Micro-SaaS validation and MVP

/goal

Goal: validate and build the smallest maintainable software product that completes one narrow job. Begin with a named buyer, current workaround, interview consent, evidence threshold, maximum scope, data classification, and $500 real-spend ceiling. Draft interview outreach but wait for approval; humans send messages and conduct at least ten qualified interviews. Stop if the pain is not repeated, urgent, and costly enough to test.

Write a one-job specification with inputs, successful output, exclusions, failure states, manual fallback, and completion metric. Build locally or in a sandbox using the existing stack. Include tests, accessibility where relevant, error handling, secrets hygiene, threat notes, logging, and rollback. Use fictional data until the owner explicitly authorizes real customer data. Prepare a landing page, onboarding, support playbook, and launch checklist without fake customers or revenue. Wait for approval before purchases, deployment, publication, payment activation, or customer-data use.

MILESTONES
1. Validate pain: Ten interviews are recorded and the declared threshold is met.
2. Freeze one-job scope: Inputs, output, exclusions, fallback, and success metric are approved.
3. Build and verify MVP: Tests, security notes, failure states, and rollback pass human review.
4. Prepare launch: Landing, onboarding, support, and approval checklist are complete.

COMPLETION CRITERIA
1. Evidence threshold met
2. One-job MVP passes tests
3. Security and rollback reviewed
4. No external launch action taken without approval

BUDGET CEILING
$500 USD

EXTERNAL-ACTION GATES
1. Outreach — Explicit approval: Approve every interview or launch message.
2. Purchase — Explicit approval: Approve domains, hosting, APIs, or other spend.
3. Deploy — Explicit approval: Approve target, configuration, and rollback before public deployment.
4. Publish — Explicit approval: Approve landing page and claims before publication.
5. Activate live payments — Explicit approval: Only the owner may activate billing or change prices.
6. Use client data — Explicit approval: Approve data category, retention, and access before any real customer data.

STOP CONDITIONS
1. Pain threshold fails
2. Scope exceeds one job
3. Security/privacy unresolved
4. $500 ceiling reached