At dancingdragons.cc, the 5:1 ratio is a practical design target for marketplace health: enough clients per coach to keep coaches engaged, and enough coaches per client to keep client choice and scheduling smooth.
It’s a “golden ratio” because it balances three competing constraints:
Client experience: clients need enough available coaches (choice, specialty fit, time slots).
Coach experience: coaches need enough active demand to earn consistently and stay on-platform.
Platform economics: the platform needs enough recurring volume to cover fixed costs while staying competitive on take-rate.
What 5:1 means operationally
If you have 1,000 coaches, the system “wants” about 5,000 active clients at any point in time.
If you have 5,000 coaches, the system “wants” about 25,000 active clients at any point in time.
The Inputs (Reasonable Estimates, Based on Your Reality)
Client CAC (paid/blended) is the biggest swing factor.
Here are “reasonable” planning values consistent with the above LTV:
Low CAC: $35 per converted client
Base CAC: $60 per converted client
High CAC: $95 per converted client
Variable acquisition cost per new client (CAC + intake):
Low: ( 35+55 = $90 )
Base: ( 60+55 = $115 )
High: ( 95+55 = $150 )
Why “high CAC” can break the model fast
At 5 sessions average, base LTV is about 150.Ifacquisition+intakeisalso150, you have almost nothing left to pay for IT, support, refunds/disputes, and general operations.
The 10-Year Growth Target (June 2025 → June 2035)
The long-term plan:
Milestone 1: 1,000 coaches / 5,000 active clients
Milestone 2: 5,000 coaches / 25,000 active clients
This forecast uses a smooth growth path that hits:
June 2025: 50 coaches / 250 clients
June 2029: 1,000 coaches / 5,000 clients
June 2035: 5,000 coaches / 25,000 clients
Active clients (June snapshot each year)
Jun 2025
250
Jun 2026
529
Jun 2027
1,118
Jun 2028
2,363
Jun 2029
5,000
Jun 2030
6,537
Jun 2031
8,550
Jun 2032
11,180
Jun 2033
14,615
Jun 2034
19,115
Jun 2035
25,000
Coaches (June snapshot each year, holding 5:1)
Jun 2025
50
Jun 2026
106
Jun 2027
224
Jun 2028
473
Jun 2029
1,000
Jun 2030
1,307
Jun 2031
1,710
Jun 2032
2,236
Jun 2033
2,923
Jun 2034
3,823
Jun 2035
5,000
Revenue Model (Monthly)
Monthly sessions at a given active client count:
Sessions per month ≈ ActiveClients × 3.04
Monthly platform revenue at the average $30/session:
Platform revenue per month ≈ SessionsPerMonth × $30
Platform revenue (June snapshot each year, $30 per session to the platform)
Jun 2025
$22.8k
Jun 2026
$48.2k
Jun 2027
$102.0k
Jun 2028
$215.5k
Jun 2029
$456.0k
Jun 2030
$596.2k
Jun 2031
$779.8k
Jun 2032
$1.020M
Jun 2033
$1.333M
Jun 2034
$1.743M
Jun 2035
$2.280M
Variable Acquisition Load (Monthly)
With a ~1.64 month average lifetime, the steady-state replacement need is roughly 0.61× active clients per month.
Gross new clients needed per month (steady-state replacement, June snapshot)
Jun 2025
153
Jun 2026
323
Jun 2027
682
Jun 2028
1,441
Jun 2029
3,050
Jun 2030
3,988
Jun 2031
5,216
Jun 2032
6,810
Jun 2033
8,915
Jun 2034
11,660
Jun 2035
15,250
Fixed and Semi-Fixed Costs (Reasonable Estimates)
To keep the model grounded but simple, we use:
IT fixed cost: grows with complexity and staff
Jun 2025: $20k/mo
Jun 2029: $60k/mo
Jun 2035: $150k/mo
Infra variable cost: $2 per active client per month (hosting, video, storage, observability, tooling)