$ chainstack-growth/strategy.md · May 2026

What I'd Build
at Chainstack

A growth strategy to 2× revenue
ABM Ecosystem Site as Product AEO Four parallel tracks
// renata-kasimova · proposed for deployment to Chainstack
The Opportunity

The Path to 2×

Chainstack's pricing advantage is real and calculable. The question is how to activate it at speed.

$6M
Current ARR (SGD-converted). Target is $12M — that's $6M in new annual revenue to add.
4–5×
Cheaper than QuickNode at Solana production scale. $199/mo vs $941/mo for the same workload.
60 CU
Alchemy's cost per eth_getLogs call vs 1 RU on Chainstack.
Marketing budget is <$50K/mo. PLG through virality won't compound fast enough at this budget for a developer audience that ignores display ads.
Alchemy charges 60 CU per eth_getLogs; Chainstack charges 1 RU. QuickNode charges 20–120× multipliers per method. The pricing gap is not a story — it's a calculable number for each target company.
The strategy: go directly after companies already spending — from competitors — while building a funnel for the next generation of projects through ecosystem partnerships.
Strategy

Four Parallel Tracks

While one experiment runs, I'm working on the next. No waiting for results before starting. Click a track to jump to the details.

↓
01
Win Enterprise Clients from Competitors
Target companies overpaying Alchemy or QuickNode. Reach with personalized savings calculator. Convert with migration package.
↓
02
Build the Ecosystem Pipeline
Partner with accelerators, sponsor hackathons, work with independent educators. Capture developers before they choose a provider.
↓
03
Convert & Retain Better
Site as a product. Funnel analytics, drop-off identification, experiments. Dashboard has a confidence gap worth addressing.
↓
04
Own the LLM Answer Layer
Cluster existing content around developer intents. Become the cited source when LLMs answer RPC infrastructure questions.
Track 01 · ABM
Account-Based Marketing

Win Enterprise Clients from Competitors

The pricing gap is calculable for each target company. This isn't a story — it's math.

Hypothesis 1
Solana devs on QuickNode pay 4–5× more
QuickNode charges $941/mo for a Solana workload that costs $199 on Chainstack. DeFi protocols and analytics platforms running high-throughput calls feel this most. Identify by on-chain activity, approach with exact savings.
Hypothesis 2
Post-funding = the switch window
When a Web3 company closes a Series A+, it scales infrastructure for the first time and gets cost-conscious. Funding rounds are public on Crunchbase — this triggers an automated personalized outreach sequence via Clay.
Hypothesis 3
eth_getLogs is the pricing trap
Alchemy charges 60 CU per eth_getLogs; Chainstack charges 1 RU. DeFi indexers and NFT marketplaces making millions of these calls face bills 60× higher than they should be.
✓
Action items
Build target list: Solana/EVM companies on QuickNode by on-chain activity (Dune, Nansen)
Set up Clay + Apollo sequences with "Shred the Bill" calculator as the lead asset
Crunchbase trigger: Series A+ Web3 companies → add to cold outreach pipeline automatically
Create migration landing page with step-by-step for top 3 chains + customer savings proof (Nexo 5×, CertiK 70%, Trust 400% ROI)
Track 02 · Ecosystem
Ecosystem Pipeline

Build the Ecosystem Pipeline

Capture developers before they make a provider choice. Default RPC in the right environment = switching costs from day one.

Hypothesis 1
Hackathon calendar = recurring acquisition
ETHGlobal runs 5 in-person hackathons in 2026 (NY, Lisbon, Tokyo, Mumbai + more). As infra sponsor, Chainstack becomes the default RPC for every project — capturing 800+ devs per event before they consider alternatives.
Hypothesis 2
Accelerators = pre-qualified enterprise pipeline
Alliance DAO (ALL17 starts May 2026), a16z CSX, and ConsenSys Tachyon back DeFi and infra companies. A credits partnership converts portfolio companies to enterprise accounts as they scale.
Hypothesis 3
Independent educators > platforms with exclusives
Alchemy owns Alchemy University. But independent YouTube and GitHub educators aren't locked in. Credits + co-promotion in exchange for using Chainstack as default RPC in tutorials. Zero CAC.
✓
Action items
Contact ETHGlobal partnerships: infra sponsor tiers for Lisbon (Jul), Tokyo (Sep), Mumbai (Q4)
Outreach to Alliance DAO ALL17 and a16z CSX: propose credits partnership for portfolio companies
Find 10 independent Web3 educators (YouTube/GitHub 5K+ audience), send creator offer
Create "Chainstack for Builders" credits page to anchor all partnership conversations
📅 Web3 Events Calendar 2026 → 🤝 Ecosystem Targets: Accelerators & Platforms →
Track 03 · Site as Product
Convert & Retain

Convert and Retain Better

Analytics, experiments, funnel audit. The drop-off is post-first-payment — that's where the work starts.

Hypothesis 1
Smooth onboarding, broken confidence loop
First API call is easy. But analytics takes minutes to load — users can't tell if it worked. This isn't a bug fixable right now, but it's a confidence gap. Can the UI signal success before the dashboard catches up?
Hypothesis 2
Conversion tools are buried in dev resources
"Compare Endpoints" and Performance Dashboard are the strongest proof Chainstack wins on speed and cost. They live in dev resources, not the comparison or pricing flow. Moving them earlier is a fast experiment.
Hypothesis 3
The real drop-off is post-first-payment
Activation isn't the problem. Drop-off happens after the first payment. Cohort retention analysis + churned user interviews will reveal whether it's product, pricing tiers, or competitive switching.
✓
Action items
Set up full funnel analytics with defined activation events (Amplitude or Mixpanel)
Cohort retention analysis: where exactly does churn happen relative to billing events?
A/B test: surface Compare Endpoints tool on the pricing and signup pages
Interview 5 recently churned users — understand whether they switched and to whom
Track 04 · AEO
AI Engine Optimization

Own the LLM Answer Layer

87 pages of content, 0 intent clusters. LLMs default to Alchemy and QuickNode — that's fixable.

Hypothesis 1
87 pages of content, 0 intent clusters
Chainstack has deep technical content, but it's organized by product, not by developer intent. LLMs associate Alchemy and QuickNode with "production RPC" by default. Clustering content around specific intents flips this.
Hypothesis 2
Promotional framing gets discounted by LLMs
Comparison articles read as ads. LLMs penalize that. Rewriting with neutral framing, raw data tables, and third-party proof — Nexo (5×), CertiK (70% savings), Trust (400% ROI) — makes content citable.
Hypothesis 3
AI agents category is wide open
Chainstack already has a working MCP server. Neither Alchemy nor QuickNode have strong AI agent infrastructure content. Owning "blockchain RPC for AI agents" in LLM responses before it gets competitive is a first-mover window.
✓
Action items
Content audit: map top 20 pages by traffic to developer intent clusters
Rewrite pricing comparison page: neutral framing, raw data table, customer savings proof
Write "DeFi Developer Hub" article — biggest content gap vs. competitors
Monthly LLM tracking: test 15 target queries in ChatGPT/Perplexity/Claude, log citations
🧠 Full AEO Strategy & Content Clusters →
Operating Model

How I Work

Parallel experiments

Launch a track, let it run, work on the next one. No waiting for results before starting. Each track has a hypothesis and a metric — no endless projects.

LLM automation over delegation

Clay + Apollo for outreach. LLM for content production and personalization. One person, full stack. No delegation — just better tooling.

Sales = Marketing

I don't separate them. ABM outreach uses marketing assets. Content drives sales conversations. The "Shred the Bill" calculator is both a blog post and an outreach tool.

Hypothesis-driven

Every track has a testable hypothesis and a metric. If data proves it wrong, I update the hypothesis and move on. No attachment to specific tactics.

// first-90-days.plan
ABM
Build target list, launch first Clay outreach sequence, qualify 20+ meetings with companies on Alchemy/QuickNode
ECO
ETHGlobal sponsor inquiry for remaining 2026 events, outreach to Alliance DAO ALL17 + 2 DeFi accelerators
SITE
Funnel analytics setup, identify top 3 drop-off points, first A/B test live on pricing page
AEO
Content audit done, pricing comparison page rewritten, DeFi Developer Hub article drafted and published