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Session Summary: Unified Product Strategy

Date: November 2, 2025 (Evening)
Topic: Research review + MVP planning
Status: ✅ Key decisions made

🎯 MAJOR DECISION: Unified Product Approach

Problem: Direction 1 (Agencies) vs Direction 2 (AI Developers) - which to choose?

Solution: BOTH. Same product, multiple entry points.

Rationale:

Technical implementation = 100% identical
Backend = same (enhancement, generation, CDN)
Difference = entry point preference (MCP vs Prompt URLs)
Many users are BOTH (tech lead at agency uses Cursor + presents to clients)

Implication: Build once, launch to both segments sequentially

🏆 Key Insights from Research

Competitive Landscape (New Info)

Runware: $13M funding, $0.0006/image (166x cheaper)

BUT: Infrastructure only, no quality layer
Target: Volume buyers
We don't compete on price

ImageKit: Enterprise scale, URL-based generation

Validates Prompt URLs concept works at scale
Target: E-commerce, marketing
We compete on developer focus + quality

Our Moats (Updated Priority):

⭐ Prompt Enhancement (PRIMARY) - 3-6 months to replicate
⭐ Consistency System (@references) - unique, post-MVP
Production Pipeline - deep integration, developer focus

NOT a moat: MCP (can be built in 1 week)

Pricing Strategy

$0.10/image = validated

ImageKit effective cost = same range
Justified through quality layer + complete pipeline

Free tier strategy:

NOT competing with free (OpenRouter 50/day, Google AI Studio 500-1000/day)
Our free tier = testing only (10/month with watermark)
Paid = production use (data privacy, professional quality)

Positioning:

Runware = AWS (cheap infrastructure)
Banatie = Vercel (DX premium)

📋 MVP Scope (Realistic Timeline)

Current Blockers (Days 1-4)

DB schema update (2 days)
Endpoint alignment (2 days)

Week 1: Ultra-Minimal Launch (Days 5-7)

Ship:

Prompt URLs (3 days)
Manual payments via Stripe invoice
Manual API key distribution

Launch to: 5-10 early adopters on r/cursor

Goal: Validate core value (prompt enhancement visible)

Week 2-3: Developer Tools

Add:

MCP Server (3 days)
SDK (2 days)
CLI (2 days)
Automated payments (2-3 days)

Goal: 10-20 paying users

Week 4+: Production Features

Add:

CDN (1 day)
Transformations (1 day)
Focal point detection (2-3 days) ← IMPORTANT: Don't forget
Admin UI (3-5 days)

Goal: 50+ users, validate segments

🎨 Key Product Decisions

Prompt Enhancement

✅ Always enabled, cannot disable
✅ This is our primary value
✅ Justified cost increase (text-to-text + image gen)
✅ If in free limit = OK, this is what we sell

Entry Points Priority

Prompt URLs (Week 1) - Universal, simplest
MCP Server (Week 2) - Developer hook
SDK (Week 2) - Programmatic control
CLI (Week 2) - Terminal workflows

Features Priority

MVP (must-have):

Prompt Enhancement ✅
6 Aspect Ratios ✅
Prompt URLs ⏳
MinIO storage ✅

Post-MVP (validate need):

@references consistency
Team features
Focal point detection
WordPress plugin

📢 Go-to-Market Strategy

Phase 1: Developer Focus (Weeks 1-2)

Target: Segment B (Power Users) + D (AI Freelancers)

Why first:

Founder IS the ICP
Fast validation
Product-led growth
MCP = differentiator

Channels:

r/cursor, Discord
Dev.to posts
Twitter #AIcoding

Message: "MCP for image generation in Cursor"

Phase 2: Agency Expansion (Weeks 3-4)

Target: Segment A (Studios) + C (Freelancers)

Why second:

Product validated with developers
Same tech, different messaging
Add client approval use case

Channels:

r/webdev, r/freelance
LinkedIn (careful - employer risk)
Agency communities

Message: "Speed up client approval with AI mockups"

Phase 3: Optimize (Weeks 5-8)

Analyze:

Which segment converts better?
Which has higher LTV?
Which churns less?

Action: Double down on winner

⚠️ Risks & Open Questions

Risks

Free tier competition (16K-31K/month free via OpenRouter + Google)
- Mitigation: Premium positioning, quality differentiation
Prompt enhancement cost (additional API call)
- Monitor: Calculate actual cost per generation
- Decision point: If exceeds free limit
Segment confusion (trying to serve everyone)
- Mitigation: Sequential launch, clear messaging per segment

Open Questions

Which transformation service? (Need name)
Focal point implementation details
Admin UI approach (custom vs nextjs-saas-starter)
Payment automation complexity

📝 Documents Created/Updated

Created:

/strategy/13-competitive-analysis.md (Runware, ImageKit insights)
/strategy/14-icp-segmentation-unified.md (A/B/C/D with one product approach)
/execution/15-mvp-scope-v2-realistic.md (real timelines, priorities)
/execution/16-product-features.md (all features including focal point)
/execution/17-week-1-launch-checklist.md (step-by-step launch guide)

Updated:

/ROADMAP.md (unified approach, realistic MVP timeline)

To review later:

01-market-positioning-v4.md (in project-knowledge, not on disk yet)
COMPETITIVE-ANALYSIS-QUICK-REF.md (in project-knowledge)
UPDATES-SUMMARY.md (in project-knowledge)

🚀 Launch Strategy (Week 1)

Mental Model: Experiment, NOT Product

Week 1 MVP = Coffee with potential customer

NOT: Mass launch, professional polish, 100 users
YES: 3-5 early adopters, validation, feedback

Goal:

Prove someone will pay (even $20)
Discover which feature matters (MCP vs URLs?)
Validate ICP hypothesis

What's Needed BESIDES Code

1. Landing Page (2 hours)

Hero: "Generate professional images without leaving Cursor"
What: 3 bullets (enhancement, aspect ratios, CDN)
Pricing: Free/Credits/Pro (simple)
CTA: Email signup

2. Documentation (2 hours)

Prompt URLs format + example
API curl example
"Email us for API key"

3. Signup Flow (30 min)

Google Form: Name, Email, Use case
Manual review → Invoice → API key

Total non-tech: ~5 hours

Launch Day (Day 9)

Morning: Soft launch

r/cursor post (Show HN style)
Discord Cursor channel
Message: Problem, Solution, Early access

Afternoon: Engage

Answer every question
Collect feedback
Send API keys to first 3-5

Success metrics:

Minimum: 3 try, 1 pays
Strong: 5+ try, 2+ pay
Failure: <2 try, no payment

Week 2-3: Iterate Based on Feedback

If success:

Fix top 2 issues
Build most requested feature (MCP?)
Expand reach (Dev.to)

If unclear:

1-on-1 calls with early adopters
Iterate messaging/features

If failure:

Analysis session
Pivot or rethink

🎯 Next Actions

For Oleg:

Clear DB blocker (Days 1-2)
Align endpoints (Days 3-4)
Build Prompt URLs (Days 5-7)
Setup manual Stripe invoicing (Day 8)
Launch to 5-10 early adopters

For next session with @men:

Discuss messaging for r/cursor launch post
Plan interview questions (if needed after early adopters)
Review payment automation approach
Discuss focal point detection implementation

🎓 Key Learnings

Product Strategy:

Direction 1 + 2 = same product, different entry points
Many users are BOTH segments (tech lead at agency)
Build once, launch sequentially

Competitive Position:

NOT competing on price (Runware $0.0006)
Competing on quality layer + DX (Vercel approach)
Prompt Enhancement = primary moat

Launch Philosophy:

Week 1 = experiment, not product
3-5 users > 100 confused visitors
Manual processes OK (automate after validation)
Simple better than polished for early adopters

Next Critical Path:

Clear tech debt (Days 1-4)
Build Prompt URLs (Days 5-7)
Create landing/docs (Day 8, 5 hours)
Launch to r/cursor (Day 9)
Collect feedback, iterate (Days 10+)

Session completed: November 2, 2025 ~23:30
Session duration: ~3 hours
Next session: After DB blocker cleared OR for launch planning
Critical files: 17-week-1-launch-checklist.md (execute this)

8.2 KiB Raw Blame History