Complete Guide to Launching Solo

Launching a product solo can feel overwhelming. You're the developer, designer, marketer, and support team all in one. This guide breaks down the entire process into actionable steps.

Phase 1: Validate Your Idea

Before writing a single line of code, validate that people actually want what you're building.

Talk to 10 Potential Users

• Find them in communities, Twitter, Reddit
• Ask about their current workflow and pain points
• Listen more than you talk
• Take notes on exact phrases they use

Create a Simple Landing Page

Don't build the product yet. Build a landing page that:

• Explains the problem you solve
• Shows key features (even if they don't exist yet)
• Has an email signup for early access
• Takes 2-4 hours to make

Tools: Carrd, Webflow, or just HTML/CSS

Set a Validation Threshold

Decide upfront: "If I get X signups in Y days, I'll build this."

Good thresholds for beginners:

• 50 email signups in 2 weeks
• 10 people who say they'd pay
• 5 discovery calls with interested users

Phase 2: Build Your MVP

Now that you've validated, build the absolute minimum version that solves the core problem.

Define Your Core Feature

What's the ONE thing your product must do? Everything else is noise.

Bad MVP: "A social network for dog owners with messaging, posts, groups, events..."

Good MVP: "A simple way to find dog-friendly cafes near you"

Set a Ship Date

Give yourself 2-4 weeks max. If it takes longer, your MVP is too big.

Cut Ruthlessly

Features to cut from your MVP:

• User profiles (unless core to the product)
• Social features
• Admin dashboards
• Analytics
• Perfect design
• Mobile apps (start with web)

Phase 3: Launch

Launching isn't a single event. It's many small launches to different communities.

Where to Launch

Week 1:

• Personal network (email, social)
• Relevant subreddits
• Indie Hackers
• Your landing page subscribers

Week 2:

• Product Hunt (Tuesday-Thursday)
• Hacker News (Show HN)
• Twitter with demo video

Week 3-4:

• Niche communities
• Discord servers
• Slack groups
• Facebook groups

Launch Template

Use this template for your launch posts:

**Problem:** [One sentence about the pain point]

**Solution:** [One sentence about what you built]

**Why I built this:** [Personal story, 2-3 sentences]

**What it does:** [3-5 bullet points of key features]

**Try it:** [Link]

**Looking for:** [Specific feedback you want]

Track Everything

• Where you launched
• How many signups from each channel
• Which messages resonated
• What questions people asked

Phase 4: Get Your First 10 Paying Customers

Free users are great for feedback, but paying customers validate your business.

Pricing Strategy

For your first customers:

• Keep it simple (1-2 pricing tiers max)
• Start higher than you think (you can always discount)
• Offer founding member discounts
• Make it easy to say yes ($9-29/month sweet spot for early products)

Personal Outreach

Your first customers won't come from your landing page. They come from:

• Direct messages to people who signed up
• Replying to people tweeting about the problem
• Offering free trials to influential users
• Asking for feedback, then pitching

Make It Easy to Buy

• Add Stripe in one afternoon
• No complex checkout flows
• Accept credit cards only (skip PayPal for now)
• Send a personal thank you email to every customer

Phase 5: Iterate Based on Feedback

Now that you have users, listen to them.

What to Track

• Which features do people actually use?
• What do support requests ask for?
• Why do people cancel?
• What do successful users have in common?

What to Build Next

Build the features that:

1. Multiple paying customers request
2. Align with your core value proposition
3. You can ship in 1-2 weeks

Ignore requests that:

• Only free users want
• Would take months to build
• Distract from your core product

When to Pivot vs. Persist

Pivot if:

• Nobody wants to pay after 3 months
• You have zero organic growth
• You hate working on it

Persist if:

• A small group loves it
• People are paying
• Growth is slow but steady
• You're learning and improving

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Building in Secret

Don't wait until it's perfect. Share progress weekly on Twitter, in communities, on your blog.

2. Not Charging Early Enough

If people won't pay, you don't have a business. Test pricing within the first month.

3. Trying to Launch Everywhere at Once

Focus on 1-2 channels that match your audience. Go deep, not wide.

4. Ignoring Marketing

You need to spend as much time marketing as building. 50/50 split minimum.

5. Giving Up Too Soon

Most successful products took 6-12 months to gain traction. Overnight successes are rare.

Your First Week Checklist

Use this to stay focused during your launch week:

• [ ] Landing page is live
• [ ] Product is deployed and working
• [ ] Payment processing is set up
• [ ] Basic analytics are tracking
• [ ] Support email is monitored
• [ ] Launched in 3-5 communities
• [ ] Sent direct outreach to 20 potential users
• [ ] Posted daily updates on Twitter
• [ ] Collected feedback from first users
• [ ] Planned next feature based on feedback

Resources

Landing Page Builders:

• Carrd - Simple, fast
• Webflow - More design control
• Framer - Best for interactive demos

Payment Processing:

• Stripe - Industry standard
• Paddle - Handles VAT automatically
• Lemon Squeezy - Merchant of record

Analytics:

• Plausible - Privacy-friendly
• Fathom - Similar to Plausible
• PostHog - Product analytics

Launch Platforms:

• Product Hunt - Best on Tue-Thu
• Hacker News - Show HN format
• Indie Hackers - Supportive community

Next Steps

You've launched. Now what?

1. Week 1-2: Fix critical bugs, respond to all feedback
2. Week 3-4: Launch to new communities, iterate on messaging
3. Month 2: Ship one significant improvement based on user feedback
4. Month 3: Focus on getting to 100 users or $1K MRR

Remember: Launching is just the beginning. The real work is iterating, marketing, and building relationships with your users.

The difference between successful solo builders and those who quit? Consistency. Show up every day, ship small improvements, and talk to your users.

You've got this.