MONETIZATION MEMBERSHIP FOR GAME AND APP FOUNDERS
A senior monetization lead.
Without the full-time hire.
Send the product and pricing questions that come up every month. Get written answers you can act on, from 20 years of experience with Warner Bros., Zynga, EA Sports and Ubisoft.
Experience built inside real product teams.
Featured in & on stage
Start this week.
Kickoff call optional.
Subscribe
Pay online. One flat monthly rate.
YOUR MEMBERSHIPGrowth Mode is on.Request
Send your first request from the confirmation page. Add more to your private board and set the order.
YOUR FIRST REQUEST"Almost nobody buys our starter pack. What should replace it?"
Receive
Get written work with the reasoning behind it and a test you can run.
FROM JORDANWhat to change, and what to test first.
Focused reviews and decision memos in 2–3 business days, once I have what I need. Larger requests arrive in stages with agreed dates.
Where founders
usually start.
Every game or app hits these, with or without a monetization lead. Each comes with a first request you could send.
The launch came in under plan.
Installs arrived. Revenue per user didn't. Before anyone reaches for a discount, find out whether players want what the store is selling.
A first request"We launched six weeks ago and revenue per user is half our forecast. Where should we look first?"
Spending has fallen for over a year.
People still play every day, but spend less. Each sale lifts the chart for a week, then it slides back.
A first request"Spending per player has fallen for 18 months. Sales only help briefly. What's the real fix?"
Your store looks like everyone else's.
Starter packs and a battle pass, because the top charts have them. They earn a little. The standard playbook was written for the average product.
A first request"We added a battle pass like everyone else. Few people buy it. What should we sell instead?"
You're thinking about adding ads.
Ads can add revenue or cost you your best spenders. It depends on where they appear and what people get for watching.
A first request"Where could rewarded ads fit in our game without hurting purchases or retention?"
A test result nobody can agree on.
Conversion went up. Revenue per user went down. The next test is already waiting, and nobody wants to guess.
A first request"Here's our last price test. What does it support, and what do we do now?"
You're building it yourself.
You can make the product. How it should earn is the part you'd rather not guess at, and there's nobody senior to ask.
A first request"Here's my game and how I plan to charge for it. What would you change before I launch?"
Good fit if
- You're building or running a game or app, on your own or with a team.
- It earns money already, or you're getting ready to charge.
- You want a senior person to think through product and revenue decisions with.
- You'd rather test than argue.
Not for
- Anyone looking for finished designs or code.
- Teams looking for someone to run standups and the backlog.
- Dark patterns like fake timers or cancellation mazes. Real sales and deadlines are fine.
- Anyone who needs a guaranteed revenue lift.
What you can
ask for.
You don't need to pick the right one before asking.
Paywall review
Ranked fixes for one paywall or offer screen, the reasoning behind each, and what to test first.
2–3 business daysTest readout
Whether to ship or rerun, and what to test next.
2–3 business daysFeature monetization review
How a new feature or content drop can earn without making the experience worse.
2–3 business daysOffer and pricing spec
Price points, bundles, starter and win-back offers, and a test plan you can build from.
In stagesLive ops calendar
Next month's events and offers, with who each one is for and why it's there.
In stagesRevenue model
An editable spreadsheet for a pricing or packaging change. Change the assumptions and see what moves.
In stagesAds plan
Where rewarded ads fit, and what to leave alone.
In stagesSubscription flows
Trial, cancellation and win-back flows, with the copy and the test to run.
In stages
I write it. You build and test it.
A sample request.
And my answer.
"Our $4.99 starter pack converts at half what we expected. Should we cut the price to $2.99?"
Change what's in the pack before you touch the price.
The pack sells coins. But 70% of new players never run out of coins in their first three days. It offers more of something they already have.
Players who stay mostly use boosters by day three. Build the pack around those.
A lower price teaches players to wait for the next discount. Sell what they already want.
Run the current pack against a booster pack, both at $4.99. Judge it on first purchases and day-7 retention as well as revenue.
Three ways to get
a senior monetization lead.
Using posted pay and published rates from 2026.
| Compare | Growth Mode | Full-time hire | Fractional lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $3,995 founding rate, then $5,000 | About $15,000–$30,000 with benefits | About $8,000 for 10 hours a week |
| Upfront cost | None | Recruiter fee, often 20% of salary | Varies by firm |
| Time to start | This week | About 71 days to fill, then ramp-up | Two to three weeks |
| Commitment | Pause or cancel anytime | Salary continues when work slows | Often a three-month minimum |
| Meetings | None required, a call when useful | Part of the team's weekly meetings | Usually a weekly review meeting |
Sources: 2026 posted pay for monetization roles, BLS benefit costs, Ashby time-to-fill data, recruiter fee guides and published fractional rates and terms. Minimum terms are industry estimates.
A fixed monthly rate
No hourly billing, and no new proposal for each request.
Your own request board
Add requests to a private board and set the order. I work on the one at the top.
Pause when the queue is empty
Pausing stops billing and saves your unused days for later.
Just me
I handle every request myself. No junior staff and no outsourcing.
Work that moved
the number.
Three products, three different problems. Examples of my work on pricing, paid features, product design and the purchase experience.
“His input was super helpful to identify key issues with our core loop, retention and progression mechanics. You really can’t get such input from any other type of game designers. You need the best guys, who worked on successful games and have the data to know what works and what doesn’t. And you need specifics, not general advice.”
Bogdan IliesiuFounder, Angry Mob Games
WHAT SHOULD YOU SELL NEXT?
Higher revenue per player.
FrontierVille · Zynga
Designed the “partner” feature, where two players each had to contribute to win the best reward. In the words of the product manager I built it with:
“Our last feature made more Revenue/Player than most other features till date.”
Devdatta Gangal, Product Manager, FrontierVille at Zynga
AN ESTABLISHED APP IN DECLINE
Reversed a multi-year decline.
An established mobile app · Client confidential
The app had been declining for several years. We revised pricing, paid content and the purchase experience. Growth returned within the first year.
WHAT SHOULD YOU SELL NEXT?
From concept to a game with 14M+ downloads.
Hempire · LBC Studios
Helped two first-time founders conceive, validate and design the game before launch (2015). An Innovations of the World profile of LBC Studios reported more than 14 million lifetime downloads. That is the game’s reported scale, not a measured lift from my work.
“There just wouldn’t have been Hempire without Jordan.”
Dennis Molloy, Co-founder, LBC Studios
Your product data stays confidential. I won’t publish your numbers or work without your permission.
Jordan Blackman.
Your monetization lead.
I’ve spent more than 20 years helping teams launch and grow products. My experience includes Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, AMC, EA Sports, The Pokémon Company, Zynga and Ubisoft, where I conceived and led CSI: Crime City.
In 2019 I wrote in PocketGamer.biz that your players need to already want what you have to sell. I still start there. Revenue grows because of the experience, not despite it.
I've been independent since 2012. Growth Mode is a one-person practice.
Warner Bros. · Heads Up!
Long-running product strategy, pricing and paid-content work.
“His direction kept objectives simple, focused, and achievable at a critical phase when and where it was needed most.”
Randolph PlanckFounder and CEO, Remember When Games
“At the time, launching a Facebook game based on a major prime time television franchise was a rough ride through unchartered waters, but I had no concerns as Jordan steered the ship masterfully. The game received high accolades from CSI productions, CBS management and the gaming community reaching over 2 million MAU.”
Maryann MartinClient partner on CSI: Crime City
“Honest, extremely intelligent, and easy to work with - I would team up with Jordan again without hesitation.”
Brian ChoCo-founder, Patron · Formerly a16z
Ready to switch
Growth Mode on?
One better price or offer can be worth more than a month's fee.
Your senior monetization lead.
Founding rate for the first five members. After that, new members pay $5,000 a month. Your rate stays locked while you’re a member, including pauses. Applicable tax is calculated at checkout.
I work with a small number of founders and teams at a time.
- Pricing, offers, paywalls, live ops, ads and revenue models
- Queue as many requests as you like
- You set the order. I work on one at a time, revisions included
- Focused reviews in 2–3 business days, larger work in stages
- Work directly with me on a private board, no required meetings
- Pause or cancel anytime, and save unused days
After checkout, send your first request from the confirmation page. I'll review it personally. No kickoff call required.
Turn on Growth ModeMonthly subscription · 14-day money-back guarantee
Book a 15-minute call14-day
money-back guarantee.
Try working with me for 14 days of active service. If you’re not happy, email me within that window and I’ll refund your first payment in full.
No questions asked.Read the guarantee detailsPause while you build.
Save unused service days for the next piece of work. Your rate stays with you when you return.
Email me to pause or cancel. Pausing stops work and billing. Cancellation stops future renewal.
Have a first request in mind? Bring it to a 15-minute call. I'll tell you whether Growth Mode fits the work.
Frequently asked
questions.
How fast will I get work back?
Focused work takes 2–3 business days once I have the context I need. Larger work, like a pricing model, arrives in stages with agreed dates. If something essential is missing, I'll say what I need and how it affects timing.
How do requests and revisions work?
Add as many in-scope requests as you like to your private board, and set the order. Send a link, document or short recording with your question. I work on one request at a time, including revisions.
How will you learn our game or app?
Share the product, your goals and the decision you’re facing. Send the reports, data exports and designs that bear on it. I ask focused follow-up questions where I need them, and keep that context on your private board so we don’t start over with each request.
How much gets done in a month?
It depends on the size of each request. Focused reviews take 2–3 business days each, one at a time. Larger work, like a pricing model, arrives in stages with agreed dates, so you have something to act on along the way.
Who will I be working with?
Me, Jordan Blackman. I don't employ other consultants or outsource client work.
Can I use it without a team?
Yes. Solo founders use it to think through product design, pricing and revenue models before and after launch. I write the plan and the reasoning. You decide what to build.
Does this replace a full-time monetization hire?
It covers the thinking a senior monetization lead brings, like what to sell and at what price. It doesn’t cover managing a team day to day or buying users. If you hire later, I can write the role and the interview plan.
Who builds the changes?
You do, or your team. I write the diagnosis, specs, test plans and models, with wireframes when they help. Finished UI, engineering, tracking and running tests stay with you. Production design, engineering, data engineering, advanced statistical analysis and day-to-day team management are outside the membership.
What if our queue runs empty?
Pause by emailing jordan@brightblack.co. Work and billing stop, and your unused prepaid days are saved. When you return, you use those days before your next charge. Service resumes within two business days, at the same monthly rate. If you’re done instead, email the same address to cancel. Cancellation stops future renewal.
What's the founding rate?
The first five members pay $3,995 a month and keep that rate for as long as they're members, including pauses. After the first five, new members pay $5,000 a month.
How does the 14-day guarantee work?
Try working with me for your first 14 days of active service. If you’re not happy, email within that window for a full refund of your first payment. No questions asked. It applies once per business, starting when you pay. Later payments follow the normal pause and cancellation terms.
Pausing freezes the remaining guarantee days, and you can request a refund while paused if days remain. If I delay the first useful delivery, you get at least seven days to review it, or can request the refund before it arrives. Refunds are initiated within two business days. A refund ends remaining service and future billing.
Do you guarantee a revenue lift?
No. Revenue depends on what gets built and how customers respond, and it can take months to measure. I’ll choose and judge changes with you, but I can’t promise a particular lift or deadline. If you’re unhappy with my work, the 14-day guarantee covers it.
Can I see examples of your work?
Client plans and data stay confidential. Yours will too. The sample above is made up to show how I answer.
Skip the job post.
Turn on Growth Mode.
Bring your numbers and the decision you’re stuck on. Try it for 14 days of active service. If you’re not happy, your first payment comes back.
Monthly subscription · Pause or cancel anytime