Launching a product that people actually use isn't magic—it's methodology. After taking multiple products from zero to meaningful traction, I've distilled the process into a repeatable playbook.

Phase 1: Validation (Weeks 1-4)

Before writing code, validate that you're solving a real problem for people who will pay for the solution.

The Validation Stack

  • Problem Interviews: Talk to 20+ potential users about their problems (not your solution)
  • Competitor Analysis: Study existing solutions—their strengths, weaknesses, and gaps
  • Willingness to Pay: Test pricing sensitivity before building
  • Distribution Hypothesis: Identify how you'll reach users at scale
    • The goal of validation isn't to confirm your idea—it's to find the fatal flaws before you invest months building.

    Phase 2: MVP (Weeks 5-10)

    Build the smallest possible product that delivers the core value proposition.

    MVP Principles

  • One Job: Focus on doing one thing exceptionally well
  • Manual First: Automate later; use human processes to validate demand
  • Ugly is Fine: Polish comes after product-market fit
  • Instrumented: Build analytics in from day one

    • Technical Choices That Enable Speed

  • Choose boring technology you know well
  • Use managed services over custom infrastructure
  • Optimize for development velocity, not scale
  • Ship daily; release weekly

    • Phase 3: Launch (Weeks 11-12)

    A launch isn't an event—it's a campaign. Plan for sustained momentum, not a single spike.

    The Launch Stack

  • Owned Channels: Email list, social following, existing audience
  • Community Launch: Product Hunt, Hacker News, relevant subreddits
  • Content Launch: Blog posts, case studies, founder story
  • Outbound: Personal outreach to potential power users

    • Launch Week Cadence

  • Monday: Soft launch to email list
  • Tuesday: Product Hunt launch
  • Wednesday: Follow-up content and PR
  • Thursday-Friday: Community engagement and feedback collection

    • Phase 4: Iterate to 10K (Months 3-6)

    Getting the first users is marketing. Keeping them is product.

    The Retention Focus

    After launch, shift focus entirely to retention metrics:

  • Day 1 Retention: Do users come back the next day?
  • Week 1 Retention: Do they form a habit?
  • Month 1 Retention: Are they getting sustained value?

    • The Growth Loops

    Build mechanisms that turn users into acquisition channels:

  • Referral programs with real incentives
  • Shareable outputs (reports, results, artifacts)
  • Community features that benefit from network effects
  • Content that users want to share

    • The Reality Check

    Most products don't reach 10K users. The ones that do share common traits:

  • Founders who talk to users obsessively
  • Iteration cycles measured in days, not weeks
  • Willingness to kill features that don't work
  • Focus on one metric at a time

    • The playbook isn't complicated. The execution is hard.