banatie-strategy/INDEX.md

9.7 KiB

Banatie Strategy Documentation Index

Last Updated: November 2, 2025
Total Documents: 13 (numbered in strategy/execution) + research (prefixed)
Next Available Number: 13
Project Stage: Pre-launch / ICP Validation


📊 Numbering System

Rule: Sequential numbering for strategy/ and execution/ folders (01-99)

  • Each number is used only once
  • New document = next available number
  • Deleted documents don't free up numbers
  • Exception: discussions/ uses date-based format (YYYY-MM-DD-topic.md)
  • Exception: research/ uses flat structure with prefixes (direction-, signals-, analysis-)

Currently Used:

  • 01 - Market Positioning
  • 02 - Reality Check
  • 03 - ICP Research Questions
  • 06 - Future Topics Backlog
  • 07 - Validated ICP (AI Developers)
  • 08 - Validation Plan
  • 09 - MVP Scope
  • 10 - Pricing Strategy
  • 11 - Technical Architecture
  • 12 - Current Tech State

Next to assign: 13


For new sessions START HERE:

For strategic decisions:

For execution:


📂 Core Documentation

Master Files

CLAUDE.md
AI assistant configuration, folder structure, commands
Status: 📝 Living document
Purpose: Guide for @men on how to work with documentation

INDEX.md (this file)
Complete map of all documents
Status: 📝 Living document
Purpose: Navigation and quick reference

ROADMAP.md
Current status, active sprint, milestones
Status: 📝 Living document
Purpose: Track progress and priorities

FRAMEWORK.md
Discussion and documentation best practices
Status: 📝 Living document
Purpose: Guide for strategic sessions with @men


📂 Strategy Documents

Core Strategic Foundation

01 - Market Positioning (v2.0, Oct 20)
Positioning, competitors, market size ($25B+ dev tools)
Status: Validated
Key insight: We're in "Developer Tools for AI-Powered Development" ($25B+ subset)

02 - Reality Check (Oct 19)
Founder situation, financial goals, constraints
Status: 📝 Living document, review monthly
Critical: Solo founder, family of 5, $6K/month sole income, 15-20 hrs/week available

07 - Validated ICP (v1.0, Oct 20)
AI-powered developers as primary ICP
Confidence: HIGH (80%) - founder IS the ICP
Target: Developers using Claude Code/Cursor who build web projects

11 - Technical Architecture (v1.0, Nov 1)
Platform architecture, tech stack, 6-stage pipeline
Status: Validated
Stack: Express, Next.js, Gemini 2.5 Flash, MinIO, PostgreSQL, Cloudflare


🎯 Execution Documents

Validation & Launch Planning

03 - ICP Research Questions (v2.0, Oct 20)
Interview script, validation framework
Status: 🔄 In use - validation in progress
Goal: 10-15 interviews to validate willingness to pay

08 - Validation Plan (Oct 20)
2-week sprint plan, 10-15 interviews, stealth outreach
Timeline: Oct 20 - Nov 3, 2025
Channels: Reddit, Indie Hackers, Discord

09 - MVP Scope (Oct 20)
Must-have features, 4-6 week dev timeline
Status: Pending validation results
Core: MCP integration, Prompt Enhancement, CDN, @references

10 - Pricing Strategy (v2.0, Oct 20)
Hybrid model: Credits + Subscription
Tiers:

  • Free: 10 gens/month (watermark)
  • Credits: $20-100 for 200-1500 gens
  • Pro: $49/month for 500 gens

Technical Documentation

12 - Current Tech State (v1.0, Nov 1)
Business-focused overview of platform capabilities
Status: 📝 Working Document
Key: Platform mostly production-ready, gaps identified

Appendix 1 - SDK code examples
Appendix 2 - Use cases & conversion


🔬 Research Documents

See: research/method-passive-research.md for detailed methodology

Research Structure (Flat with Prefixes)

Methodology:

Directions:

Signals:

  • signals-summary.md - Aggregate findings
  • (Copy from Project Knowledge: direction-1/2/6-strong-signals.md)

Analysis:

Key Research Insights

Direction 2 (AI Coding Agents): 70-80% confidence

  • ICP match = excellent (founder IS the ICP)
  • Market size = huge (36K+ r/cursor members)
  • Willingness to pay = validated ($20-200/mo)
  • Technical fit = perfect (MCP + SDK)

ICP Segmentation (A/B/C/D):

  • A: Studios/Agencies (CEO decision) - Direction 1 focus
  • B: Power Users (Tech leads with Cursor) - Direction 2 PRIMARY
  • C: Freelancers (Solo decision) - Cross-direction
  • D: AI-savvy Freelancers - Direction 2 SECONDARY

💬 Discussion History

Note: Discussions use date-based naming (YYYY-MM-DD-topic.md)

2025-10-19 - Initial Strategic Session
First strategic session - 2 hours with @men
Outcomes:

  • ICP direction clarified (AI developers)
  • Pricing model validated (hybrid)
  • Documentation framework established

📋 Backlog & Future

06 - Future Topics (Oct 19)
Upcoming discussions prioritized by urgency
Current priorities:

  • Soon: MVP scope finalization, pre-launch strategy
  • Eventually: Social media, Google Ads, employer risk management

🔗 Document Dependencies

Critical path for new @men sessions:

ROADMAP.md → 02-reality-check.md → research/method-passive-research.md → research/analysis-icp-segmentation-abcd.md

For strategic pivots:

01-market-positioning.md → research/signals-summary.md → research/analysis-icp-segmentation-abcd.md → 07-validated-icp.md

For tactical execution:

08-validation-plan.md → 09-mvp-scope.md → 10-pricing-strategy.md

📈 Document Status Legend

  • Validated - confirmed through research/data
  • 🔄 In Progress - actively being executed
  • Pending - waiting for prerequisite
  • 🔮 Future - planned but not yet started
  • 📝 Living - continuously updated

🔍 Key Relationships

Market Positioning (01) informs:

  • Validated ICP (07) - target audience selection
  • Pricing Strategy (10) - competitive benchmarking
  • MVP Scope (09) - feature prioritization

Reality Check (02) constrains:

  • Validation Plan (08) - time allocation (15-20 hrs/week)
  • MVP Scope (09) - what's realistic in 4-6 weeks
  • Pricing Strategy (10) - break-even requirements ($100-500 MRR)

Research (research/) validates:

  • Validated ICP (07) - external confirmation
  • ICP Segmentation (research/analysis-icp-segmentation-abcd.md)
  • Interview Questions (03) - pain points to validate
  • Validation Plan (08) - where to find respondents

Technical Architecture (11) + Current Tech State (12) define:

  • What platform can do (architecture + implementation status)
  • MVP Scope (09) - what MUST be built vs already done
  • Launch readiness - gap analysis

Discussion Framework (FRAMEWORK.md) guides:

  • All strategic sessions
  • Documentation creation process
  • Decision-making workflows

📝 Quick Reference: Where to Save New Documents

Strategic decisions & insightsstrategy/

  • Market analysis updates
  • ICP pivots or refinements
  • Positioning changes
  • Competitive intelligence

Plans & execution tasksexecution/

  • Launch plans
  • Feature specifications
  • Marketing campaigns
  • Sales processes

Research findingsresearch/ (use prefixes)

  • direction-N-*.md - Research directions
  • signals-*.md - Strong signals found
  • analysis-*.md - Strategic analysis
  • methodology-*.md - Research methods (if needed)

Session summariesdiscussions/ (date-based: YYYY-MM-DD-topic.md)

  • Strategic planning sessions
  • Major decision meetings
  • Retrospectives

Ideas & parking lotbacklog/

  • Future features
  • Potential experiments
  • Topics for later discussion

Navigation tip: Use Ctrl+F to search by topic, document name, or status emoji.

Maintenance: Update this INDEX.md whenever:

  • New document created (assign number/prefix, add to section)
  • Document status changes (update emoji and notes)
  • New relationships identified (add to Dependencies)
  • Quarterly review (prune deprecated docs, reorganize)

Last maintained by: @men
Version: 3.0 (research folder restructured to flat + prefixes)
Next review: After ICP validation complete (Nov 3, 2025)