🎯 Our 6-Step Guide for a Successful Product Launch

It’s painful to launch and realize no one wants your product. Instead, stack the odds in your favor.

👋 Hey, Chris here! Welcome to BrainDumps—a weekly series from The Founders Corner. Every Thursday, I share unfiltered insights and stories from decades of first-hand experience. It’s a Substack exclusive, inspired by topics in my upcoming book, The Big Book of BrainDumps. Let’s get into it! 👇

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Table of Contents

• Intro: Why Most Founders Launch Wrong

• Phase 1: Prototype (2–3 Months)

• Phase 2: Beta (3–4 Months)

• Phase 3: MVP (2–3 Months)

• Phase 4: Launch (3–6 Months)

• Phase 5: Growth (6–12 Months)

• Phase 6: Scale (12+ Months)

• Common Pitfalls (at Every Stage)

• Bonus Founder Insights

• Final Thoughts: How to Actually Win the SaaS Game

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Intro: Why Most Founders Launch Wrong

Let’s be honest—most SaaS launches are premature. Too many founders mistake "building something cool" for building a business. They sprint to launch without validating, chase vanity metrics without traction, and scale without systems.

I’ve been lucky (and scarred) enough to witness the full arc hundreds of times—from cocktail-napkin ideas all the way through to breakout scale. Over 20 years and multiple funds, I’ve seen what really works—and more importantly, I’ve seen what doesn’t.

That’s why this timeline matters. The “SaaS Launch Timeline” isn’t just a framework—it’s a survival map. A way of thinking clearly when you're deep in the fog. A checkpoint system that helps you stay focused, fundable, and fast.

Let’s walk through each phase. And along the way, I’ll share what I’ve learned, what I’ve seen go sideways, and what founders wish they’d done differently.

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Phase 1: Prototype (2–3 Months)

Objective: Prove the problem exists—and that your solution might work.

This is where it all starts. But not with code. With clarity.

At this stage, you’re testing your riskiest assumptions. That means:

• Does the problem actually exist?

• Will people pay to solve it?

• Does your version of the solution make sense?

What most early founders get wrong is overbuilding. I’ve lost count of how many teams spend six months building something they’ve never shown to a user. One founder I backed early, Jamie, built a brilliant dashboard for HR compliance—but only realised post-launch that HR wasn’t the buyer, ops was. Six months of development, totally misdirected.

Instead, you need to build just enough to learn:

• Can you click through it?

• Can someone say, “Yes, I get it”?

• Does it solve even a sliver of the pain?

Pretotyping tools like Figma, Loom walkthroughs, or even Notion mockups can get you 80% of the way there. We once had a founder who validated her entire product with a single slide deck, a Calendly link, and a spreadsheet that mimicked results. She closed 5 design partners in 2 weeks.

Lesson: Don't prove you're smart. Prove you're solving the right problem.

Mini-metric: At least 10 people say “I want that”—and ideally offer money or time to try it.

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Phase 2: Beta (3–4 Months)

Objective: Build for 10 users, not 10,000.

Beta is the proving ground. You’re not just validating the idea now—you’re validating the experience.

This means real users, real friction, and real feedback. But crucially, it’s still a controlled environment.

In this phase, you:

• Hand-pick your first 10–20 users

• Watch them use the product (live, or via tools like Hotjar/FullStory)

• Build personal feedback loops with every user

It’s intimate. It's messy. And it’s incredibly revealing.

One company we backed in proptech rolled out their beta to 15 agents. They thought they’d nailed the value prop: faster listings, cleaner documentation. But users weren’t adopting. Why? The onboarding took too long. A five-minute fix—a walkthrough video with embedded prompts—doubled their usage in a week.

Another founder I worked with had a breakthrough just by sitting behind two beta users for a day. What he thought was a killer feature turned out to be confusing. What he thought was “obvious” actually required two tooltips and a video explainer.

Lesson: Betas don’t scale. They shouldn’t. You’re building confidence, not code volume.

Mini-metric: >50% of your beta users use it more than once and give useful, constructive feedback.

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Phase 3: MVP (2–3 Months)

Objective: Launch lean, learn fast, validate demand

The MVP isn’t just “a product with fewer features.” It’s a learning vehicle. And it needs to be good enough to get money, time, or serious engagement.

At this stage, you need:

• Essential core functionality (solves the pain)

• Support systems (docs, feedback loops, analytics)

• Early pricing hypothesis

Here’s where most founders freeze: they’re afraid the MVP won’t be good enough. Spoiler alert: it won’t be. That’s the point.

I’ve seen founders delay MVP for six months polishing UX. Meanwhile, their competitor shipped something rougher—and landed 200 users. One startup I backed in fintech launched with one integration (not five), one feature (not three), and one landing page. But they had a laser-clear message and a brilliant onboarding flow. Within 60 days, they had paying customers and a dozen investor intros.

You’re not trying to look “finished.” You’re trying to look valuable.

Lesson: Shipping something useful beats perfect every time. Your MVP should feel like the beginning of a conversation, not the end of one.

Mini-metric: First 10–25 paying customers and churn <30% in first 30 days.

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Phase 4: Launch (3–6 Months)

Objective: Prove repeatable traction and build a growth engine.

You’ve got something people want. Now you need more people.

This is the make-or-break moment. And the shift is mental: from “does this work?” to “can we sell this consistently?”

That means:

• Launch campaigns (content, PR, PPC, outbound)

• Conversion-focused site and messaging

• Onboarding that accelerates time-to-value

One founder I worked with ran a three-email onboarding drip that increased conversion from signup to activation by 40%. He didn't write more code—he just explained the value better.

Another learned to kill features. Post-launch, 40% of users were getting lost in low-impact features. Once removed, activation jumped. Don’t mistake more for better. Clarity wins.

It’s also time to:

• Set up CRM, support, and early ops

• Track CAC, LTV, activation rate, NPS

• Build momentum via testimonials, reviews, and integrations

Lesson: You’re not just growing users—you’re proving you can grow on purpose.

Mini-metric: >30% month-on-month user growth, improving activation, positive retention.

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Phase 5: Growth (6–12 Months)

Objective: Move from founder-led hustle to a system that scales.

This is the stage where many founders either step up—or burn out.

You’re probably still leading sales, shipping features, and chasing churn. But now it’s time to replace yourself. That means:

• Hiring your first sales, CS, and marketing specialists

• Automating onboarding, support, and comms

• Scaling acquisition channels with intent

I saw one founder burn out after trying to run onboarding calls, write content, and raise a seed round—at the same time. The company stalled. Six months later, he brought in a head of growth and things rebounded. Don’t wait too long to delegate.

Another team found huge gains by focusing not on more leads, but better activation. They halved their CAC just by fixing friction in the signup flow and adding email nudges.

Growth is also when investors really start sniffing around. Your numbers need to be clean, consistent, and backed by narrative:

• What are you doing better than anyone?

• Why now?

• How repeatable is your motion?

Lesson: Growth is not just about adding users. It’s about reducing friction.

Mini-metric: CAC:LTV ratio improving, >80% onboarding completion, and team growing beyond the founding crew.

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Phase 6: Scale (12+ Months)

Objective: Become the category leader—or at least look like one.

Escape velocity isn’t a revenue number. It’s when your engine is humming—and you’re finally working on the business, not just in it.

Here, the big moves start:

• Go international or vertical

• Launch new revenue lines (enterprise, upsell, add-ons)

• Institutionalise culture, processes, and metrics

• Build leadership bench

One company I worked with grew too fast. They tripled headcount in a year without aligning product and support. Result: churn increased, morale dropped, and they spent the next year undoing bad hires.

Contrast that with a founder who focused on systems. She spent six months building dashboards, onboarding playbooks, and customer segmentation tools. When she scaled her team from 10 to 40, it worked. No drama, no chaos.

Lesson: Scale reveals everything—good or bad. If you haven’t fixed it by now, it will become a fire later.

Mini-metric: >70% of revenue from repeatable channels; org-level KPIs tracked weekly.

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Common Pitfalls (at Every Stage)

Let’s quickly cover the potholes I see again and again:

• Skipping customer interviews. You’re not Steve Jobs. Talk to users.

• Over-building. Every extra feature is a delay and a support risk.

• Confusing traction with validation. A few users don’t mean PMF.

• Hiring too late—or too early. Scale people when the process is ready.

• Neglecting pricing. Test it early. People who pay behave differently.

• Ignoring onboarding. It’s the difference between growth and churn.

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Bonus Founder Insights

Here are a few gems I’ve picked up from exceptional founders:

• “Obsess over activation. If users don’t get value quickly, nothing else matters.”

• “You can always add complexity later. You can’t take it away easily.”

• “Community isn’t a growth hack—it’s a moat.”

• “Scaling before validation is like hiring a sales team before knowing who your buyer is.”

• “Most great SaaS founders are just great listeners.”

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Final Thoughts: How to Actually Win the SaaS Game

The “SaaS Launch Timeline” isn’t a checklist. It’s a mindset.

It forces you to slow down and ask:

→ “What’s the real risk here?”
→ “What’s the fastest way to learn?”
→ “What’s the one thing that unlocks the next stage?”

Startups die when they:

• Chase too many things

• Confuse activity for progress

• Ignore signals from the market

Startups win when they:

• Focus on one stage at a time

• Obsess over feedback loops

• Stay lean, learn fast, and scale smart

So wherever you are on the timeline—whether pre-product, post-launch, or mid-scale—take a breath. Look around. Reassess.

And then execute like hell.

Because escape velocity isn’t luck. It’s the result of momentum built with discipline, learning, and relentless focus.

See you on the other side.

—Chris Tottman

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