CRUX

The Reasoning Simulator for High-Stakes Conversations

AI-POWERED  |  22 PHILOSOPHER PERSONAS  |  331 PRINCIPLES  |  BETA READY

John Campbell  |  jfcampbl@gmail.com  |  April 2026

The Problem

Critical Thinking Is Broken

70% of employers cite critical thinking gaps. Philosophy courses are passive. Debate programs are expensive. Generic AI tools don't teach reasoning structure.

Existing Solutions

Why Current Approaches Fail

Philosophy Courses

Passive. No practice. No structured feedback loop.

Debate Programs

Expensive. Competitive. Intimidating for most learners.

AI Chatbots

No scoring. No progression. No reasoning structure.

The Mechanism

Same-Side Argumentation

Player and AI philosopher argue THE SAME POSITION across 5 rounds. An AI judge scores both. A coaching system provides structured feedback.

Learn by comparison, not competition.

The Signature Loop

5 Rounds of Structured Practice

01
Write your argument
02
See philosopher's argument
03
Receive judge score
04
Get Logic / Structure / Insight coaching
05
Workshop and refine

5-10 minutes per session. Workshop mode: refine arguments, watch scores improve.

Philosopher Personas

22 Authentic Thinkers

Easier (4)

Socrates, Aristotle, Buddha, Confucius

Moderate (10)

Kant, Rawls, Mill, Mencius, Plato, Rumi, de Beauvoir, Sun Tzu, Zhu Xi, Zhuangzi

Harder (8)

Adi Shankara, Ayn Rand, Dogen Zenji, Nietzsche, Laozi, Foucault, Nagarjuna, Peter Singer

Each argues from authentic philosophical positions. 12-18 month competitive moat.

Product Flow

Session Architecture

Select Principle
>
Choose Philosopher
>
5 Rounds of Argumentation
>
Scoring + Coaching
>
Workshop Refinement

5-10 MINUTES PER SESSION

Differentiation

What Makes CRUX Unique

Not available in ChatGPT, Duolingo, or any competitor.

Market Opportunity

Three Converging Markets

$391B
Professional Development annually
$22.4B
US Leadership Training, 7.1% CAGR
$348B
EdTech TAM by 2030

Primary path: white-label partnerships with training companies.

Business Model

Dual Revenue Streams

Direct (Consumer)

Free

5 rounds/month, 10 philosophers

Premium

$19.99/mo or $99/year. Full access.

Partner (White-Label)

Per-Seat

Annual fee per participant

Revenue Share

50-60% partner margin

Unit Economics

Built for Margin

$0.0005
COGS per session (Gemini 2.5 Flash)
85%+
Gross margin
$12
CAC (organic)

LTV:CAC ratio 8.3:1

Validation Status

Live and Verified

22
AI Philosopher Personas
2,657
Tests Passing
331
Principles Loaded

CLOUDFLARE WORKERS + REACT 19  |  HMAC AUTH  |  RATE LIMITING  |  ADMIN DASHBOARD

Roadmap

12-Month Execution Plan

NOW
Live Product
cruxreasoning.com
Full E2E verified
T0 + 3MO
Validate
MV-0: Parallel pilots
(edu + professional)
T0 + 6MO
First Partner
MV-1: Branded
deployment live
T0 + 9MO
Scale
3-5 partners
Revenue share model
T0 + 12MO
Platform
MV-2: CLI tooling
Tenant lifecycle

Partnership Model

Your Brand, Our Engine

What Partners Get

  • Branded deployment (logo, colors, onboarding)
  • 22 AI challenge styles, 331 principles
  • Admin dashboard with usage analytics
  • Live in days, not months

Partner Economics

ModelPartner Margin
Per-seat licensing50-70%
Revenue share50-60%
Site licenseUncapped upside

White-Label Targets

Training Company Partners

Crucial Learning
"Crucial Conversations" — exact skill match
Crestcom International
Franchise model = built for white-label distribution
Center for Creative Leadership
50+ years, simulation-based learning
DDI
Assessment-driven, needs a practice layer
FranklinCovey
All Access Pass platform, 15x Top 20 winner

$22.4B US LEADERSHIP TRAINING MARKET  |  430+ FORTUNE 500 USE EXTERNAL PROVIDERS

CRUX

Created by John Campbell

jfcampbl@gmail.com  |  cruxreasoning.com

CRUX REASONING  |  BETA READY  |  331 PRINCIPLES  |  22 PHILOSOPHERS