Launch Stories Rarely Look Like Pitch Decks

We thought we’d build fast, launch clean, and scale confidently. The truth? It was messy, uncertain, and full of pivots. But it was real.

This is the unfiltered journey of how we launched our app — a productivity tool designed for freelancers and indie builders — over 9 intense weeks.

If you’re building something similar or preparing your own launch, here’s everything we got right, wrong, and learned along the way.

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Week 1–2: From Problem to Prototype

We started with a Notion board full of assumptions:

• Freelancers need more than a task list — they need a system to stay accountable.
• Most existing tools are too bloated or too boring.

We ran 10 interviews. The verdict? They wanted:

• Something visual
• Something fast
• Something they could trust with their day

So we hacked together a basic wireframe in Figma and tested it with 4 users. Two gave us the same feedback:

“Feels like this could be my home tab every morning.”

That was the green light.

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Week 3–5: Building While Listening

Our MVP stack:

• Frontend: Flutter (for iOS + Android)
• Backend: Firebase
• Feedback: Typeform + Intercom popups in-app

We didn’t build features. We built flows:

• Daily Planner → done ✅
• Weekly Review → pending 🟡
• Monthly Dashboard → testing 🧪

Every Sunday, we shipped 2–3 iterations based on user usage heatmaps.

One of our core wins:

We added a “nudge” notification at 9am — and engagement jumped 34%.

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Week 6–7: Prepping the Launch Flywheel

Instead of a Product Hunt blast, we:

• Sent pre-launch access to 87 waitlist users
• Shared daily BTS on LinkedIn (reached 22K impressions)
• Recorded a founder story video (2 min)

Our “founder log” format worked:

Day 43: We’re nervous. Our crash loop just got fixed at 2am. Day 46: First paying user. This is real now.

This built trust — and kept us accountable.

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Week 8–9: Going Live (and Not Breaking)

Launch Day:

• Platform: Our website + direct DM outreach
• CTA: “Get your focus system for ₹199/month”
• Support: WhatsApp group + Notion-based help center

First 5 days:

• 1,240 app sessions
• 82 paid signups
• 17 video testimonials

We didn’t go viral. But we got validated.

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What We’d Do Differently

• Start email collection earlier (missed 200+ cold traffic visitors)
• Test billing integrations more deeply (2 failed payments hurt early revenue)
• Add walkthroughs inside app from day 1

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What Worked

• Building in public
• Honest storytelling
• Serving 1 persona deeply (indie creators)

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Final Word: Every Launch Is a Leap

We didn’t just launch an app. We built confidence, community, and a repeatable playbook.

If you’re launching soon:

• Talk to users weekly
• Ship before you’re ready
• Share as you go

Subscribe to 100X Venture Hub for real launch stories, tools, and execution breakdowns that help you build better.

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