Labeling a product as 1.0 is more than just moving the version number forward one digit; it's a sense of confirmation: YouMind has finally come to fruition. So, taking this opportunity, I'd like to share some candid thoughts from a startup team's perspective on our recent product, team, and development.

## The current state of survival for small teams

We recently did a cost breakdown, and the good news is that YouMind's overall investment and returns are currently in a very healthy state. However, we sometimes need to plan ahead, because the healthier the situation, the more important it is to carefully consider whether this health can continue.

Here's the situation: let's start by looking at the costs. We found that heavy users of YouMind were spending far more each month than we expected. On one hand, we're happy because the product is very popular with users and creates value for them. On the other hand, we're also considering how to gradually optimize the cost structure while maintaining quality.

Optimizing the cost structure is essentially about giving us more initiative in our future development. Offering trial services to new users is always a significant expense, and if these users don't pay, spread the word, or provide feedback, it represents a direct loss for us.

This isn't a complaint; it's the reality for most startups.

The AI ​​era has changed the economic models of many software products. The traditional approach of "building a large user base first and then monetizing" is becoming increasingly inapplicable. The reason is simple: every time an AI product interacts with another user and generates an image, it incurs costs. Often, it doesn't operate mechanically according to a program, but rather it consumes real money.

If a startup doesn't have very strong capital backing, then the "burn money first, then monetize" model is no longer reliable. We must find a healthy growth curve in the early stages.