Liftoff Labs: Month 4 - The Month I Stopped Coding (On Purpose)
I barely shipped any code, but I learned more than I have in months.
This is part of the Liftoff Labs series, where I share real-world build-in-public deep dives, playbooks, and solo builder strategy lessons each month.
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🧭 TL;DR (Builder’s Digest)
🗣️ Spent the majority of the month talking to potential users
🤝 Learned how valuable DMs and 1:1 conversations really are
🚫 Wrote very little code (on purpose)
🧠 Key insight: building the “best thing” doesn’t matter if no one wants it
📉 Distribution > Perfection
🛠️ Shifted focus toward feedback loops and early traction
📊 Time & Tools Breakdown
- Estimated hours: ~10–15 (low dev time, high thinking time)
- Primary tools: Substack DMs, Notion
- Major focus: User discovery + product clarity
💸 Revenue & Expenses
Expenses this month: $25
Cursor subscription: $20
Railway: $5 for hosting my backend and database using the Hobby tier
Revenue: $0 (still pre-launch)
🧱 Builder Playbook: Talking Beats Shipping
This month, I shifted from Cursor to Substack and DMs. And honestly? It was overdue.
For weeks, I’d been heads-down trying to make Solopreneur Liftoff “better”. You know, cleaner UI, smoother auth, more features. But I hadn’t actually talked to the people I was building it for (outside of myself).
What changed?
I started messaging people. Current solo devs, aspiring ones, newsletter readers. I asked for initial feedback:
Do you see value in this?
What are you using to track income, runway, or goals?
What do you think is the core component of this?
And suddenly, I had more clarity in a few days than I had in a month of code.
Patterns I noticed:
Most people don’t want more features, but clarity in one thing that works
If multiple users say the same thing, it’s probably the best signal you’ll get
The personal aspect is where a lot of the real value is
This shifted how I’m thinking about Solopreneur Liftoff entirely.
🧠 Lessons Learned (and Advice to Past Me)
1. You can’t “ship your way” into product-market fit
Code feels productive. Conversations feel uncertain. But only one truly tells you what to build next.
2. Ask small questions, not big ones
Instead of broad questions like “Would you use this?”, try more focused ones like “How do you handle this today?”
3. People answer DMs when you’re human
Not every message landed, but the ones that did led to real conversations. The goal isn’t reach, it’s resonance. Don’t go in seeming entitled to anything. You’re lucky if anyone takes the time to give you feedback.
⏪ What I’d Do Differently
Started these conversations 2 months ago: There is really no reason to wait. Conversations only add value.
Shared product drafts earlier, even if they felt rough: Even though I shared some of it in this series, I could have done more to share early drafts. Ideally, I’d have a deployed preview build for others to use.
Asked for feedback in public, not just private: I’ve been focused on DMs, but simply asking on Substack Notes or elsewhere could have led to more information.
🧰 Solo Dev Toolkit (June Edition)
🗣️ Featurebase: A support & user feedback platform
📓 Notion: User insight database + pattern logging
🧠 Favorite framing from this month: “If I removed this feature tomorrow, would anyone care?” This is a a simple way to cut noise and stay focused on what matters.
📅 What’s Coming in July
✅ Keep iterating in the background
🧪 Add Featurebase and collect feedback
🧵 Share use cases and lessons in public
🎯 Build based on user pull, not just product intuition
🌱 Grow the newsletter
If I had to summarize July’s goal:
Ship less. Validate more. Extend reach.
🧑🚀 Final Thought
This was a quiet month.
But it might’ve been the most important so far.
The truth is: shipping solo is hard, but shipping blindly is worse.
Talk to people. Share early. Learn out loud.
You’re not just building a product.
You’re building a conversation.
Until next time, stay steady and keep building 🧱
— Rasmus