On Software ($27.9k), Cost Reduction and Strategic Tradeoffs
Software ($27.9k)
There have been several questions around the SaaS budget, e.g.
why does a 2-person team need $27K for 9 months of subscriptions?
(@paulofonseca / Telegram)
Here’s more context:
At HoS, we’re currently using Google, Notion, GitHub, Vercel/Railway, NEAR AI, Claude Enterprise, and Slack. Nothing unusual.
We’re also not a 2-person team. We’re ~7 contributors today (including Agora and NEAR dev support for houseofstake.org), and we regularly collaborate with additional stakeholders per proposal (e.g. for execution, reporting, and KPI tracking).
That’s how the estimate was derived:
Blockquote
Assumptions
- ~$10–30 per user/month
- Multiple users per proposal (execution stakeholders)
- Multiple tools required (PM, infra, LLMs, legal)
- Multiple proposals in Season #1
Example
Per proposal:
$20 × 10 users × 3 tools × 9 months = $5,400
× 5 proposals ≈ $27.9K
Actuals may vary (fewer users or more proposals until end of Dec 2026), but ~$27.9K is a reasonable estimate for Season #1.
Cost Reduction Potential*
Over the past days, I’ve been verifying opportunities to reduce costs by leveraging existing infrastructure and licenses.
Potential adjustments:
-
IT & Infrastructure: $68.25K → $58.5K
Removing after-hours / 24/7 support and relying solely on the budget buffer (incl. triggering SC/SecC confirmation if needed, delaying response time) -
Data & Insights: $54K → $12K
Using NF resources for most data/AI needs (keeping $12K for gaps) -
Compliance Tools: $76.2K → $51.3K
Using NF licenses (Juro) instead of duplicating setup -
Software: $27.9K → $0
Using NF licenses
→ Total reduction potential: $104.65K
This is not about removing budget items, because they are not required. It’s primarily a shift to shared NF infrastructure.
Strategic trade-off
This raises a broader question on direction:
a) Maximize for independence: build up our own, independent capabilities as soon as possible (in licenses, services, and bandwidth), and carry the associated costs
b) Maximize for cost efficiency: rely on NF infrastructure wherever possible, avoiding any duplication
I’ll confirm and finalize the reductions with NF early next week and will get back with an update. In the meantime, please share your perspective on this trade-off @everyone.