idea-to-first-money

name	idea-to-first-money
description	End-to-end playbook for going from a raw product idea to a signed first paying customer — sequence of bots, skills, and integration providers required at each phase

This skill defines the canonical orchestration sequence for taking a B2B SaaS product idea from zero to first paid contract. Use this as the primary reference when a user asks to "start from scratch," "validate a new product," or "get first customers." Delegate work to Researcher, Strategist, and Executor bots in the order defined below. Each phase depends on the artifacts from the previous phase — do not skip or reorder phases.

The full journey spans 20 skills across 3 bots. Start with Phase 0 every time — no exceptions. A raw idea is not a valid input for research.

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Phase 0: Idea → Hypothesis

Bot: Boss (clarification) → Strategist (formalization)

Goal: before any research begins, convert the raw idea into a falsifiable, prioritized hypothesis stack. Research without a hypothesis produces data, not answers.

Boss role: ask the user 3 questions before handing off to Strategist:

1. What problem do you think exists, and for whom specifically?
2. What evidence (however weak) made you think this problem is real?
3. What would change your mind — what would "this is wrong" look like?

Do not accept vague answers. "B2B companies need better analytics" is not a hypothesis. "Mid-market RevOps teams at 50-200 person SaaS companies lose 6+ hours/week reconciling CRM and billing data manually, and would pay to eliminate that" is a hypothesis.

experiment-hypothesis

Bot: Strategist

Formalize the raw idea into a structured, falsifiable hypothesis stack with P0-P3 priorities.

• No external providers required — this is a structured reasoning task
• Key outputs: market hypotheses (who has the problem and how badly), product hypotheses (what would solve it), channel hypotheses (how to reach them)
• Standard format per hypothesis: We believe [claim]. We'll test by [method]. Validated if [metric ≥ threshold] by [date]. Rejected if [falsification condition].
• Rule: P0 hypotheses are fatal-risk hypotheses — if false, the business doesn't exist. Test these first, cheapest, fastest.
• Output: /strategy/hypothesis-stack

Handoff to Phase 1: the hypothesis-stack must define the target segment hypothesis clearly enough to write a recruitment screener. If the segment is still "anyone who might be interested" — go back and sharpen it.

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Phase 1: Problem Discovery

Bot: Researcher

Goal: validate or reject the P0 market hypothesis through direct evidence from real buyers.

discovery-recruitment

Recruit participants for interviews and surveys.

• Providers: Prolific (panel), Cint (panel), MTurk (panel), UserTesting (usability)
• Key methods: screener design, quota management, pilot launch before full scale, anti-gaming checks
• Output: /discovery/{study_id}/recruitment-plan, /discovery/{study_id}/recruitment-funnel

discovery-interview-capture

Capture and code interview transcripts using JTBD framework.

• Providers: Zoom, Gong, Fireflies, Dovetail, Fathom (recording + transcription)
• Key methods: JTBD event coding (struggle, workaround, trigger, decision_criteria, objection), saturation tracking (stop at <5% new codes), consent chain enforcement
• Output: /discovery/{study_id}/corpus, /discovery/{study_id}/jtbd-outcomes

pain-alternatives-landscape

Map all alternatives buyers use or consider — including non-consumption.

• Providers: web browser (G2, Capterra, Reddit, ProductHunt, Similarweb)
• Key methods: four-tier framework (direct / adjacent / DIY / non-consumption), switch-to and switch-away trigger extraction from reviews and interviews
• Output: /pain/alternatives-landscape

pain-wtp-research

Establish pricing boundaries before any strategy work.

• Providers: SurveyMonkey, Typeform (survey delivery)
• Key methods: Economic Value Estimation (EVE) first, then Van Westendorp PSM and/or Gabor-Granger; apply 30-50% hypothetical bias discount to all stated WTP
• Prerequisite: solution/problem fit must be confirmed before running WTP
• Output: /pain/wtp-research-{YYYY-MM-DD}

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Phase 2: Market Intelligence

Bot: Researcher

Goal: identify and score the best-fit accounts before strategy is built.

signal-search-seo

Detect search demand signals to validate market size and growth direction.

• Providers: Ahrefs or SEMrush (keyword volume, trends), Similarweb (traffic estimation)
• Key methods: classify every source as direct/sampled/modeled; never conflate; run quality gates (freshness, comparability, SRM, SERP context)
• Output: /signals/search-seo-{YYYY-MM-DD}

segment-firmographic

Enrich and profile target company segments with field-level evidence quality.

• Providers: Apollo (primary), PDL / People Data Labs (secondary); Clearbit deprecated as of April 30, 2025 — do not use outside HubSpot environments
• Key methods: cross-validate across 2+ providers; freshness gate (6-month max); technographics via BuiltWith signals; never impute null fields
• Output: /segments/{segment_id}/firmographic

segment-icp-scoring

Score and tier accounts from firmographic + signal + engagement data.

• Providers: uses artifacts from segment-firmographic and signal skills (no new external providers)
• Key methods: three subscores (fit_score 40%, intent_score 35%, engagement_score 25%), recency decay on intent signals, tier assignment (T1 ≥75, T2 ≥50)
• Output: /segments/{segment_id}/icp-scorecard

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Phase 3: Strategy

Bot: Strategist

Goal: convert research artifacts into a defensible go-to-market strategy, offer design, pricing, and MVP scope.

positioning-market-map

Build a competitive positioning map with two explicit lenses: buyer perception and capability/execution.

• Providers: web browser (G2, competitor sites, review sites) to validate competitor placement
• Inputs required: /pain/alternatives-landscape, /discovery/{study_id}/jtbd-outcomes
• Output: /strategy/positioning-map

positioning-messaging

Convert validated customer language into a positioning statement, message hierarchy, and objection responses.

• Providers: no external API calls; uses research artifacts only
• Key rule: steal language from customer quotes — never invent; no absolute superlatives without evidence
• Output: /strategy/messaging

offer-design

Design the packaging model and tier structure.

• Providers: no external API calls; uses research + WTP artifacts
• Key decision: choose packaging model (good/better/best, base+modules, single, freemium) with documented rejection rationale for alternatives
• Output: /strategy/offer-design

pricing-model-design

Select the pricing model architecture (subscription, per-seat, usage-based, outcome-based).

• Providers: no external API calls; uses WTP and offer artifacts
• Key gates: value alignment + customer predictability + supplier operability must all pass
• Output: /strategy/pricing-model

pricing-pilot-packaging

Design pilot commercial terms: structure, success criteria, conversion conditions.

• Providers: no external API calls; uses WTP and offer artifacts
• Key rule: pilot price optimizes for conversion quality, not pilot revenue; commercial paperwork (legal/security/procurement) tracked as parallel workstream from Day 1 of the pilot
• Output: /strategy/pilot-package

gtm-channel-strategy

Select 1-2 acquisition channels for the go-to-market motion.

• Providers: web browser (competitor ads, LinkedIn, channel research), Ahrefs/SEMrush (SEO demand data)
• Key rule: no more than 2 channels in parallel; channel must match buyer behavior and segment reachability
• Output: /strategy/gtm-channels

mvp-scope

Define minimum feature set anchored to one P0 hypothesis.

• Providers: no external API calls; uses hypothesis-stack and JTBD artifacts
• Key rule: declare scope_mode (experiment_scope vs. release_scope) before feature discussion; exclusion-first logic
• Output: /strategy/mvp-scope

mvp-validation-criteria

Pre-register success/failure thresholds before any pilot starts.

• Providers: no external API calls; uses mvp-scope and ICP artifacts
• Key rule: lock criteria before launch; post-hoc threshold changes must be formally logged; quality gates (SRM, schema violations, event drops) are veto constraints
• Output: /strategy/mvp-validation-criteria

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Phase 4: Execution — Pipeline to First Money

Bot: Executor

Goal: reach the right people, run the pilot, convert to a signed contract.

pipeline-contact-enrichment

Enrich, verify, and score contacts before any outreach.

• Providers: Apollo (search + enrichment), PDL (secondary enrichment), Lusha (job-change signals)
• Email verification: Apollo built-in deliverability score; only valid status enters outreach — no exceptions
• Key rule: re-enrich every 6 months; no outreach to unverified emails (damages domain reputation above Gmail/Yahoo 2% bounce threshold)
• Output: /pipeline/{campaign_id}/contacts

pilot-onboarding

Manage kick-off and first-value delivery for each pilot customer.

• Providers: Calendly or Google Calendar (scheduling), Zendesk (task tracking)
• Key milestones: Mutual Action Plan drafted before kick-off (not during); aha moment ≤48 hours; first login check at 72 hours; health score weekly (40% usage + 30% milestone + 30% satisfaction)
• Required kick-off attendees: champion + economic buyer + IT contact (if integrations)
• Output: /pilots/{account_id}/onboarding

pilot-success-tracking

Track success criteria progress and run the parallel commercial track.

• Providers: SurveyMonkey or Typeform (structured surveys), Zendesk (ticket tracking), Google Calendar (review scheduling), Salesforce (opportunity stage management)
• Key rule: baseline must be captured at Day 1 using the same measurement source used at end; commercial track (legal/security/procurement) starts no later than Day 15 of a 30-day pilot
• Escalation triggers: P0 criterion at risk by mid-point, customer silent >5 days, LOB budget owner not engaged by mid-point
• Output: /pilots/{account_id}/status-{date}

pilot-conversion

Facilitate the success review and drive to signed contract.

• Providers: PandaDoc or DocuSign (contract generation + e-signature), Salesforce (opportunity stage)
• Critical rule: Salesforce stage = contract_sent when document is sent; closed_won ONLY after signature confirmed — never at send time
• Objection playbook: budget objection → quantify ROI before any discount; "need more time" → force specificity + milestone-based off-ramp; "missing stakeholder" → schedule multi-party call, never relay via champion alone
• Expansion plan documented at conversion: seat expansion trigger (80% utilization), feature upsell (90-day QBR), adjacent use case, next QBR date
• Output: /pilots/{account_id}/conversion-summary

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Integration Provider Summary

Category	Providers
Interview / recording	Zoom, Gong, Fireflies, Dovetail, Fathom
Research panels	Prolific, Cint, MTurk, UserTesting
Survey	SurveyMonkey, Typeform
SEO / demand signals	Ahrefs, SEMrush, Similarweb
Web research	browser (G2, Capterra, Reddit, ProductHunt, LinkedIn)
Contact enrichment	Apollo, PDL
Buying signals	Lusha
Calendar / scheduling	Google Calendar, Calendly
Support / ticketing	Zendesk
CRM	Salesforce
Contract / e-signature	PandaDoc, DocuSign
Not registered (gap)	ZeroBounce/NeverBounce (email verification), Mixpanel/Amplitude/Segment (product analytics for health scoring)

Critical Sequencing Rules

1. Never skip Phase 0. A raw idea is not a valid research brief. Hypothesis stack must exist before recruitment screener is written.
2. Never start Phase 3 without Phase 1 complete. Strategy built on assumptions, not interviews, is fiction.
3. Never run WTP research before problem/solution fit is confirmed. Invalid data is worse than no data.
4. Never start Phase 4 outreach before Phase 3 pilot package is defined. Undefined success criteria guarantee pilot purgatory.
5. Never start Salesforce Closed Won before contract signature confirmed. Revenue recognition must follow legal completion.
6. Commercial track in pilot-success-tracking must start Day 15 at latest. Starting after the success review creates 3-6 month delays.