─ Community: 5 votes
  ├─ Maintainers: 3 votes
  ├─ Customers: 2 votes

Outcome: "Crucible available in Community (local-only)
          Cloud stress testing in Team+ (needs infrastructure)"

Scenario: Competitor "EvilCorp Forge" forks Forgery
├─ EvilCorp gets: 6-month head start on core
├─ We get: Continued innovation, Polar integration, community trust
├─ Market realizes:
│   ├─ "EvilCorp broke open-source trust"
│   ├─ "Sparki Forgery has better features"
│   ├─ "Sparki has professional support"
│   └─ Community moves back to us

Key Advantage: Polar Integration
  └─ Hard to replicate payment + feature gating
  └─ 6+ months of infrastructure build
  └─ Community trust (Apache-licensed, transparent pricing)

1. Move Fast
   └─ New features every 2 weeks
   └─ Community engagement
   └─ Polar/Sparki integration advantages

2. Build Moat Through Services
   └─ Professional support ($500/mo)
   └─ Custom domain integrations
   └─ Marketplace ecosystem
   └─ Certification program

3. Trademark & Brand
   └─ "Forgery by Sparki" ™
   └─ Certification: "Officially Certified Forgery Plugin"
   └─ Community approval required for derivative works

4. Community Lock-In (Ethical)
   └─ Guild system (data not transferable)
   └─ Leaderboard prestige (on Sparki's servers)
   └─ Cosmetics/achievements (tied to account)
   └─ NOT: Hiding core code

Revenue:
  ├─ Community Tier: $0 (reference: 40,000+ users)
  ├─ Team Tier: $125,000/month
  ├─ Pro Tier: $99,000/month
  ├─ Enterprise: $20,000+/month
  └─ Total: $244,000+ MRR ($2.9M ARR)

Costs:
  ├─ Infrastructure: $30K/month
  ├─ Team (5 people): $150K/month
  ├─ Polar fees: $9K/month
  ├─ Marketing/support: $20K/month
  └─ Total: $209K/month

Profit: $244K - $209K = $35K/month net
        = $420K/year (reinvest 100% into team growth)

GitHub Metrics:
  ├─ Stars: 2,000+ (Month 6)
  ├─ Forks: 300+ (organic community interest)
  ├─ PRs/month: 20+ (community contributions)
  ├─ Issues: <50 open (well-maintained)
  └─ Response time: <24h (engaged team)

Community Metrics:
  ├─ Discord members: 1,000+
  ├─ Forum posts/month: 100+
  ├─ Contribution rate: 15% of users
  ├─ Complaint rate: <2%
  └─ Sentiment: Positive (surveys)

Q1 Review:
  ├─ Community tier: 5,000+ users
  ├─ MRR: $12,500+
  ├─ Open-source health: Good
  └─ Decision: Continue as planned

Q2 Review:
  ├─ Community tier: 15,000+ users
  ├─ MRR: $50,000+
  ├─ Open-source health: Excellent
  ├─ Community contributions: 10+/month
  └─ Decision: Hire first full-time contributor

Q3 Review:
  ├─ Community tier: 30,000+ users
  ├─ MRR: $150,000+
  ├─ Open-source health: Excellent
  ├─ Enterprise customers: 3+
  └─ Decision: Launch certification program

Q4 Review:
  ├─ Community tier: 50,000+ users
  ├─ MRR: $250,000+
  ├─ Open-source health: Excellent
  ├─ Team size: 8+ (mostly core contributors)
  └─ Decision: Begin Forgery Foundation non-profit discussion

✓ Use commercially (any tier)
✓ Modify the code
✓ Distribute copies
✓ Sublicense (with conditions)
✓ Fork for your own purposes
✓ Sell your modified version

Requirement:
  ├─ Must include license & copyright notice
  ├─ Must state significant changes
  └─ Cannot use Sparki trademarks on derivatives

If you fork and modify Forgery:

✓ You can: Sell your fork under your own brand
✗ You cannot: Call it "Forgery by Sparki"
✗ You cannot: Use our marks, trademarks, logos
✓ You must: Credit original (Apache-2.0 requires it)

Example (Valid):
  "EvilCorp Forge - Derived from Apache-licensed Forgery"

Example (Invalid):
  "Forgery by EvilCorp"
  "Official Forgery Enterprise Edition"

Potential Patent: "Gamified Protocol Testing System"
├─ Patent: NOT filed (we contribute to open-source)
├─ Reason: Limits adoption, conflicts with Apache-2.0 spirit
├─ Alternative: Trade secret (Polar integration)
├─ Community benefit: Open algorithms, no patent trolls

Core algorithms (open-source):
  ├─ XP calculation formula
  ├─ Streak system
  ├─ Leaderboard ranking
  └─ Achievement unlock logic

→ Free to use, modify, redistribute
→ Encourages ecosystem growth

$5/month:   "Bronze Smith"
  ├─ Sponsor badge on profile
  ├─ "Sponsor" role in Discord
  └─ Early access to features (beta)

$20/month:  "Silver Smith"
  ├─ All of Bronze, plus:
  ├─ Private Discord channel
  ├─ Monthly sponsor update email
  └─ Custom cosmetic (unique title)

$100/month: "Gold Smith"
  ├─ All of Silver, plus:
  ├─ Name in documentation
  ├─ Prioritized feature requests
  └─ Annual thank-you gift (merch)

$500/month: "Legendary Smith" (Corporate)
  ├─ All of Gold, plus:
  ├─ Company logo in README
  ├─ Blog post spotlight
  ├─ Speaking opportunity at meetup
  └─ Dedicated Slack support

Enterprise Revenue (Year 1):
  ├─ 5-10 contracts @ $100K-$300K ACV
  ├─ Total: $500K-$3M
  └─ Margin: 70%+ (software licensing)

Benefits:
  ├─ Stable, predictable revenue
  ├─ Allows hiring for Sparki team
  ├─ Funds open-source community
  ├─ Creates momentum for other tiers
  └─ Validates market demand

white_label:
    description: 'Rebrand Forgery for your company'
    price: '$5,000 setup + $500/mo'
    includes:
        - Custom colors, logos, branding
        - Private domain testing (non-shared leaderboards)
        - Custom domain models (your protocols)
        - Employee leaderboards (internal only)

compliance_testing:
    description: 'Run compliance-grade domain testing'
    price: '$10,000/mo'
    includes:
        - HIPAA-ready infrastructure
        - SOC 2 Type II compliance
        - Audit trails (complete)
        - Data residency guarantees
        - Automated compliance reporting

enterprise_support:
    description: 'Dedicated support team'
    price: '$500/mo minimum'
    includes:
        - Dedicated Slack channel
        - 4-hour response time
        - Quarterly business reviews
        - Feature prioritization
        - Custom integrations

Establish "Forgery Foundation" (non-profit)
├─ Transfer core IP to foundation
├─ Maintain open-source governance
├─ Sparki continues commercial support
├─ Community contributions funded
├─ Enterprise partnerships manage sustainability

Benefits:
  ├─ Neutrality (not company-owned)
  ├─ Community trust (highest)
  ├─ Tax advantages (non-profit)
  ├─ Institutional funding (grants)
  └─ Long-term sustainability plan

Similar Models:
  ├─ Linux Foundation
  ├─ Mozilla Foundation
  ├─ Kubernetes Foundation
  └─ All started as company projects

Forgery Revenue Mix (Year 3):
├─ Subscriptions (Community/Team/Pro): 50%
├─ Enterprise Contracts: 35%
├─ Marketplace/Cosmetics: 10%
├─ Professional Services: 5%
└─ Total: $5M+ ARR

Sustainability Achieved:
  ├─ Full-time team: 20-30 people
  ├─ Community contributors: 50+ active
  ├─ Foundation staff: 5+ people
  └─ Annual budget: $3M+ (team + community)

1. Open-Source First
   └─ Core will ALWAYS be open-source
   └─ No removing features from free tier
   └─ No artificial delays/throttling

2. Fair Pricing
   └─ Clear tier differentiation
   └─ No dark patterns
   └─ Transparent Polar costs
   └─ Annual billing discounts (20% off)

3. Community Respect
   └─ Listen to community
   └─ Respond to issues quickly
   └─ Reward contributors
   └─ No predatory behavior

4. Data Privacy
   └─ User data is their own
   └─ No selling metrics
   └─ GDPR/CCPA compliant
   └─ Transparent data use

5. Competition Neutrality
   └─ Don't sabotage forks
   └─ Apache license honored
   └─ Community first
   └─ No patent trolling

If we violate these principles:
  ├─ Community can fork (Apache allows it)
  ├─ Reputation damage (key to business)
  ├─ Foundation governance ensures transparency
  ├─ Annual independent audit (recommend)
  └─ Community has veto power on major changes