Thank you for providing the example of Vendasta. Very helpful.
It seems to me there are two categories of Saas Companies, somewhat Whitelabeled and fully Whitelabeled. The output of the tool should not redirect to their servers if they were truly whitelabeled. What they offer is only the Bookshelf Branding, not as we own the whole tool. I mean they need to showcase their product, and make it known to others, in order to sell.
I somewhat agree with them that we cannot gatekeep the tool, but if they have charged for an LTD + a 10% sales fee on on top of that, plus Future Add-Ons this is enough to sustain the business.
I believe Pickaxe should sustain & support existing customers to sell more, so that it generates even more in the longrun. If we feel comfortable & sell, then Pickaxe profits more from our collective effort. That is why community building is important. Furthermore, they can incentivise us to promote their services, with an advantageous Affiliate system so that we can act as Agencies, employing us to sell more of their future products. But it depends entirely on them frankly.
For me the Studio should be Fully Whitelabeled, result shown to the user in a separate window. But if the user wants to embed the tool with a snippet code, then let it be as it is.
In the meantime, a possible solution for you is to embed the Pickaxe output file into a gated CRM Portal Page. Do not let the user generate a pdf directly from the Studio. Let him give you his email first to opt-in, and tell him to sign up & enter to your Portal to get his file. You can externally automate the Output file of the Pickaxe to be sent to your Database first, and then be copied in a shared file with your client. If you do not have a Portal, then send it to him via Email. This is more complicated, but can be done.