diff --git a/documentation/STARTUP_ROADMAP.md b/documentation/STARTUP_ROADMAP.md index d89e146..cfe5af2 100644 --- a/documentation/STARTUP_ROADMAP.md +++ b/documentation/STARTUP_ROADMAP.md @@ -58,7 +58,8 @@ The app is currently a **generic vocabulary quiz**. The media-based practice fea 2. **One Polished Media Demo** `[not started]` - Pick **ONE** piece of media and make it flawless end-to-end: subtitles/lyrics → Kaikki-based vocab extraction with sense-disambiguated translations → playable quiz with timestamps/context. - - Candidates: _Breaking Bad S01E01_, a Shakira song, or _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Ch. 1_. + - **Language pair:** en→es (biggest market, most content) + - **Media candidates:** _Breaking Bad S01E01_, a Shakira song, or _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Ch. 1_. - This is the primary "wow" moment. Differentiates Lila from all other vocabulary apps. - **Blocker:** Requires (a) Kaikki pipeline in production, and (b) a media ingestion prototype. @@ -87,7 +88,6 @@ The app is currently a **generic vocabulary quiz**. The media-based practice fea - Additional multiplayer modes (Chain Link, Elimination Round, Cooperative Challenge) - Leaderboards - Spaced repetition review queue -- Additional game modes (see design/GAME_MODES.md) --- @@ -114,12 +114,10 @@ The app is currently a **generic vocabulary quiz**. The media-based practice fea - **What investors would ask:** "You have a quiz app. Where's the media feature you pitched?" - **Requirement:** Media demo + Kaikki production data must be live before investor conversations. -4. **Monetization Hypothesis** `[not tested]` - - Pick ONE model to test: - - **Freemium:** Free media, premium for user uploads / unlimited multiplayer / advanced analytics. - - **B2B:** Schools and language institutes buy group licenses. - - **Affiliate:** Deep-link to streaming services, books, or music platforms. - - Don't implement yet, but explain LTV/CAC math and pricing assumptions. +4. **Monetization Hypothesis** `[deferred to business co-founder]` + - Not the technical founder's priority right now. + - Will be owned by business co-founder or advisor after traction. + - Options to test later: freemium (free curated media, premium for uploads/unlimited multiplayer/stats), B2B schools, affiliate links to streaming/books/music. **Investor Timeline:** @@ -149,16 +147,58 @@ The app is currently a **generic vocabulary quiz**. The media-based practice fea - 1-page: What Lila is, what it isn't, and the 18-month arc. - Include: target languages, target media types, target user persona, and what "success" looks like at 6 / 12 / 18 months. +**Co-Founder Search: Deferred** + +- **Not needed now.** No savings, no traction, no differentiated product. A business co-founder can't raise money or design monetization from a generic quiz. +- **Revisit in Month 6+** after media demo + 100 users + retention data. +- **Exception:** If Reaktor.berlin accepts solo founder, take it. If they require a team, evaluate then — but don't rush a bad match. + --- ## Stream 3: Building the Startup (Technical Founder Journey) -### Phase 1 — Differentiate the MVP (Now → Month 2–3) +### Phase 0 — Runway Acquisition (Now → June) + +**Goal:** Secure full-time building capacity. + +**Profile:** EU citizen, Berlin-based, no savings, currently employed but being fired May 28. Eligible for Arbeitslosengeld I (24 months employment history). + +**Primary Path:** + +1. **Register at Arbeitsamt** — May 28 (immediately after firing) +2. **Apply for Arbeitslosengeld I** — Same day +3. **Apply for Gründungszuschuss** — Within 4 weeks of starting self-employment + - Requires: business plan (1–2 pages), viability check by counselor + - Provides: 9–12 months basic income (~€1,500–2,000/month) + - **Best case:** Full-time building, no equity cost, no co-founder needed + - **Probability:** High (70–80%) — low burn rate, working app, clear technical path + +**Parallel Path:** + +- **Reaktor.berlin** — Already applied. Solo founder accepted (lower odds). €25K for 6 months, 2.5% equity. + - If accepted + Gründungszuschuss approved: Choose Gründungszuschuss (no equity, longer runway) + - If accepted + Gründungszuschuss rejected: Take Reaktor, build solo for 6 months + - If rejected: Continue with Gründungszuschuss or Arbeitslosengeld I + +**Backup Path:** + +- **Arbeitslosengeld I only** — If Gründungszuschuss rejected. €1,000–1,500/month. Continue building full-time. +- **Part-time job** — If Arbeitslosengeld I insufficient. Slower progress but sustainable. + +**Not Pursuing:** + +- Full-time job + nights/weekends — Burnout risk, Lila stalls +- Freelance/consulting — No current skill set or client network, too time-consuming to build +- EXIST/INVEST/YC/Techstars — Wrong stage, too competitive, too long timeline + +--- + +### Phase 1 — Differentiate the MVP (Month 1–3) **Duration:** 2–3 months -**Rule:** Do NOT look for a co-founder yet. +**Rule:** Build first, measure second, align third. -**Why:** The MVP is already built and deployed. What's missing is the **differentiating feature** (media-based practice). A co-founder won't help you build this faster — it's a technical/data problem. Also, you need leverage: "I built the MVP AND the media pipeline" is stronger than "I have an idea for a media pipeline." +**Assumption:** Gründungszuschuss approved (full-time building). If not, same tasks but slower. **Tasks:** @@ -172,6 +212,7 @@ The app is currently a **generic vocabulary quiz**. The media-based practice fea - Pick ONE media piece (Breaking Bad S01E01, Shakira song, or Harry Potter Ch. 1) - Pipeline: subtitles/lyrics → text extraction → vocabulary identification → Kaikki sense-matching → quiz generation - UI: media selection → quiz with context ("This word appears at 00:04:23") + - **Language pair:** en→es - **Timeline:** 2–4 weeks (parallel with Kaikki pipeline) 3. **Ship guest play** @@ -180,19 +221,24 @@ The app is currently a **generic vocabulary quiz**. The media-based practice fea - Capture email/OAuth after first session - **Timeline:** 1 week -4. **Add metrics instrumentation** +4. **Add one additional multiplayer mode** + - Race to the Top recommended (simplest: target score, no round limit) + - Changes only scoring logic, reuses existing lobby infrastructure + - **Timeline:** 1–2 weeks + +5. **Add metrics instrumentation** - PostHog or Plausible - Track: signups, quiz starts, completions, multiplayer matches, retention - **Timeline:** 1 week -5. **Soft launch to 100 strangers** - - Reddit (r/languagelearning, r/Anki), language-learning Discords, Hacker News Show HN +6. **Soft launch to 100 strangers** + - Reddit (r/languagelearning, r/Anki, r/Refold), language-learning Discords, Hacker News Show HN - Collect qualitative feedback - **Timeline:** 1 week (after media demo is live) --- -### Phase 2 — Validate & Measure (Month 2–4) +### Phase 2 — Validate & Measure (Month 3–4) **Goal:** Prove that the media feature resonates and that retention curves exist. @@ -207,130 +253,104 @@ The app is currently a **generic vocabulary quiz**. The media-based practice fea --- -### Phase 3 — Define the Gap (Month 3–5) +### Phase 3 — Funding or Revenue (Month 4–6) -**Goal:** Identify exactly what you suck at or hate doing. +**Goal:** Secure runway beyond Gründungszuschuss/Arbeitslosengeld I. -**The wrong approach:** "I need an MBA." -**The right approach:** "I need someone who has done [specific thing] before." +**If metrics are positive:** -**Common gaps for technical founders:** -| Gap | Profile | What They Do | -|-----|---------|--------------| -| Fundraising | Former founder who raised Seed/Series A | Writes deck, runs investor meetings, handles term sheets | -| Monetization | Product/Growth PM from ed-tech | Designs pricing, runs experiments, builds B2B pipeline | -| Partnerships | BD person from media/streaming | Negotiates content deals, affiliate partnerships | -| Operations | COO-type | Runs hiring, finance, legal, day-to-day ops | -| Marketing | Growth marketer | Runs paid/organic acquisition, community building | +- Apply to accelerators: Reaktor.berlin (next batch), Y Combinator, Techstars Berlin +- Angel outreach: Berlin ed-tech angels, former founders in language learning +- EU grants: EXIST (if university partnership), INVEST (Berlin-specific) -**Your job:** After 100 users, the gap becomes obvious. If no one converts to signup, you need growth/marketing. If schools email asking for licenses, you need BD/monetization. If investors ask questions you can't answer, you need a fundraising co-founder. +**If metrics are weak:** + +- Iterate on media feature or pivot value proposition +- Consider B2B angle (schools, language institutes) if consumer traction is low +- Part-time work to extend runway while iterating + +**Co-founder search:** Not a priority. If funding requires a team (some accelerators), evaluate then. Otherwise, hire contractors or employees for specific gaps. --- -### Phase 4 — Co-Founder Search (Targeted, Month 4–6) +### Phase 4 — Scale (Month 6+) -**Goal:** Find 2–3 candidates, work with them on a trial basis. +**Goal:** Grow user base, build team, secure Series A or sustainable revenue. -**Where to look:** - -- **Founder dating events:** YC Co-Founder Matching, Indie Hackers meetups, local accelerators. -- **Angel investor intros:** Ask any angel you meet for intros to founders they backed who might want a new project. -- **Industry communities:** Ed-tech Slack/Discord groups, language-learning subreddits (look for people complaining about Duolingo — they care). -- **LinkedIn outbound:** Search "former PM at Duolingo," "former growth at Babbel." Cold DM with the Lila demo, not a resume. - -**Trial period (4–8 weeks):** - -- Work together on a concrete project (e.g., "Design and test a monetization experiment"). -- No equity commitment. Pay as a contractor if needed. -- Evaluate: Do they deliver? Do you communicate well? Do they care about the mission? - ---- - -### Phase 5 — Formalize (Only After Trial, Month 6+) - -**Goal:** Legal structure, equity split, roles. - -**Equity mindset:** - -- **50/50 is dangerous** unless you truly could not build without them from day one. You already built the Lila MVP alone — you have leverage. -- **Suggested:** 60/40 or 65/35 with 4-year vesting and a 1-year cliff for both. -- **Vesting is non-negotiable.** If they leave in 6 months, they keep nothing. - -**Roles:** - -- You: CTO / Product (own technical vision, architecture, data pipeline). -- Them: CEO / COO / CMO depending on profile (own business side, fundraising, partnerships). -- Decision-making: You retain veto on technical/product decisions; they lead business/fundraising. - -**Legal:** - -- Incorporate properly (C-Corp if US, Ltd if UK/EU). -- IP assignment agreement: everything built so far belongs to the company. -- Founder agreement: roles, vesting, termination, dispute resolution. +**Only relevant if Phase 3 succeeds.** Otherwise, continue iterating. --- ## Suggested Execution Order -### Month 1 (Now) +### Month 0 (Now → May 28) -- **Week 1–2:** Finish Kaikki Stage 3 enrich sub-stage rewrite. Run full sample, validate quality. Start first additional multiplayer mode (Race to the Top recommended). -- **Week 3:** Ship guest play. Make auth optional on game routes. -- **Week 4:** Start media ingestion prototype (parallel). Pick one media piece, get text extraction working. +- **Week 1:** Finish Kaikki Stage 3 enrich sub-stage rewrite. Run full sample, validate quality. +- **Week 2:** Register at Arbeitsamt (May 28). Apply for Arbeitslosengeld I. Ask about Gründungszuschuss. -### Month 2 +### Month 1 (June) -- **Week 1–2:** Complete media ingestion prototype. End-to-end: media → quiz. Complete first additional multiplayer mode. -- **Week 3:** Add metrics (PostHog/Plausible). Polish shareable output (social cards). -- **Week 4:** Integrate media demo with multiplayer mode. Test combined flow. +- **Week 1–2:** Submit Gründungszuschuss application. Prepare business plan (1–2 pages). +- **Week 3:** Start media ingestion prototype (parallel). Pick one media piece, get text extraction working. +- **Week 4:** Continue Kaikki pipeline + media prototype. -### Month 3 +### Month 2 (July) + +- **Week 1–2:** Complete media ingestion prototype. End-to-end: media → quiz. +- **Week 3:** Ship guest play. Add additional multiplayer mode (Race to the Top). +- **Week 4:** Add metrics (PostHog/Plausible). Polish shareable output. + +### Month 3 (August) - **Week 1:** Soft launch to 100 strangers. Gather feedback. - **Week 2–3:** Iterate based on feedback. Fix hardening items from BACKLOG.md. - **Week 4:** Analyze metrics. Decision gate: proceed or iterate? -### Month 4–6 +### Month 4–6 (September–November) -- If metrics are positive: start co-founder search (Phase 4). -- If metrics are weak: iterate on media feature or pivot the value proposition. +- If metrics positive: Apply to accelerators, angels, grants. +- If metrics weak: Iterate or pivot. +- If Gründungszuschuss expires: Transition to Arbeitslosengeld I, part-time work, or funding. --- -## Open Questions to Refine This Roadmap - -Answer these to make the roadmap more specific: +## Open Questions (Answered) ### Product Reality Check -- [ ] What is the exact blocker on Kaikki Stage 3? (Is it the sub-stage rewrite, or something else?) -- [ ] Which media piece should be the first demo? (Breaking Bad, Shakira, or Harry Potter?) -- [ ] Do you have subtitle/lyrics data for the chosen media piece? +- [x] What actually works today? — Singleplayer quiz, multiplayer, auth, deployment +- [x] What is broken or placeholder? — Kaikki pipeline Stage 3, guest play, in-memory session store +- [x] What language pairs are supported? — en↔it/de/es/fr +- [x] Exact blocker on Kaikki Stage 3? — No blocker, work in progress ### Target Audience -- [ ] Who is the ideal first user? (e.g., "German intermediate learner who watches Netflix") -- [ ] What language pair should the media demo target? +- [x] Who is the ideal first user? — Immersion learner (Netflix watcher) + social learner +- [x] What languages for launch? — en→es for media demo (biggest market), all 5 pairs live ### Business Model -- [ ] Do you have a monetization hypothesis? (freemium / B2B / affiliate) -- [ ] Any thoughts on unit economics? +- [x] Monetization hypothesis? — **Deferred** to business co-founder or advisor after traction +- [x] Unit economics? — **Deferred** until product-market fit ### Competitive Landscape -- [ ] Who do you see as direct competitors? (LingQ? FluentU? Duolingo? Anki?) -- [ ] What do they do poorly that Lila fixes? +- [x] Direct competitors? — Duolingo, Anki, LingQ, FluentU, Quizlet +- [x] What they do poorly? — No real media integration, no real-time multiplayer, no sense-disambiguated translations ### Runway & Constraints -- [ ] Is this full-time or nights-and-weekends? -- [ ] Do you have any funding, savings runway, or revenue? -- [ ] What's your hard deadline for "showable to users"? +- [x] Full-time or nights/weekends? — Transitioning to full-time via Gründungszuschuss +- [x] Funding/savings? — No savings. EU citizen, Berlin-based, eligible for Arbeitslosengeld I +- [x] Hard deadline? — None. Self-paced. Gründungszuschuss application deadline: within 4 weeks of May 28 ### Co-Founder Search -- [ ] Local or remote-first? -- [ ] What do you want them to _do_? (fundraise, partnerships, monetization, operations?) -- [ ] Do you already know candidates, or starting from zero? -- [ ] Equity mindset: 50/50, or majority control for yourself? +- [x] Local or remote? — Berlin-based, but open +- [x] What do they do? — **Not needed now.** Revisit Month 6+ after traction +- [x] Known candidates? — None. Starting from zero +- [x] Equity mindset? — **Deferred** until co-founder search begins + +--- + +_End of Lila feature & startup strategy doc._