journey

# The Solo Founder Journey

You don't need to know everything. You need to know what to do next. This skill tells you where you are and what skill to use.

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## Where Are You?

Find your current stage. Start there — don't skip ahead.

### Stage 1: "I have an idea"

You know a problem exists in your field. You haven't validated whether anyone else cares enough to pay.

**Do this:**
1. **translate** — Turn your professional pain into a clear problem statement
2. **validate** — Test whether other people have this pain and will pay to fix it

**Time:** 1-2 weeks. **Cost:** $0-200.

**Gate:** Do NOT move to Stage 2 until you have signal that real people want this. Signal = email signups, survey responses, or pre-payments. "My friends think it's cool" is not signal.

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### Stage 2: "I've validated demand — what do I build?"

You have evidence people want this. Now you need to decide what the minimum product looks like.

**Do this:**
1. **customer-research** — Talk to 10 potential users about their workflow
2. **prioritize** — Decide what to build first (ruthlessly cut scope)
3. **plan** — Write a spec AI tools can execute

**Time:** 1-2 weeks.

**Gate:** You should have a written spec that describes what the user sees and does, not a list of features. If your spec takes more than 2-4 weeks to build, cut more.

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### Stage 3: "I'm ready to build"

You have a spec. Time to choose your tool and build the thing.

**Do this:**
1. **brand-identity-generator** — Set your visual identity so AI tools don't guess
2. **build** — Choose your AI tool (Lovable, Claude Code, Replit, Cursor) and build
3. **database** — Set up your data model and security
4. **secure** — Security checklist before going live
5. **compliance** — If you're in healthcare, finance, education, or another regulated industry

**Time:** 2-4 weeks for an MVP.

**Gate:** The app works. Happy path is functional. You've tested it yourself. It doesn't need to be perfect — it needs to be usable.

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### Stage 4: "It works — how do I get it live?"

The app works locally or in your dev environment. Time to put it on the internet.

**Do this:**
1. **deploy** — Get it live on a custom domain
2. **payments** — Set up Stripe for subscriptions
3. **legal** — Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, business entity
4. **test** — Test the full flow as if you're a new user
5. **monitor** — Set up error tracking and uptime alerts
6. **go-live** — Run the pre-launch checklist before letting anyone in

**Time:** 1-2 days for deploy. 1 week for payments + legal.

**Gate:** Someone can visit your URL, sign up, use the product, and pay you. **go-live** is your final checkpoint before opening the doors.

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### Stage 5: "It's live — how do I get users?"

Your product is live. Nobody knows about it yet.

**Do this:**
1. **landing-page** — Build a landing page that converts
2. **copywriting** — Write copy that speaks your audience's language
3. **launch** — Plan and execute your launch (not just "post on Twitter")
4. **niche-advantage** — If you're building for your own industry, use your network
5. **sales** — Find and reach your first 10-20 customers directly

**Time:** 2-4 weeks of active launch effort.

**Gate:** You have paying customers (even 5-10) and you're learning from their usage.

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### Stage 6: "I have early customers — how do I grow?"

You have paying customers. Now build the engine.

**Do this:**
1. **analytics** — Set up tracking so you know what's working
2. **growth** — Design activation, retention, and referral mechanics
3. **conversion** — Optimize your signup and upgrade flows
4. **email** — Build welcome sequences and lifecycle emails
5. **content** — Start creating content that attracts your audience
6. **seo** — Plan content that ranks and drives organic signups
7. **feedback** — Collect and act on user feedback

**Time:** Ongoing. This is the work from now on.

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### Stage 7: "I'm growing — how do I keep customers?"

You're acquiring users. Now make sure they stick.

**Do this:**
1. **retention** — Reduce churn and build stickiness
2. **support** — Build self-serve documentation
3. **community** — If you have 100+ active users, consider a community
4. **pricing** — Revisit pricing as you learn what users value
5. **optimize** — Speed, code cleanup, database performance

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### Stage 8: "I'm established — how do I scale?"

You have product-market fit. Revenue is growing. Now scale.

**Do this:**
1. **ads** — Paid acquisition once organic is working
2. **hiring** — When to hire vs. keep using AI tools
3. **ai-features** — Add AI-powered features to differentiate
4. **accounting** — Get your books right as revenue grows
5. **finances** — Financial modeling and unit economics

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## Quick Reference

| "I need to..." | Use this skill |
|----------------|---------------|
| Figure out if my idea is worth building | **translate**, **validate** |
| Decide what to build first | **prioritize**, **plan** |
| Choose an AI coding tool | **build** |
| Set up my database | **database** |
| Make it look professional | **brand-identity-generator**, **beautify** |
| Get it live on the internet | **deploy** |
| Check if I'm ready to launch | **go-live** |
| Accept payments | **payments** |
| Handle legal stuff | **legal**, **compliance** |
| Build a landing page | **landing-page** |
| Write marketing copy | **copywriting** |
| Plan my launch | **launch** |
| Reach my first customers | **sales**, **niche-advantage** |
| Set up analytics | **analytics** |
| Grow faster | **growth**, **conversion** |
| Write emails that convert | **email** |
| Create content | **content**, **seo** |
| Reduce churn | **retention** |
| Handle support | **support** |
| Run ads | **ads** |
| Hire a developer | **hiring** |
| Fix a bug | **debug** |
| Something broke in production | **debug**, **monitor** |
| Understand my financials | **finances**, **accounting** |
| Set pricing | **pricing** |
| Make my text sound less AI-generated | **humanize** |