Question 1

How do you go from idea to working product?

Accepted Answer

The real path from idea to product is discovery of the problem first, then solution. Most founders skip this entirely.

Question 2

How do you scope an MVP that ships in weeks, not months?

Accepted Answer

Six-week appetite-based planning. Fix the time, flex the scope. Shape the solution to fit the constraint.

Question 3

What makes a good project brief?

Accepted Answer

A good brief describes the problem and the business, not the deliverable. Bad briefs say 'build me a mobile app.'

Question 4

How much does it really cost to build an MVP?

Accepted Answer

The $5K-$500K ranges you see online are mostly noise. They reflect service model and overhead, not code quality.

Question 5

What's the difference between freelancer, agency, and retainer?

Accepted Answer

Three service models with different incentive structures. The key insight: productize the workflow, not the service.

Question 6

How should founders think about SaaS development costs?

Accepted Answer

SaaS development isn't a one-time build. It's a weekly investment. The real question is how much per week you're willing to invest.

Question 7

How should a startup choose its tech stack?

Accepted Answer

There is no best stack. There's a best stack for your specific situation. Match the stack to business reality, not trends.

Question 8

When should you build custom vs buy off the shelf?

Accepted Answer

Default to buy. Build only when the custom part IS your product's value. Everything else is glue.

Question 9

What do most founders get wrong about building AI products?

Accepted Answer

AI is a tool, not a product. What makes a product valuable is domain expertise. AI amplifies good domain knowledge — without it, AI products are generic and replaceable.

Question 10

How should non-technical founders evaluate developers?

Accepted Answer

You can't fully evaluate a developer before working with them. The goal is to minimize risk until you have enough real data.

Question 11

How does async collaboration work without daily meetings?

Accepted Answer

Async-first communication replaces status meetings with written updates, full transparency, and documentation that builds itself.

Question 12

What happens when a client wants to stop or pause?

Accepted Answer

Weekly billing, full client ownership, and no lock-in mean stopping or pausing is mechanically simple and penalty-free.

Question 13

How does software get shipped without breaking things?

Accepted Answer

Continuous deployment, feature flags, monitoring from day one, and safe-to-fail design replace big-bang releases and lengthy QA cycles.

Frequently Asked Questions