Solo founders win by narrowing scope ruthlessly and shipping one workflow that customers pay for. This checklist covers the minimum path from idea to first revenue.
Before you build
- Talk to 10 potential customers — validate pain, not politeness
- Register LLC and separate business banking
- Pick a name, domain, and simple brand
- Define one metric that means success (e.g. 5 paying users)
While you build
- Weekly demos — never go dark for a month
- Staging environment you can click through
- Privacy policy and terms before public launch
- Analytics and error monitoring from day one