Back to Handbook
Business · Advanced
Valuation: The Asset Model
Selling Pre-Revenue
How to price and sell a vibe-coded project that has $0 in revenue. A practical model for calculating 'Replacement Cost' to justify value to buyers.
01
The Zero-Revenue Problem
You built an amazing tool, but it has no customers. Can you sell it? Yes. You are selling 'Speed to Market' and 'Intellectual Property', not cash flow. Buyers pay to save time.
“You aren't selling the users you don't have. You are selling the 200 hours the buyer doesn't have to spend.”
02
The Replacement Cost Calculator
To justify a price, you must calculate the 'Cost to Rebuild'. Even if you used AI to be fast, you value the output at market rates.
| Cost Item | Calculation Logic | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Vibe Coder Labor | Hours Spent × $100/hr (Opportunity Cost) | 50 hrs = $5,000 |
| Hard Costs (API) | OpenAI/Claude Token Burn during Dev/Test | $150 |
| Tool Subscriptions | Cursor ($20) + Replit ($15) + Vercel ($20) | $55 |
| Data/Content | Midjourney Assets + Seed Data Generation | $100 |
| The Vibe Premium | Multiplier for "Instant Availability" (1.2x) | Total x 1.2 |
03
Total Asset Value Formula
Use this formula when listing on marketplaces like Acquire.com or selling to a client.
Prompt
// The "Pre-Revenue" Valuation Model const LaborCost = Hours_Spent * Your_Hourly_Rate; const HardCosts = API_Bill + Hosting_Fees + Tool_Subs; const IntellectualProperty = Domain_Value + Data_Value; const BaseValue = LaborCost + HardCosts + IntellectualProperty; // The "It Works Right Now" Premium const MarketMultiplier = 1.25; const ListingPrice = BaseValue * MarketMultiplier;