252 lines
5.6 KiB
Markdown
252 lines
5.6 KiB
Markdown
# Week 1 Launch Checklist
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**Date:** November 2, 2025
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**Purpose:** Step-by-step guide for ultra-minimal launch
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**Status:** Ready to execute
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---
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## 🎯 Goal
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**NOT:** Mass launch, 100 users, perfect product
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**YES:** 3-5 early adopters, validation someone will pay, feedback
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---
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## ✅ Pre-Launch (Days 1-8)
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### Technical (Days 1-7)
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- [ ] Clear DB blocker (2 days)
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- [ ] Align endpoints (2 days)
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- [ ] Build Prompt URLs (3 days)
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- [ ] Test generation flow end-to-end
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- [ ] Verify Prompt Enhancement working
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### Non-Technical (Day 8)
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**Landing Page (2 hours):**
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- [ ] Hero section with value prop
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- [ ] 3 bullet points (what it does)
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- [ ] Pricing (Free/Credits/Pro)
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- [ ] Email signup CTA
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- [ ] Deploy to Vercel/Netlify
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**Documentation (2 hours):**
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- [ ] Prompt URLs format + example
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- [ ] API curl example
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- [ ] "Email for API key" instruction
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- [ ] Deploy docs page
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**Signup Flow (30 min):**
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- [ ] Create Google Form (Name, Email, Use case)
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- [ ] Setup auto-reply email
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- [ ] Prepare API key email template
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**Stripe (1 hour):**
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- [ ] Create Stripe account if needed
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- [ ] Test invoice generation
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- [ ] Prepare invoice template
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---
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## 🚀 Launch Day (Day 9)
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### Morning (9-10 AM)
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**Reddit r/cursor:**
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- [ ] Post title: "Show HN: Generate images in Cursor without context switching"
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- [ ] Body: Problem → Solution → Early access call
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- [ ] Include example Prompt URL
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- [ ] Link to landing page
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**Discord Cursor:**
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- [ ] Post shorter version in #share channel
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- [ ] Monitor reactions
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### Throughout Day (10 AM - 10 PM)
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**Engagement:**
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- [ ] Answer every comment within 1 hour
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- [ ] Collect all feedback in spreadsheet
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- [ ] Note feature requests
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- [ ] Send API keys to first responders
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**Manual Process:**
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1. Someone fills Google Form
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2. Review submission (good fit?)
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3. If yes: Send Stripe invoice
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4. After payment: Email API key
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5. Check in next day: "How's it working?"
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---
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## 📊 Tracking (End of Day 9)
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**Count:**
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- Signups: _____
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- Paid: _____
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- Active users: _____
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- Feedback themes: _____
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**Questions to answer:**
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- [ ] Did anyone pay? (minimum validation)
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- [ ] What's the #1 requested feature?
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- [ ] Is messaging clear? (confused comments?)
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- [ ] Is enhancement value visible? (quality feedback?)
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---
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## 🎯 Success Criteria
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**Minimum Viable Success:**
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- ✅ 3 people try it
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- ✅ 1 person pays (any amount)
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- ✅ 5+ said "interesting, but need X"
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**Strong Signal:**
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- ✅ 5+ people try it
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- ✅ 2+ people pay
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- ✅ Clear feature request pattern (e.g., "all want MCP")
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**Failure Signal:**
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- ❌ <2 people try it
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- ❌ No one willing to pay
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- ❌ Confused responses ("what is this?")
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---
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## 🔄 Post-Launch (Days 10-14)
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### If Success:
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- [ ] Fix top 2 feedback issues (Days 10-11)
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- [ ] Build most requested feature (Days 12-14)
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- [ ] Plan Week 2 expansion (Dev.to post?)
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### If Unclear:
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- [ ] Schedule 1-on-1 calls with all early adopters
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- [ ] Ask: What worked? What didn't? Would you pay $X?
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- [ ] Iterate based on insights
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### If Failure:
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- [ ] Schedule analysis session with @men
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- [ ] Review: Wrong messaging? Wrong segment? Wrong product?
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- [ ] Decide: Pivot or stop?
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---
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## 📝 Copy Templates
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### Reddit Post
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```markdown
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Title: Show HN: Generate images in Cursor without context switching
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Hey r/cursor! Built a tool to generate images directly in your workflow.
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**Problem:**
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- Stock photos (Unsplash MCP) = generic, overused
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- Midjourney = Discord, manual save, context switching
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**Solution:**
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Prompt URLs that work like this:
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<img src="https://banatie.app/gen?prompt=hero+image&aspect=16:9" />
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**Our trick:**
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AI enhances your prompt for professional quality.
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"hero image" → "professional SaaS hero, modern gradient, 4K, clean UI"
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**Early access:**
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10 free images to try. $20 for 200 images after that.
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Link: [your-landing-page]
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Looking for 5-10 early users for feedback.
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What features matter most to you?
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```
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### Auto-Reply Email
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```
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Subject: Your Banatie API Key (24h)
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Hi [Name],
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Thanks for your interest in Banatie!
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I'll review your submission and send:
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1. Stripe invoice for $20 (200 images credit)
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2. Your API key within 24 hours
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Quick start once you have your key:
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https://docs.banatie.app/quickstart
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Questions? Just reply to this email.
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- Oleg
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```
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### API Key Email
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```
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Subject: Your Banatie API Key
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Hi [Name],
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Your API key: [KEY]
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Quick start:
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<img src="https://banatie.app/gen?prompt=YOUR_PROMPT&aspect=16:9&key=[KEY]" />
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Docs: https://docs.banatie.app
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Feedback? I'm all ears. Reply anytime.
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- Oleg
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```
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---
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## 🎯 Day 9 Hourly Schedule (Example)
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**9:00 AM** - Post to Reddit r/cursor
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**9:15 AM** - Post to Discord Cursor
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**9:30 AM** - Monitor responses, respond immediately
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**10:00 AM** - First signups coming in, review forms
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**11:00 AM** - Send invoices to good fits
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**12:00 PM** - Lunch break, check payment status
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**1:00 PM** - First payment? Send API key!
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**2:00 PM** - Check in with early users: "How's it working?"
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**3:00 PM** - Compile feedback themes
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**4:00 PM** - Continue responding to comments
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**6:00 PM** - Evening check: metrics count
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**8:00 PM** - Final responses, plan Day 10
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**10:00 PM** - End tracking, write summary
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---
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## 💡 Key Reminders
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**Week 1 = Experiment, not Product**
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- Simple is better than polished
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- 3-5 users > 100 confused visitors
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- Feedback > features
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- Fast iteration > perfect launch
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**You're selling to early adopters:**
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- They tolerate rough edges
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- They want to shape the product
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- They value solution over polish
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- They'll give honest feedback
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**Manual processes are OK:**
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- Email API keys manually
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- Send Stripe invoices manually
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- This doesn't scale, that's fine
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- Automate only after validation
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---
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**Created:** November 2, 2025
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**Owner:** Oleg
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**Execute:** After DB blocker cleared (Day 5-9)
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