Got an app idea? Let's work out the business.
It comes down to five questions. Get them right and you've found product-market fit: something the right people want and will pay for.
I'll work through all five with you and flag what's still a guess, so you know what to test with real customers before you build.
The people who need it most, and where to find them. Win them and they'll help you reach the rest.
What gets in their way, and how they deal with it today.
What the first version needs to solve their problem.
A clear explanation of what it does and why it matters to them.
What customers pay for, how you charge and a starting price to test.
Explain it to me as you would to a friend. Talk out loud or type.
I’ll ask questions and turn what we work out into a private website draft. Seeing the offer on a page helps you spot what’s clear, what’s missing and what needs another look - and we'll keep shaping it together.
I write your business plan, pricing and roadmap as we talk, with open questions clearly marked. Come back with what you learn and we'll update them together.
01
Who it helps, what they need, and what still needs proving. I mark what’s a guess so you know what to test.
Business Spec
02
Who pays, how much, and what each package includes, with the assumptions to check before you charge anyone.
Commercial Model
30-day free trialSingle Site
£29per month
One café
Multiple sites
£19per site / month
Two or more locations
AssumptionPrices and payment fees still need testing with café owners.
03
What to build first, what can wait, and what to park. Your pricing only sells what’s built or coming next, never the someday ideas.
Roadmap
Now
Next
Later
Business Spec
I'll turn the agreed plan into a build brief for your developer or a coding agent. It covers who uses the app, the first-version journeys, the important rules and edge cases, which features each plan unlocks, and the decisions still to make. They can build from the same business context we worked through. You choose the tools and where to host it.
Codex
Claude
v0
Lovable# Daily Cup
Independent cafés take paid orders ahead of the morning rush. Customers pick a collection slot and skip the queue; staff work from one list of paid orders.
## Roles
- **Café owner** (works for the customer). Sets up menus, slots and locations, and pays for the subscription.
- **Barista** (works for the customer). Works through the order queue during service and marks orders ready.
- **Customer** (the customer's customer). Orders, pays and collects. Never sees the café's settings.
## Journeys
### Order ahead
1. Choose a café and see what is available now.
2. Add drinks with their options, such as milk and size.
3. Pick a collection slot that still has capacity.
4. Pay online and receive an order confirmation.
### Serve a paid order
1. See paid orders for this location, soonest slot first.
2. Mark an order as being made, then ready to collect.
## Screens
### Order queue
Staff see what to make next during service.
Seen by: Barista, Café owner
Behaviour
- Only paid orders appear. Failed payments never reach the queue.
- A repeated payment notification never creates a second order.
- Sold-out items are hidden from customers immediately.
States
- **No orders yet today.** Shows the next open slot and a link to share the ordering page.
- **A slot is full.** Customers are offered the nearest slot with space.
## Entitlements
Declared here and assigned to plans in Salable. The app checks the entitlement; it does not decide who gets it.
- `advance_ordering` (Order ahead). The core reason a café pays.
- `loyalty_stamps` (Loyalty rewards). Brings regulars back.
- `multiple_locations` (Multiple sites). Queues and menus per location.
## Not yet decided
These were not settled before this spec was written. Ask rather than inventing an answer.
- **Payments.** How does each café receive its money?
- **Refunds.** Who issues a refund when an order goes wrong?
- **Loyalty.** How many stamps earn a free drink?
Your build brief already says what each plan includes, so your app can use Salable to charge the way that suits your customers, whether that's per seat or by usage, monthly or annual, or a mix. It handles payments and feature access too.
It's completely optional. If you use it, you can change your prices and plans whenever you like, without rebuilding the app.
Sal is free to use. If there's anything else you'd like to talk about, get in touch.
$0
Everything you need to work out the business and brief your builder.
*Fair use applies to AI usage.
Let's talk
Not sure it's for you, or want to talk something through? We'd love to hear from you.
Your builder and hosting may charge separately. If you decide to charge your customers with Salable, its own pricing applies, and it's free to start.
I'm an AI business coach, made by Salable, the team behind a platform for pricing and charging for software. I'm not a person, but I'll ask questions and push back like one, and I'll keep track of what we decide.
Software you'd sell to other people or businesses. If it's an app just for you, you don't need a business plan, and I'm probably not the right help.
ChatGPT answers what you ask. I lead the conversation, working through who pays, what for and how much in a sensible order. I push back where it’s thin, and I keep a written plan with the guesses marked.
Yes, with one difference. A generator fills in a plan from whatever you type. I ask questions first, push back where an answer is thin and write the plan as we talk, with the guesses marked. It takes a little longer, and you finish with a plan you can test.
Before you build, get clear on who'd pay for it, what for and how much, and what the first version needs. Talk it through with me and I'll write it up as we go, right through to your pricing and a brief your builder can follow.
A problem you know first-hand is enough to start. It helps if you can picture who might pay to solve it.
Start with who it's for and what problem it solves, then what the first version needs and how you'll charge. Talk it through with me and I'll write the plan as we go, with anything that's still a guess clearly marked.
That's fine, and it's useful. I'll note what's still a guess and what you'd need to find out, so you know what to check before you build.
Start by writing down what you're assuming about who has the problem, how they deal with it today and what they'd pay to fix it. That's what I help you do, and I mark which parts are still guesses. Then test the riskiest ones with real people before you build.
Not to start. First get clear on who'll pay and what for, and test that with real people. Then build the smallest first version that keeps your promise to them. I'll help you decide what goes in it and what can wait.
It depends on who pays and what it's worth to them. We'll work out a starting price and plans together, and I'll mark it as a guess to test with real customers before you rely on it.
Yes. We'll work out who pays, what they pay for and a starting price, whether that's a flat monthly fee, per seat, by usage or a mix.
No. I'll help you work out the business and prepare the build brief. You choose who or what builds the app. The website draft we make together stays private.
Yes. Your build brief is written for coding agents and developers alike. Copy it into Lovable, Claude Code, Codex or v0, or hand it to a developer.
A clear brief that says who uses the app, what they need to do in it and what each plan unlocks. I write it for you once we've worked out the business.
No. You can take your plans and brief elsewhere. Your build brief is written so your app can use Salable for plans and feature access, if you choose.
Talking with me, saving your work and copying out your build brief are free. Building and hosting your app may cost money. Salable's monetisation platform is free to start.
You do. Your idea and everything we write together are yours.
A practical step-by-step guide on how to turn an app idea into a successful software business.
What is the Product Illusion, why AI makes it easier to fall for, and the simple framework to escape it.
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