From Idea to Revenue in 6 Weeks
A real breakdown of how we took a founder from napkin sketch to paying customers. Timeline, decisions, and lessons learned.
Last month, a founder came to us with an idea for a B2B scheduling tool. Six weeks later, they had 8 paying customers and a clear roadmap. Here’s exactly how we did it.
Week 1: Discovery and Scoping
The founder had a vision for a complex scheduling platform with team calendars, resource allocation, AI optimization, and integrations with every tool under the sun.
We pushed back. Hard.
After a 2-hour discovery call, we narrowed it down to one core problem: freelance consultants waste hours every week going back and forth on scheduling with clients.
MVP scope: A smart scheduling link that syncs with Google Calendar, collects intake info, and handles timezone conversion. That’s it.
Week 2: Technical Foundation
We set up the core infrastructure:
- Next.js frontend with React
- PostgreSQL database
- Stripe for payments
- Google Calendar API integration
- Simple auth flow with magic links
No design system. No fancy animations. Browser defaults with Tailwind for basic styling.
By end of week 2, you could create an account and connect your calendar.
Week 3: Core Features
This week was pure building:
- Scheduling page creation
- Availability settings
- Booking flow
- Email confirmations
- Intake form builder
The founder tested with 3 friends who run consulting businesses. They found 5 bugs and requested 2 features we hadn’t considered.
We fixed the bugs. We said “later” to the features.
Week 4: Payment and Polish
Added Stripe integration for paid bookings. Minimal polish pass—consistent spacing, readable fonts, working mobile view.
The product looked “fine.” Not beautiful, but professional enough that it didn’t embarrass anyone.
Founder started doing cold outreach on LinkedIn to potential customers.
Week 5: First Revenue
The founder offered early access at 50% off. Two consultants signed up at $15/month each.
More importantly: they actually used it. One booked 4 client calls through the platform in the first week.
Feedback: “I need to be able to set buffer time between meetings.” Added in 2 hours.
Week 6: Iteration
Five more paying customers. A few more feature requests, prioritized by how many people asked:
- Buffer time (done)
- Custom confirmation messages (done)
- Team calendars (backlog—not enough demand yet)
- Zoom integration (done)
Total MRR end of week 6: $120. Not life-changing, but proof of concept confirmed.
The Lessons
1. Scope is Everything
The original vision would have taken 6 months. The MVP took 6 weeks. By the time we would have launched the “full” version, we’d already know what features people actually wanted.
2. Sell Before It’s Ready
The founder started reaching out in week 3, before the product was done. This created urgency and ensured we were building something people wanted to buy—not just use for free.
3. Fast Iteration Beats Perfect Planning
We shipped features within hours of hearing feedback. This responsiveness built trust with early customers and let us course-correct constantly.
4. “Good Enough” is the Goal
No one mentioned design. No one cared about the tech stack. They cared about whether it solved their problem.
What’s Next
The founder is now at ~$400 MRR with 25 customers. They’re planning a design refresh and starting to build team features based on actual demand.
Total investment to get here: $8,000 and 6 weeks. Compare that to 6 months of building in isolation and hoping the market wants what you made.
Speed wins.