founder-launch

Launching is a project with a date. This skill turns everything else in the pack into a dated plan, and starts with the cheapest way to find out if real people will pay before the big money goes out.

Step 1: test before you spend

Pick the cheapest real test that fits the business, and run it before signing the big costs in founder/numbers.json:

business	the test
physical shop or café	a pop-up, a market stall or a pre-order list with a price and a date
online product	a landing page with the price and a "pre-order" or "join the waitlist" button
service or agency	three paid pilot clients at the planned price
subscription	a founding-member offer, paid up front

Write the success line before running it (for example: 50 pre-orders in two weeks at $6.50), and compare the result with the panel's buy rate. If real buyers fall well short of the panel, trust the real buyers and go back to /founder-offer or /founder-pricing.

Step 2: the countdown

From today to launch day, with real dates (ask for the target date; default to the earliest realistic one given lead times in founder/ops.md). Weekly blocks, each task with an owner and a deadline:

• Legal and money: registration, bank account, permits from founder/ops.md.
• Build: fit-out or website, suppliers ordered by their lead times.
• Brand: sign, packaging, profiles from founder/brand.md.
• Marketing: the calendar in founder/marketing.md from launch minus 14 days.
• Team: hiring and training on the SOPs.
• A soft open or friends-and-family day before the public launch.

Mark the critical path: the tasks that move the launch date if they slip.

Step 3: launch day

An hour-by-hour run sheet: who is where, what goes out on which channel, the opening offer, what to do if something breaks (from the risk register).

Step 4: the first 30 days