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Week 1 Launch Checklist

Date: November 2, 2025
Purpose: Step-by-step guide for ultra-minimal launch
Status: Ready to execute

🎯 Goal

NOT: Mass launch, 100 users, perfect product
YES: 3-5 early adopters, validation someone will pay, feedback

✅ Pre-Launch (Days 1-8)

Technical (Days 1-7)

  • Clear DB blocker (2 days)
  • Align endpoints (2 days)
  • Build Prompt URLs (3 days)
  • Test generation flow end-to-end
  • Verify Prompt Enhancement working

Non-Technical (Day 8)

Landing Page (2 hours):

  • Hero section with value prop
  • 3 bullet points (what it does)
  • Pricing (Free/Credits/Pro)
  • Email signup CTA
  • Deploy to Vercel/Netlify

Documentation (2 hours):

  • Prompt URLs format + example
  • API curl example
  • "Email for API key" instruction
  • Deploy docs page

Signup Flow (30 min):

  • Create Google Form (Name, Email, Use case)
  • Setup auto-reply email
  • Prepare API key email template

Stripe (1 hour):

  • Create Stripe account if needed
  • Test invoice generation
  • Prepare invoice template

🚀 Launch Day (Day 9)

Morning (9-10 AM)

Reddit r/cursor:

  • Post title: "Show HN: Generate images in Cursor without context switching"
  • Body: Problem → Solution → Early access call
  • Include example Prompt URL
  • Link to landing page

Discord Cursor:

  • Post shorter version in #share channel
  • Monitor reactions

Throughout Day (10 AM - 10 PM)

Engagement:

  • Answer every comment within 1 hour
  • Collect all feedback in spreadsheet
  • Note feature requests
  • Send API keys to first responders

Manual Process:

  1. Someone fills Google Form
  2. Review submission (good fit?)
  3. If yes: Send Stripe invoice
  4. After payment: Email API key
  5. Check in next day: "How's it working?"

📊 Tracking (End of Day 9)

Count:

  • Signups: _____
  • Paid: _____
  • Active users: _____
  • Feedback themes: _____

Questions to answer:

  • Did anyone pay? (minimum validation)
  • What's the #1 requested feature?
  • Is messaging clear? (confused comments?)
  • Is enhancement value visible? (quality feedback?)

🎯 Success Criteria

Minimum Viable Success:

  • ✅ 3 people try it
  • ✅ 1 person pays (any amount)
  • ✅ 5+ said "interesting, but need X"

Strong Signal:

  • ✅ 5+ people try it
  • ✅ 2+ people pay
  • ✅ Clear feature request pattern (e.g., "all want MCP")

Failure Signal:

  • ❌ <2 people try it
  • ❌ No one willing to pay
  • ❌ Confused responses ("what is this?")

🔄 Post-Launch (Days 10-14)

If Success:

  • Fix top 2 feedback issues (Days 10-11)
  • Build most requested feature (Days 12-14)
  • Plan Week 2 expansion (Dev.to post?)

If Unclear:

  • Schedule 1-on-1 calls with all early adopters
  • Ask: What worked? What didn't? Would you pay $X?
  • Iterate based on insights

If Failure:

  • Schedule analysis session with @men
  • Review: Wrong messaging? Wrong segment? Wrong product?
  • Decide: Pivot or stop?

📝 Copy Templates

Reddit Post

Title: Show HN: Generate images in Cursor without context switching

Hey r/cursor! Built a tool to generate images directly in your workflow.

**Problem:** 
- Stock photos (Unsplash MCP) = generic, overused
- Midjourney = Discord, manual save, context switching

**Solution:** 
Prompt URLs that work like this:
<img src="https://banatie.app/gen?prompt=hero+image&aspect=16:9" />

**Our trick:** 
AI enhances your prompt for professional quality.
"hero image" → "professional SaaS hero, modern gradient, 4K, clean UI"

**Early access:** 
10 free images to try. $20 for 200 images after that.

Link: [your-landing-page]

Looking for 5-10 early users for feedback. 
What features matter most to you?

Auto-Reply Email

Subject: Your Banatie API Key (24h)

Hi [Name],

Thanks for your interest in Banatie!

I'll review your submission and send:
1. Stripe invoice for $20 (200 images credit)
2. Your API key within 24 hours

Quick start once you have your key:
https://docs.banatie.app/quickstart

Questions? Just reply to this email.

- Oleg

API Key Email

Subject: Your Banatie API Key

Hi [Name],

Your API key: [KEY]

Quick start:
<img src="https://banatie.app/gen?prompt=YOUR_PROMPT&aspect=16:9&key=[KEY]" />

Docs: https://docs.banatie.app

Feedback? I'm all ears. Reply anytime.

- Oleg

🎯 Day 9 Hourly Schedule (Example)

9:00 AM - Post to Reddit r/cursor
9:15 AM - Post to Discord Cursor
9:30 AM - Monitor responses, respond immediately
10:00 AM - First signups coming in, review forms
11:00 AM - Send invoices to good fits
12:00 PM - Lunch break, check payment status
1:00 PM - First payment? Send API key!
2:00 PM - Check in with early users: "How's it working?"
3:00 PM - Compile feedback themes
4:00 PM - Continue responding to comments
6:00 PM - Evening check: metrics count
8:00 PM - Final responses, plan Day 10
10:00 PM - End tracking, write summary

💡 Key Reminders

Week 1 = Experiment, not Product

  • Simple is better than polished
  • 3-5 users > 100 confused visitors
  • Feedback > features
  • Fast iteration > perfect launch

You're selling to early adopters:

  • They tolerate rough edges
  • They want to shape the product
  • They value solution over polish
  • They'll give honest feedback

Manual processes are OK:

  • Email API keys manually
  • Send Stripe invoices manually
  • This doesn't scale, that's fine
  • Automate only after validation

Created: November 2, 2025
Owner: Oleg
Execute: After DB blocker cleared (Day 5-9)