Hi, I need to consult with a developer or company that has successfully launched a profitable membership paid subscripton website. One of my clients (a leading Financial investment guru with a large following) is considering launching a paid membership website. I need advice and consultation from someone who has successfully launched a similar website and made it profitable. We plan on offering free content, freemium content (that requires a free account), and gold member content (that requires the paid membership). The pan is that the free content will attract visitors, then the Freemium content will get people to register, after which we will "up-sell" them to the gold membership content.
vBulletin free/paid membership schemes can handle it perfectly for you. Of course, you may need to adjust the script to your needs and convert it from a forum to a content based website.
The first thing that comes in mind is "The Street" website owned by Jim Cramer. They offer paid membership. Check out their site.
Paying $299 monthly to Kajabi would end up more expensive than hiring a web developer to build a membership website for you, a standalone solution, not a hosted one.
Go for Wordpress and the Digital Access Pass plugin http://www.digitalaccesspass.com That plugin has literally everything on board you'll need for your purpose.