Customer concentration risk: when one client is too big

Oscar

Big news. Victor, the owner of Fixpoint, called. Forty franchise shops in three regions. He wants GarageDesk in all forty!

Nina

On his terms, though. 400 per shop, one contract signed by him, an integration with Fixpoint's accounting system, and the app in Fixpoint colors with their logo.

Oscar

I almost said yes on the phone. I told him we'd call back tomorrow.

You

Forty times 400 is 16,000 a month. That's huge!

Alex Tutor

It is. So first measure how huge. What share of GarageDesk's MRR would Fixpoint be, if it joined on top of October's 37,400?

Alex Tutor

Question 1

GarageDesk's MRR is 37,400 UAH. Fixpoint would add 40 shops at 400 UAH a month. What share of the new total MRR would Fixpoint be, in %? Round to the nearest whole number.

Your answer

Units: %

Alex Tutor

Three hryvnias of every ten under one signature. That's customer concentration: when one customer is that big, its wishes quietly become your roadmap.

Nina

The accounting integration alone is about two months of my work. And a branded version means two apps to keep up forever.

Alex Tutor

Two months when the other 64 shops get nothing. And a year later Victor says: “Add this, or we leave.” You'd lose 30% of MRR in one call, so you add it.

Oscar

And 400 while we're moving new shops to 750. What would I tell the shop across the street from a Fixpoint?

Alex Tutor

Question 2

Which are real risks of accepting Victor's offer as proposed? Choose all that apply.

Choose all that applyOne decision by Victor could remove about 30% of MRR at onceTwo months of Nina's time go to one customer's integrationA branded version doubles what must be maintainedThe 400 price undercuts the new 750 price and invites other shops to ask for the sameForty more shops would make the SMS service stop working

You

So they should just say no?

Alex Tutor

Not at all. Look at who actually pays in a franchise. Each Fixpoint shop has its own owner and its own regulars. Those owners are exactly GarageDesk's niche.

Oscar

Then each shop signs up on its own, with the standard product, and Fixpoint gets a volume price. Say 450 per shop.

Alex Tutor

Good. No custom work, no branding, and no single contract that can take forty shops away in one day. Shops join as they see results.

Nina

Victor agreed to start with eight shops in December.

Alex Tutor

Question 3

In December 8 Fixpoint shops join at 450 UAH a month each. Taking the rest of GarageDesk's MRR as 37,400 UAH, what share of total MRR is Fixpoint, in %? Round to one decimal.

Your answer

Units: % (e.g. 12.5)

Oscar

I want to answer every one of his requests, so he doesn't feel brushed off.

Alex Tutor

Right. Each “no” should come with what you can offer instead. Sell what you have today, not what he'd like you to build.

Nina

And if Fixpoint really needs data in their accounting system, a monthly report they can download costs me a day, not two months.

You

So Victor gets a yes, just not the one he asked for.

Alex Tutor

Question 4

Match each of Victor's requests with GarageDesk's answer.

Pick an answer for each row. Choosing an answer that is already used moves it to this row.

All 40 shops at 400 UAH
Choose an answer
One contract signed by Victor for all shops
Choose an answer
An integration with Fixpoint's accounting system
Choose an answer
The app in Fixpoint's colors and logo
Choose an answer

Alex Tutor

Add one line to your monthly page: the largest customer's share of MRR. Count shops under one decision-maker together.

A common rule of thumb for a small business, illustrative rather than a law: keep any one customer below about 10–20% of revenue. Above that, the customer starts running your product.

Oscar

Many small customers make every sales call calmer. No single “no” can sink us.

Nina

And I keep building one product, for all of them.

Alex Tutor

Question 5Short answer · AI-checked task

Oscar says: "The 8 Fixpoint shops pay separately, so they're 8 small customers, not one big one." Reply to Oscar in 2–3 sentences: should they be counted together when measuring concentration, and what share of MRR is that today?

Write your answer and get a score with feedback from our AI reviewer.

Log in to get AI feedback

Alex Tutor

Remember ClinicSlot, Hannah and Leo's booking app for dental clinics in Kharkiv? A year on, they have their own month to make sense of.

You

MRR, churn, a price rise and a big customer, all at once?

Alex Tutor

All at once, like real life. Numbers first, then a recommendation they can act on.

Alex Tutor

Question 6Case · AI-checked task

Write a recommendation for Hannah and Leo (200–350 words).

ClinicSlot sells booking and reminders to small private dental clinics in Kharkiv for 800 UAH a month or 8,000 UAH a year.

Start of last month: 60 clinics on the monthly plan and 12 on the yearly plan.

During the month:

5 new clinics, all monthly;
4 monthly clinics left: 2 because their card payments failed and nobody followed up, 1 closed, 1 moved to a chain's in-house system.

Two decisions on the table:

A chain of 30 dental clinics offers to take all 30 at 500 UAH each under one contract that it can cancel with 30 days' notice, if ClinicSlot builds an integration with its X-ray software (Hannah estimates six weeks) and shows the chain's logo.
Leo wants to raise the price for new clinics from 800 to 950 UAH.

Compute MRR at the start and end of the month, customer churn and revenue churn, and the chain's share of MRR if it joined on top of the end-of-month MRR. Then recommend what to fix first, how to answer the chain, and whether and how to raise the price.

Write your answer and get a score with feedback from our AI reviewer.

Log in to get AI feedback

Alex Tutor

Next module: GarageDesk grows without an ad budget. We start with shops that bring other shops.

Alex Tutor

That’s the lesson. You answered every task — nicely done.

Next lesson: Referrals and community