First Revenue: Scalable Paths (Paths 4–6)

> Prerequisite: Start with Paths 1–3 in first-revenue.md first.

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Path 4: Waitlist with Deposit

When to Use

• You have strong interest but the product is not ready
• You want to gauge demand with real money, not just email signups
• You are building in public and have an audience

Step-by-Step

1. Create a simple landing page (Carrd, Notion, or one-page HTML)
2. Explain what you are building and who it is for
3. Set a refundable deposit ($25-100)
4. Create a Stripe payment link for the deposit
5. Promote to your network and relevant communities
6. Send weekly build updates to depositors (keep them warm)
7. Apply deposit to first payment when you launch

Deposit Tiers

Tier 1 — Reserve ($25-50 deposit)
  - Early access when ready
  - Deposit applied to first payment

Tier 2 — Founding Member ($100-250 deposit)
  - Everything in Tier 1
  - Lifetime discount (20-30% off)
  - Direct access to founding team
  - Name in credits / founding member badge

Revenue Timeline

• Week 1: Launch waitlist page
• Week 2-4: Promote, collect 20-50 deposits
• Target: $1K-5K in refundable deposits before building

Example

A developer building an AI writing tool for legal professionals posts a waitlist with a $50 refundable deposit. Shares in 3 legal-tech communities and on LinkedIn. 47 people deposit. Revenue (held): $2,350. Proof of demand secured.

Template — Waitlist Landing Page Copy

# [Product Name]

[One sentence: what it does, who it is for.]

## The Problem
[2-3 sentences describing the pain point.]

## What We Are Building
[2-3 sentences describing the solution.]

## Reserve Your Spot
We are launching to [NUMBER] founding members first.

$[DEPOSIT_AMOUNT] refundable deposit secures your spot.
- Early access before public launch
- [Founding member benefit]
- [Founding member benefit]
- Full refund if we do not deliver by [DATE]

[PAYMENT BUTTON]

## Timeline
- [MONTH]: Beta launch
- [MONTH]: Full launch
- [MONTH]: [Feature milestone]

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Path 5: Services Wrapper (Manual While You Automate)

When to Use

• Your product requires automation you have not built yet
• You can deliver the result manually in the short term
• You want real customers and revenue while building the tech

Step-by-Step

1. Define the outcome your product will deliver
2. Deliver that outcome manually (concierge MVP)
3. Charge full product price (do not discount for manual delivery)
4. Track your time per customer (this is your automation roadmap)
5. Automate the most time-consuming steps first
6. Gradually reduce manual work while keeping the same price
7. When fully automated, your margins go from ~30% to 80%+

How to Price a Services Wrapper

1. Estimate fully-automated product price: $[PRODUCT_PRICE]/month
2. Estimate your manual time per customer: [HOURS]/month
3. Minimum viable hourly rate: $75-150/hour
4. Manual cost: [HOURS] x $[RATE] = $[MANUAL_COST]

If MANUAL_COST > PRODUCT_PRICE:
  -> Raise product price, or
  -> Limit customers until you automate, or
  -> Only automate the most time-expensive step first

Target: 3-5 manual customers to fund development

Revenue Timeline

• Week 1-2: Sign 2-3 customers at full product price
• Month 1-2: Deliver manually, document processes
• Month 3: Automate top time-sink, take on 2 more customers
• Month 4-6: Continue automating, margins improve each month
• Target: $3K-5K/month by month 2, improving margins over time

Example

A founder wants to build an automated social media management tool. Instead of building the automation first, they offer "done-for-you social media management" at $500/month. Sign 5 clients ($2,500/month). Use revenue to fund development. Over 6 months, automate scheduling, analytics, and reporting. Manual time drops from 10 hours/client/month to 2 hours. Same revenue, fraction of the work.

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Path 6: Info Product (Course, Guide, or Template Pack)

When to Use

• You have deep expertise in a specific domain
• You want revenue with near-zero marginal cost
• You are building an audience or community around your topic
• You want to fund your SaaS/product development

Step-by-Step

1. Pick one specific problem your audience has
2. Choose a format:
   - Mini-course (video, 1-3 hours): $49-199
   - Comprehensive course (5-10 hours): $199-997
   - Written guide / playbook (PDF): $29-99
   - Template pack (spreadsheets, docs, Notion): $19-79
   - Workshop (live, 2-4 hours): $99-299
3. Outline the content (8-12 sections or lessons)
4. Create it (target: 1-2 weeks for a mini-course, 1 week for a guide)
5. Host on Gumroad, Teachable, Podia, or your own site
6. Sell via Stripe payment link or platform checkout
7. Promote in communities where your audience hangs out

Pricing Guide

Revenue Timeline

• Week 1: Outline and create content
• Week 2: Set up sales page and payment
• Week 3: Launch to your network (email, social, communities)
• Week 4: Ongoing promotion
• Target: $1K-5K in first month, scaling with audience growth

Example

A data engineer creates a "SQL for Analytics Engineers" mini-course. 6 video lessons, 2 hours total. Prices at $79 on Gumroad. Posts in 3 data engineering communities and on LinkedIn. Sells 40 copies in the first month ($3,160). Sells 15-20 per month ongoing with minimal promotion.

Template — Info Product Launch Email

Subject: [Number] [lessons/templates/strategies] for [specific outcome]

Hi [Name],

I just published [Product Name] — a [format] that walks you through
[specific outcome] step by step.

It covers:
- [Topic 1]
- [Topic 2]
- [Topic 3]

I built this because [1 sentence on why — personal experience or
common pain you have seen].

Launch price: $[AMOUNT] (goes up to $[HIGHER_AMOUNT] on [DATE])

Get it here: [LINK]

[Your Name]

P.S. [Social proof, guarantee, or urgency — pick one.]

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Choosing Your Path

Combining Paths

These paths are not mutually exclusive. Common combinations:

1. Info product -> generates leads -> consulting clients -> fund product dev
2. Pre-sales -> pilot program -> full launch
3. Services wrapper -> automate -> SaaS product
4. Waitlist deposits -> pre-sales -> pilot -> launch

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The $1K Sprint

If you need $1K in the next 14 days, do this:

Day 1: Pick your path (30 minutes)
Day 1: Define your offer in writing (1 hour)
Day 1: Create a Stripe payment link (20 minutes)
Day 2: List 25 people who might buy or know someone who would
Day 2-3: Send 25 personal messages (not mass email — personal)
Day 4-7: Follow up with everyone who did not respond
Day 7-10: Handle objections, close interested buyers
Day 10-14: Deliver value, ask for referrals

Expected result: 3-8 sales, depending on price point
  - At $150: 7 sales = $1,050
  - At $250: 4 sales = $1,000
  - At $500: 2 sales = $1,000

The only way this fails is if you do not send the 25 messages.