02The Core 4 · Unit Model
What are the economics of one repeatable unit?
The unit model is the profit-and-loss of a single unit, built from the business up, line by line — each line sourced to a real company that already lives that economic reality. If one unit doesn't make money, scaling it just loses money faster.
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Built from the business up
Not a top-down “we'll capture 1% of a $B market,” but a bottom-up P&L of one unit, assembled line by line.
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Every line sourced
No line is assumed or invented. If a figure can't be traced to an analog's filing, it doesn't belong in the model.
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Cited isn't correct
A clean, “cited,” precise-looking number can still be wrong on the line that matters. The graded skill is judgment, not citation.
What you leave with
A populated, defensible unit model whose every number traces back to a source.