A Practical Path to Your First App
7 Lessons + a Bonus
Validate the pain. Test interest with a small budget. Build one killer feature. Wire the infrastructure. Sell it. One email per day, each with the exact template or formula you need. Free.
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Practical lessons, including optional Ghoststack offers. Unsubscribe anytime.
Validate. Build. Sell.
A welcome email today, then 7 days of action. Each one gives you a template, formula, or checklist you'll actually use.
Day 1
Is the Pain Real?
You have an idea. But is the pain concrete and recent? Mom Test-style questions that separate "cool idea" from "shut up and take my money." Ask about yesterday, not abstract futures.
Day 2
Build Your Smoke Test Page
Build an early-access page with a clear offer and planned price. Measure completed signups, then talk to people about what would make it worth paying for.
Day 3
Run a Small Interest Test
Send a small amount of traffic to an early-access page. Measure signups and cost per lead, then speak with interested people. Count revenue only when someone actually pays.
Day 4
One Killer Feature. Nothing Else.
Most projects die from "just one more thing." Pick the right AI tool (Lovable vs Codex vs Claude Code vs Cursor). Use the 5-part prompt formula. Build the ONE thing people said they'd pay for.
Day 5
Connect the Essentials. Test the Full Flow.
Auth, payments, email, deploy — the infrastructure that turns a demo into a product. Needs to be simple to set up and work perfectly the first time a customer touches it.
Day 6
The Easiest Sales You'll Ever Make
Message the people from Day 1 who told you the pain is real. You're not cold-pitching — you're following up. The outreach script that converts, plus how to handle silence.
Day 7
Launch Day
The launch post template that works on Reddit, Twitter, and Indie Hackers. Pick ONE distribution channel. Go get your first paying customer.
Bonus — Day 8
Stay in Touch With Interested Visitors
Offer a useful guide or email course, ask permission to stay in touch, and measure whether subscribers later become customers. Includes optional prompts for building an email sequence.
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Who this is for
You have an idea but haven't started
You'll learn how to talk to potential users and run a small interest test before investing weeks of building.
You've started but haven't shipped
You'll get the infrastructure checklist and the prompt formula to push through the messy middle and go live.
You've shipped but have zero customers
You'll get a launch post template and a guide to reaching potential customers and learning from the response.
You use AI tools and want to ship faster
You'll get a prompt structure for small changes, clear requirements, and checking what your AI builds.
Want a connected starting point?
Ghoststack gives you a small codebase with the essential integrations and beginner guides. Start a local preview, connect your own service accounts, and build your first feature with your AI tool.
- Auth, payments, webhook handlers, email helpers, and deployment guides
- DaisyUI themes for a styled starting point
- OpenRouter AI integration — text responses and streaming
- AGENTS.md + feature prompts + MCP templates for Codex / Claude Code / Cursor
- Plausible analytics + step-by-step docs from zero to deployed
One-time purchase. Updates when released. 10-day money-back guarantee.