export default saas-launch-planner

name

saas-launch-planner

description

Comprehensive SaaS planning system for solo developers using Next.js + Supabase + Stripe stack. Converts ideas into shippable subscription products with scope control, feature prioritization, billing architecture, technical roadmap, and anti-feature-creep mechanisms. Generates PRDs with subscription models, pricing strategies, and Claude Code starter prompts. Use when planning SaaS products, subscription apps, or when user mentions billing, payments, recurring revenue, or subscription models.

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.

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Core Principles

1. Ship Fast, Validate with Paying Users - 3-4 weeks to working product that users can pay for
2. Subscription-First Mindset - SaaS = recurring revenue, build for retention not just acquisition
3. No Feature Creep - Only core loop features in MVP, "nice to have" goes post-MVP
4. Next.js + Supabase + Stripe Optimized - Use proven stack's strengths, don't reinvent
5. Revenue-Focused Building - Every feature must answer "Who will pay?" and "What problem does this solve?"

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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

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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.

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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

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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:

1. One-Sentence Test: If you can't explain why this feature is essential in one sentence, it doesn't go in MVP
2. Manual Alternative Test: If this can be done manually for first 100 users, defer it
3. Value-Per-Day Test: Does value added justify X days of development before having paying customers?

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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.

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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

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Output Format - PRD Template

When user requests complete planning, generate PRD using structure from references/PRD_TEMPLATE.md.

Required PRD Sections:

1. Executive Summary
2. Problem & Solution
3. Business Model (with pricing tiers)
4. Core User Journey
5. Success Metrics
6. MVP Scope (Must Have vs Post-MVP)
7. Technical Architecture
8. Development Roadmap (week-by-week)
9. Marketing & Launch Plan
10. Risk Assessment
11. Success Criteria

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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)

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Common SaaS Mistakes to Avoid

Top 10 Mistakes:

1. ❌ Building too many features → ✅ Focus on ONE thing
2. ❌ Complex pricing (5+ tiers) → ✅ 2-3 clear tiers
3. ❌ Ignoring churn → ✅ Build retention features day 1
4. ❌ Over-engineering → ✅ Use Next.js + Supabase (proven stack)
5. ❌ Building in isolation → ✅ Share progress, get feedback
6. ❌ Poor trial strategy → ✅ Email sequence + onboarding
7. ❌ Not testing payments → ✅ Test all Stripe scenarios
8. ❌ Ignoring failed payments → ✅ Dunning emails + retry logic
9. ❌ No onboarding → ✅ 3-step onboarding flow
10. ❌ Underpricing → ✅ Match market rates ($29+ minimum)

See references/COMMON_MISTAKES.md for detailed explanations and solutions.

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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

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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:

1. [Feature 1 with acceptance criteria]
2. [Feature 2 with acceptance criteria]
3. Stripe subscription integration
4. User dashboard
5. 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.

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Integration with Other Skills

Recommended Workflow:

1. idea-validator-pro → Validate market demand
2. saas-launch-planner (this skill) → Create complete PRD
3. Claude Code → Build the product
4. Ship in 3-4 weeks 🚀

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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

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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

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💡 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.