# Lean Start: 0 → 1

*Updated: 2026-04-05*

The goal is to go from "impressive prototype" to "real product in real hands" with minimum viable backend and maximum UX polish.

## Phase 0: Demo-Ready Prototype (NOW — 2 weeks)

**Goal:** A clickable, connected demo that walks through complete user journeys with fake data. Good enough for investor meetings, demo videos, and early user testing.

### What to build:
1. **Journey Walkthrough App** — a single-page app that renders journeys as connected, animated screen sequences using the existing Storybook components
2. **Fake API layer** — static JSON responses for all journey effects (check-in history, safety plan data, angel profiles)
3. **4 demo scenarios** scripted end-to-end:
   - Kai (Survivor): persona selection → onboarding → first check-in → first crisis
   - James (Guardian): angel invitation → accept → see Kai's shared data
   - Danny (Recoverer): onboarding → sobriety tracking → trigger moment
   - Priya (Connector): onboarding → managing her circle

### What NOT to build:
- Real authentication
- Real database
- Real notifications
- Production deployment

### Deliverable:
A URL you can open on your phone (or screen-record) showing a complete user journey with transitions, data flowing between screens, and the emotional arc of using Angels.

---

## Phase 1: Closed Alpha (Weeks 3-8)

**Goal:** Real app with real data for 20-50 hand-picked users. Validate the core loop: check-in → journal → streak → angel connection.

### Stack:
- **Next.js 15** on Vercel (already in architecture profile)
- **Neon Postgres** — managed, serverless, free tier for alpha
- **Better Auth** — self-hosted auth (magic link, no passwords)
- **Vercel Blob** — journal entry storage

### Features (MVP cut):
| Feature | In | Out |
|---------|-----|-----|
| Persona selection | Survivor only | Guardian, Recoverer, Connector |
| Onboarding | Survivor 6-step | Other personas |
| Daily check-in | Mood + journal + streak | Trend visualisation |
| Safety plan | View + edit all sections | Emotional readiness check |
| Crisis flow | Activate + alert 1 angel | Multi-angel cascade, post-crisis |
| Angel connection | Invite 1 angel via link | Consent wizard, granular sharing |
| Home screen | Check-in status + nudge | Insights, settings |

### What this proves:
- Do survivors complete onboarding?
- Do they return for daily check-ins?
- Does the angel invitation loop work? (Do invited angels actually join?)
- Is the safety plan used? How often? What do they edit?

### Metrics to track:
- Onboarding completion rate (target: >70%)
- D1/D7/D30 retention (target: 60/40/25%)
- Check-in frequency (target: 4+ days/week)
- Angel invitation send rate (target: >50% of users invite someone)
- Angel acceptance rate (target: >30% of invites accepted)

---

## Phase 2: Open Beta (Weeks 9-16)

**Goal:** Open to anyone who finds it. Add guardian persona. Validate the two-sided loop (survivor ↔ angel).

### Add:
- Guardian persona + onboarding
- Consent wizard (granular sharing)
- Streak trends (7-day mood visualisation)
- Privacy safeguards (coercion detection, quiet exit)
- Notification preferences
- REQ-001: Emotional readiness check

### Remove friction:
- Improve onboarding based on alpha data
- Fix whatever users complain about most
- Add "returning after a gap" flow (no guilt messaging)

### Distribution:
- Therapy/counselling practice partnerships (5-10 practices)
- Mental health charity partnerships (Mind UK, local orgs)
- Reddit/forums — lived experience communities (r/PTSD, r/anxiety, r/CPTSD)

---

## Phase 3: Premium Launch (Weeks 17-24)

**Goal:** Turn on revenue. Add premium tier. Prove willingness to pay.

### Premium features:
- Unlimited angel connections (free: 1)
- Full mood history (free: 7 days)
- Streak insights + contextual reflections
- Data export
- Custom notification schedules

### Key question to answer:
Does the angel limit drive conversion? If users hit the 1-angel cap and WANT to add more, that's the strongest possible signal.

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## Principles for Lean Execution

1. **Ship the journey, not the feature** — every release should complete at least one user journey end-to-end. A half-built onboarding is worth less than a complete check-in loop.

2. **Fake it until it matters** — static data, hardcoded responses, and mock APIs are fine until a real user needs real data. Don't build infrastructure for hypothetical scale.

3. **One persona at a time** — Survivor first. Prove the core loop. Then Guardian (because they're the other side of the angel connection). Recoverer and Connector come later.

4. **Measure the moments that matter** — not DAU or time-in-app. Measure: "Did they complete a safety plan?" "Did they check in 4 days this week?" "Did their angel respond?"

5. **Research as you go** — every alpha/beta user is a research participant. Schedule 15-minute calls. Update insights. Close the loop back to journey definitions.