majiayu000 SaaS Launch Planner
Purpose
Transform validated ideas into concrete, executable plans for building SaaS products in 3-4 weeks. Ensures subscription-first design, prevents scope creep, and prioritizes shipping fast to validate with paying customers.
Core Principles
- Ship Fast, Validate with Paying Users - 3-4 weeks to working product that users can pay for
- Subscription-First Mindset - SaaS = recurring revenue, build for retention not just acquisition
- No Feature Creep - Only core loop features in MVP, "nice to have" goes post-MVP
- Next.js + Supabase + Stripe Optimized - Use proven stack's strengths, don't reinvent
- Revenue-Focused Building - Every feature must answer "Who will pay?" and "What problem does this solve?"
Planning Workflow
Phase 1: Problem & Market Definition
Required Information:
- Problem: One sentence describing what problem you're solving
- Current Solution: How people solve this today (and why it sucks)
- Willingness to Pay: Evidence people would pay for better solution
- Target Customer: Precise description with pain level (1-10) and budget
- Market Size: >10k potential customers minimum
Validation Checklist:
- Talked to 10+ potential customers
- They currently pay for similar solutions
- This is a painkiller (must-have) not vitamin (nice-to-have)
- You can reach customers within budget
- Market size is large enough
Phase 2: Pricing Strategy Selection
Decision Tree:
IF product requires teams → Per-Seat Pricing ($X/user/month)
ELSE IF usage varies greatly → Usage-Based Pricing ($base + $per-use)
ELSE IF clear feature differentiation → Tiered Pricing (Starter/Pro/Enterprise)
ELSE IF need viral growth → Freemium (free + paid)
MVP Recommendation: Tiered Pricing (2-3 tiers maximum)
Standard MVP Pricing:
- Starter: $29/month - Core features, single user, email support
- Pro: $79/month - All features, multiple users, priority support
- Enterprise: Custom - Post-MVP
Trial Strategy:
- Recommended: 14-day free trial (no credit card required)
- Alternative: 7-day trial (credit card required)
- Goal: 10-15% trial-to-paid conversion
See references/PRICING_STRATEGIES.md for complete pricing models and optimization tactics.
Phase 3: Core User Loop Definition
Template:
Discovery & Signup:
1. User lands on landing page → Sees value proposition
2. User starts free trial → Creates account
3. User completes onboarding → First value within 5 minutes
Core Value Loop:
4. User [action 1] → System [response 1]
5. User [action 2] → System [response 2]
→ Value Delivered: [What user achieves]
Subscription Conversion:
7. Trial ending reminder → Upgrade prompt
8. User adds payment → Stripe Checkout
9. Subscription activated → Full access granted
10. User continues using → Retention tracked
Success Metrics:
- Activation: 60%+ users complete key action within 24h
- Conversion: 10-15% trial users become paying
- Retention: 85%+ paid users stay active monthly
Phase 4: MVP Scope Definition
Must Have Criteria:
- ✅ Essential for core functionality
- ✅ Users can't get value without it
- ✅ Can be implemented in 3-5 days
- ✅ No complex 3rd party integrations
- ✅ Directly impacts conversion or retention
SaaS-Specific Must Haves:
- User authentication (email + social login)
- Basic subscription management
- Stripe payment integration
- Core feature set (2-3 main features only)
- User dashboard
- Basic settings page
Post-MVP Features (Not Now):
- Advanced analytics
- Team collaboration
- Mobile apps
- API access
- Integrations (Zapier, Slack)
- Custom branding
- Advanced automation
Anti-Feature-Creep Rules:
- One-Sentence Test: If you can't explain why this feature is essential in one sentence, it doesn't go in MVP
- Manual Alternative Test: If this can be done manually for first 100 users, defer it
- Value-Per-Day Test: Does value added justify X days of development before having paying customers?
Phase 5: Technical Architecture
Fixed Tech Stack:
- Frontend: Next.js 15 (App Router), TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui
- Backend: Next.js API Routes, Supabase (PostgreSQL)
- Auth: Supabase Auth (email + OAuth)
- Payments: Stripe Checkout + Billing + Webhooks
- Email: Resend or SendGrid
- Hosting: Vercel + Supabase
Database Tables (Standard):
profiles -- User profiles (extends auth.users)
customers -- Stripe customer mapping
subscriptions -- Subscription status & plan info
[feature_tables] -- Your core feature data
Key API Routes:
POST /api/stripe/create-checkout-session -- Start subscription
POST /api/stripe/customer-portal -- Manage subscription
POST /api/webhooks/stripe -- Handle Stripe events
GET/POST/PUT/DELETE /api/[resource] -- Core features
See references/TECHNICAL_ARCHITECTURE.md for complete schemas, app structure, and Stripe integration code.
Phase 6: Development Roadmap
Week 1: Foundation + Core Feature
- Days 1-2: Project setup + Authentication
- Days 3-5: Core feature implementation (1-2 key features)
- Weekend: Testing + polish
Week 2: Payments + Subscription
- Days 1-2: Stripe integration (checkout + webhooks)
- Days 3-4: Subscription management + billing page
- Day 5: Essential features (settings, emails)
- Weekend: End-to-end testing
Week 3: Polish + Launch
- Days 1-2: Landing page + pricing page
- Days 3-4: Final polish (onboarding, error handling, empty states)
- Day 5: Deploy + monitor + 🚀 LAUNCH
Week 4: Validation + Iteration (Optional)
- Get first users, gather feedback, monitor metrics, quick bug fixes
Output Format - PRD Template
When user requests complete planning, generate PRD using structure from references/PRD_TEMPLATE.md.
Required PRD Sections:
- Executive Summary
- Problem & Solution
- Business Model (with pricing tiers)
- Core User Journey
- Success Metrics
- MVP Scope (Must Have vs Post-MVP)
- Technical Architecture
- Development Roadmap (week-by-week)
- Marketing & Launch Plan
- Risk Assessment
- Success Criteria
Questions to Ask Before Building
Product Questions:
- Who will pay for this? (specific customer segment)
- What ONE problem does this solve? (single, clear problem)
- How do we measure success? (specific metrics)
- Why would they pay monthly? (ongoing value proposition)
- What's the alternative? (current solution)
- Why switch to us? (key differentiator)
Pricing Questions:
- What can customers afford? (price range research)
- What are competitors charging? (competitive analysis)
- What's our cost per user? (CAC, hosting, support)
- How will we handle trials? (credit card required or not)
Scope Questions:
- What can be manual initially? (MVP shortcuts)
- What features can wait? (post-MVP backlog)
- Where's the biggest risk? (technical unknowns)
- What's the critical path? (must-have sequence)
Common SaaS Mistakes to Avoid
Top 10 Mistakes:
- ❌ Building too many features → ✅ Focus on ONE thing
- ❌ Complex pricing (5+ tiers) → ✅ 2-3 clear tiers
- ❌ Ignoring churn → ✅ Build retention features day 1
- ❌ Over-engineering → ✅ Use Next.js + Supabase (proven stack)
- ❌ Building in isolation → ✅ Share progress, get feedback
- ❌ Poor trial strategy → ✅ Email sequence + onboarding
- ❌ Not testing payments → ✅ Test all Stripe scenarios
- ❌ Ignoring failed payments → ✅ Dunning emails + retry logic
- ❌ No onboarding → ✅ 3-step onboarding flow
- ❌ Underpricing → ✅ Match market rates ($29+ minimum)
See references/COMMON_MISTAKES.md for detailed explanations and solutions.
Usage Examples
Basic Request
I want to build a SaaS project management tool for freelancers.
Use saas-launch-planner to create complete PRD with:
- Pricing strategy
- Technical architecture
- 3-week roadmap
Detailed Request
Use saas-launch-planner:
SaaS Idea: AI-powered invoice generator for freelancers
Target: Freelancers earning $50k-$150k annually
Pricing: Tiered (Basic/Pro)
Key Differentiator: AI auto-fills invoice details from past data
Create complete plan including:
- PRD with subscription model
- Next.js + Supabase + Stripe architecture
- Week-by-week development roadmap
- Claude Code starter prompt
Update Existing Plan
We completed Week 1 of the SaaS roadmap.
Use saas-launch-planner to:
- Review progress
- Adjust Week 2 plan based on learnings
- Re-prioritize features if needed
Claude Code Integration
When generating PRD, include optimized Claude Code starter prompt:
## Claude Code Starter Prompt
Create Next.js 15 SaaS application with subscription billing:
Project: [Name] Core Value: [One sentence]
Tech Stack:
- Next.js 15 (App Router) + TypeScript
- Tailwind CSS + shadcn/ui
- Supabase (Auth + Database)
- Stripe (Checkout + Billing + Webhooks)
Core Features:
- [Feature 1 with acceptance criteria]
- [Feature 2 with acceptance criteria]
- Stripe subscription integration
- User dashboard
- Subscription management
Pricing:
- Starter: $29/month - [features]
- Pro: $79/month - [features]
- 14-day free trial (no credit card)
Database Schema: [SQL from technical architecture]
Stripe Integration:
- Create checkout session for subscription
- Handle webhooks (subscription created/updated/deleted)
- Customer Portal for self-service
- Trial countdown in UI
- Access control based on plan
Start with project setup and authentication flow.
Integration with Other Skills
Recommended Workflow:
- idea-validator-pro → Validate market demand
- saas-launch-planner (this skill) → Create complete PRD
- Claude Code → Build the product
- Ship in 3-4 weeks 🚀
Key Success Metrics
Week 1 (MVP Launch):
- 50+ trial signups
- 10+ activated users
- 3+ paying customers
Month 1:
- 200+ trial signups
- 15+ paying customers ($1,000+ MRR)
- 10%+ trial-to-paid conversion
Month 3:
- 600+ trial signups
- 40+ paying customers ($3,000+ MRR)
- 12%+ trial-to-paid conversion
- <8% monthly churn
Critical Reminders
DO ✅:
- Start with pricing model first (it influences architecture)
- Talk to customers about pricing before building
- Keep pricing simple (2-3 tiers max)
- Set up Stripe webhooks early
- Test payment flows thoroughly (success + failure)
- Implement trial countdown prominently
- Monitor trial-to-paid conversion obsessively
- Track churn reasons
DON'T ❌:
- Build 5+ pricing tiers
- Defer billing integration
- Forget to test webhook failures
- Ignore trial expiration edge cases
- Make cancellation hard
- Ignore failed payments
- Hardcode pricing (use Stripe products)
- Skip webhook verification
💡 Key Insight: SaaS success = Build fast, charge early, retain relentlessly. Every decision should optimize for one of these three goals.
🎯 Goal: Not a perfect product, but a profitable one. Not every feature, but the right features. Not someday, but within 3-4 weeks.
🚀 Remember: Your first 10 paying customers teach you more than 1000 hours of planning. Ship, learn, iterate.