Founder Paths

There is no one true path to building a successful product. Different founders take different approaches — and aiorg kits support all of them.

We don't prescribe stages. We solve problems.

Instead of "use these kits in order", we ask: "What problem are you facing right now?"

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Four Paths to Success

1. YC / Lean Startup Path

Validate → Build MVP → Find PMF → Scale → Retain

Philosophy:

• "Make something people want"
• "Talk to users"
• "Don't scale before PMF"
• Validate before investing time/money

Best for:

• Complex products
• B2B / Enterprise
• High-risk, high-reward bets
• First-time founders who need structure

Kit journey:

Idea OS → [Build] → PMF OS → Marketing OS → Success OS

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2. Indie Hacker Path

Build fast → Ship → See what happens → Iterate → PMF

Philosophy:

• "12 startups in 12 months" (Pieter Levels)
• Build quickly, learn from real users
• Low overhead, solo or small team
• Revenue focus from day one

Best for:

• Simple products (tools, utilities)
• Solo founders
• Side projects
• Low-risk experiments

Kit journey:

[Build fast] → Marketing OS (soft launch) → PMF OS → Marketing OS (scale)

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3. Creator Path

Build audience → Product for audience → Scale

Philosophy:

• "Audience first, product second"
• Leverage existing following
• Build what your audience asks for
• Trust and distribution already solved

Best for:

• Personal brands
• Courses, communities, info products
• Creators with existing audience
• Newsletter/social media focus

Kit journey:

Marketing OS (audience) → Idea OS (what to build) → [Build] → Success OS

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4. AI Builder Path

Build in weekend → Ship → See → Rebuild → Ship again

Philosophy:

• AI makes building nearly free
• Faster to build than to validate
• Learn by shipping, not researching
• Iterate rapidly on real feedback

Best for:

• AI-native builders
• Low-cost experiments
• Rapid prototyping
• "Throw stuff at the wall" approach

Kit journey:

[Build with AI] → PMF OS → Marketing OS
(Skip Idea OS — building IS validating)

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What AI Changes

Key insight: "Validate before building" becomes less critical when building costs a weekend, not months.

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Universal Truths

These apply to ALL paths:

1. Solve a Real Problem

No amount of marketing fixes a product nobody needs. Whether you validate before or after building, you must solve a real problem.

2. People Must Come Back

Retention > Acquisition. Always. A leaky bucket can't be filled. If users try once and leave, you have a product problem, not a marketing problem.

3. PMF is Required for Scale

Scaling without Product-Market Fit is the #1 startup killer. Paid ads before PMF = burning money.

4. Don't Scale Prematurely

From Startup Genome study of 3,000+ startups: premature scaling is the most common cause of startup death.

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Which Kit for Which Problem?

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Marketing: Two Modes

Marketing works differently before and after PMF:

Mode 1: Get First Users (Pre-PMF)

Goal: Get 10-100 users for learning

Do:

• Manual outreach (DMs, emails)
• Soft launch (small ProductHunt)
• Content marketing (organic, free)
• Community building

Don't:

• Paid ads (waste of money)
• Big launches (waste of attention)
• Aggressive growth tactics

Mode 2: Scale (Post-PMF)

Goal: Get 100-10,000+ users

Now OK:

• Paid ads (you know who converts)
• Big launches (you have proof)
• Aggressive SEO
• Viral loops, growth hacking

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Which Path Are You On?

Don't know? That's fine. Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I have a product?

   • No → Idea OS or just build it
   • Yes → Continue

2. Do I have users?

   • No → Marketing OS (soft launch mode)
   • Yes → Continue

3. Do users come back?

   • No → PMF OS
   • Yes → Continue

4. Do I have PMF? (40%+ "very disappointed" if product disappeared)

   • No → PMF OS
   • Yes → Marketing OS (scale) + Success OS