# CBB Project Brief: CBB Data Services — Ballistic Data API
**Status:** Concept
**Destination:** CBB_Corporate venture (B2B data business; graduates to `CBB_Corporate/03_-_Confidential/Product_Strategy/`)
**Tier:** 2 — Strong Candidate
**Classification:** Internal — Confidential
**Version and date:** see Revision Control Block at the end of this document

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## Summary

A B2B data API that monetizes the Cold Bore Ballistics™ aggregated DOPE database — the proprietary dataset of real-world confirmed ballistic impacts contributed by ScopeDOPE™ users. Third-party developers, optics manufacturers, ammo companies, barrel makers, and ballistic researchers can query anonymized aggregate performance data by cartridge, projectile, barrel twist, atmospheric conditions, and more. This transforms the DOPE database from a user-facing feature into an independent B2B revenue stream and dramatically increases the company's acquisition valuation. This project cannot be built until the database has sufficient depth — it is a 5,000+ install initiative.

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## Problem Statement

The precision rifle and firearms industry has a fundamental data problem: almost all ballistic performance data is either calculated from first principles (Applied Ballistics' Litz BCs, G7 drag models) or measured in controlled laboratory conditions. Neither reflects what actually happens when a real shooter fires a real bullet in real field conditions. The gap between laboratory BC data and field-confirmed impact data is well documented — it's why ScopeDOPE's DOPE-Blend™ methodology exists.

Parties who would pay for real-world field-confirmed ballistic data:
- **Ammo manufacturers:** Want to know how their bullets actually perform in the field versus their published specs. What SD variance do shooters actually see with a given lot? What is the real-world MV distribution across production lots?
- **Barrel makers:** Want to know if shooters report velocity gains or losses with their barrels vs. other makes at equivalent length/twist/caliber.
- **Bullet manufacturers:** Real-world BC validation — does the shooter population's DOPE confirm their published G7 BCs?
- **Optics manufacturers:** If they're building ballistic features into their products, they need ballistic data. A scope manufacturer building a companion app would pay for access to a calibrated real-world dataset.
- **Academic researchers:** Graduate researchers in applied ballistics, terminal ballistics, and exterior ballistics publish regularly. A real-world dataset of confirmed impacts is primary research material.

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## Product Concept

### API Design

**Endpoint structure:**

`GET /v1/cartridges` — list supported cartridges with sample counts
`GET /v1/cartridges/{id}/dope` — aggregate DOPE table for a cartridge across all contributing sessions
`GET /v1/cartridges/{id}/dope?barrel_twist=1:8&mv_range=2850-2950&distance_max=800` — filtered query
`GET /v1/projectiles/{id}/bc` — real-world BC distribution for a projectile
`GET /v1/ammo/{lot_prefix}/performance` — performance data for an ammo lot (requires lot prefix, not full number — privacy)
`GET /v1/conditions/effect` — how atmospheric conditions affect specific cartridge performance in the dataset
`GET /v1/velocity/distribution` — MV distribution for a cartridge/load combination across the population

**Data returned (anonymized aggregate only):**
- Sample count (n=XX sessions contributed this data point)
- Mean, median, SD, 10th/90th percentile for each metric
- Confidence intervals
- Environmental breakdown (% of sessions with full env data, partial, none)
- No individual session data, no user-identifiable information, no lot numbers at higher than class level

**Privacy model:**
- Individual session data is never exposed
- Minimum sample count threshold for any returned data point: n≥30 (no data returned for rare combinations below this threshold — prevents re-identification)
- Lot number data is available only at the prefix/class level, never at the full lot number level

### Access Tiers

| Tier | Monthly price | Queries/mo | Data resolution | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Research | $0 | 100 | Cartridge-level aggregate only | Academics, developers |
| Standard | $299/mo | 10,000 | Full filter set, projectile-level | Small manufacturers, app developers |
| Professional | $999/mo | 100,000 | Full filter set + bulk export | Mid-size manufacturers |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | Custom data cuts, priority support | Hornady, ELEY, Garmin |

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## Target Customer

**Application developers:** Other ballistic apps that want access to real-world validated data. They license the API rather than building their own data collection infrastructure.

**Ammo manufacturers (primary B2B target):** ELEY, SK, Lapua, Federal, Hornady. Particularly compelling for manufacturers already in partnership conversations — ELEY Lot Analyser integration (see SCOPEDOPE_AMMO_DATA_PARTNERSHIP.md) becomes a two-way relationship: CBB gets lot data from ELEY, ELEY gets field validation data from CBB.

**Barrel manufacturers:** Krieger, Bartlein, Proof Research. "How does your customer's data compare to the population?" is a compelling product analytics value proposition.

**Academic/research:** Free tier is sufficient. Drives citations and credibility.

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## Revenue Model

**Subscription SaaS:** Monthly recurring revenue from API access. At 5 Standard customers ($299/mo each) and 2 Professional customers ($999/mo each), that is $3,493 MRR — meaningful independent revenue that compounds with user base growth.

**Enterprise contracts:** A single enterprise agreement with a manufacturer like Hornady or Federal could exceed the entire subscription revenue. Annual contracts at $50,000–$200,000 are realistic for a dataset this unique at scale.

**Data exclusivity windows:** A manufacturer who pays for an exclusive 90-day window on their own lot data (before it becomes aggregate public data) pays a premium. Exclusivity pricing is 3–5x standard tier.

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## Strategic Fit with CBB / ScopeDOPE

This project is the direct monetization of the DOPE database strategic moat. From SCOPEDOPE_STRATEGIC_OPPORTUNITIES.md §1:

> "An acquirer like Hornady, Garmin, or Nielsen-Kellerman cannot buy this database anywhere else — they can only acquire Cold Bore Ballistics to get it."

The API is the interim monetization of that asset before an acquisition conversation occurs. It generates revenue, demonstrates B2B demand, and makes the data's value concrete in financial terms rather than speculative.

**Flywheel reinforcement:** More API customers → more partners invested in the CBB ecosystem → more awareness of ScopeDOPE → more user submissions → more data → more API value → more customers.

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## Competitive Landscape

No comparable real-world field-confirmed ballistic data API exists. Applied Ballistics sells data products based on controlled measurement, not field confirmation. Hornady's data is internal and proprietary. There is no market precedent — which means pricing discovery is required. The free research tier and early partner agreements will establish the market rate.

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## Technical Overview

**Architecture:**
- REST API with OpenAPI 3.0 specification
- Authentication: API keys + JWT for per-request auth
- Rate limiting per tier
- PostgreSQL backend: the same database that powers the DOPE community database, exposed through an aggregation layer
- Data aggregation layer: pre-computed aggregate views refreshed nightly (not computed per-request — too slow)
- Privacy filter: anonymization logic enforced at the aggregation layer before data is ever written to queryable views

**Hosting:** CBB Kubernetes cluster

**Documentation:** `docs.coldboreballisticsllc.com/api` (OpenAPI-generated, interactive)

**Complexity estimate:** Medium-High. The API itself is straightforward. The complexity is in the aggregation layer and privacy model — building a system that computes aggregate views correctly across millions of data points while guaranteeing no individual data leakage requires careful design.

**Prerequisites:**
- DOPE database with >5,000 contributing sessions across >1,000 users (otherwise aggregate data lacks statistical meaning)
- Privacy policy update to explicitly describe API data program (this is already addressed in SCOPEDOPE_PRIVACY_POLICY.md's anonymized data section)
- Legal review of data licensing terms with an IP attorney

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## Go-to-Market

**Phase 1 (at ~5,000 installs):** Publish free research tier. Announce on GitHub (dope-sdk repository), Sniper's Hide, and academic channels. Generate early API consumers.

**Phase 2 (at ~10,000 installs):** Activate paid tiers. Reach out to Tier 1 ammo manufacturers (ELEY, SK). Reach out to Garmin's Xero product team. Reach out to barrel makers.

**Phase 3 (at ~25,000 installs):** Enterprise contract outreach to Hornady, Federal, Nosler.

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## Success Metrics

| Metric | Year 1 | Year 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Active API customers | 5 | 20 |
| MRR from API | $1,000 | $8,000 |
| Free research tier users | 50 | 200 |
| Enterprise inquiries | 1 | 3 |
| Contributing sessions in database | 50,000 | 200,000 |

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## Risks & Mitigations

| Risk | Likelihood | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Insufficient data at launch — API returns too few results per query | High | Don't launch until n≥30 threshold is met for the most common cartridges (6.5 Creedmoor, .22LR, .308 Winchester) |
| Privacy violation — individual sessions re-identifiable from aggregate data | Medium | Strict n≥30 minimum; legal review of privacy model before launch; no lot-level data below class threshold |
| Manufacturer concerns about their data being in the database | Low | Opt-in model; manufacturers can request that their lot data not be included in aggregate queries |
| API adoption slow — paid tiers don't convert | Medium | Free tier is genuinely useful; paid tier value is in filter resolution and volume, not basic access |

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## Resource Requirements

- 1 developer (Jason) — 6–8 weeks for API, aggregation layer, documentation
- Legal review: IP attorney review of data licensing terms ($500–1,500)
- Privacy policy update: minor revision to existing policy
- Infrastructure: existing CBB Kubernetes cluster

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## Recommended Timing

**Build at ~5,000 ScopeDOPE installs.** Before that point, the database lacks sufficient depth for statistically meaningful aggregate data. Building the API infrastructure earlier is fine; activating and marketing it requires data depth.

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## Open Questions

- Should the API be under `coldboreballisticsllc.com/api` or a separate domain (e.g., `dopedata.io`)? Recommendation: start under `coldboreballisticsllc.com`; separate brand if the B2B business grows independently.
- How are contributing users compensated for their data in the API program? Recommendation: the Gold/Silver/Bronze merchandise credit system (existing) covers basic contribution incentives; enterprise API contracts could fund a dedicated contributor revenue share program at scale.
- What is the minimum dataset size to return statistically meaningful aggregate data? Recommendation: n≥30 is the standard threshold in social science research; apply this uniformly.

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## Document Control

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| **Document owner** | `jschwefel@coldboreballisticsllc.com` |
| **Classification** | Confidential (03_-_Confidential/) |
| **Location** | `OneDrive/ScopeDOPE/03_-_Confidential/Product_Strategy/CBB_BRIEF_09_BALLISTIC_DATA_API.md` |
| **Cross-references** | `CBB_PROJECT_BRIEFS_TOC.md` |
| **Created** | 2026-06-02 |
| **Last updated** | 2026-06-09 |
| **Next full review due** | 2027-06-02 |

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## Revision Control Block

| Rev | Date | Changed By | Reviewed By | Approved By | Summary |
|-----|------|------------|-------------|-------------|-------|
| 0.9 | 2026-06-02 | jschwefel | — | — | Initial release |
| DRAFT | 2026-06-09 | Claude (Opus 4.8) | — | — | Fixed "DOPE-blend"→"DOPE-Blend™" per BRAND_LEGAL_LANGUAGE_GUIDE; applied ™ to first use of ScopeDOPE/Cold Bore Ballistics. Portfolio pass (same date): removed header version number (→ Status/Destination + revision-block pointer — the convention flagged earlier is now resolved); added Destination tag (CBB_Corporate venture); replaced forbidden `docs.coldboreballistics.com/api` and `coldboreballistics.com/api` → `coldboreballisticsllc.com`. |
