Your first $100K is the most dangerous money you will ever touch.
I talk to founders with limited budgets weekly. Most torch cash on the wrong problem.
They think execution means developers.
NO.
Execution means proving someone will pay.
But you still ignore it and hire a dev at $80K. You build for 6 months. You launch into silence.
Now you're broke with a codebase nobody wants.
You will not like the fix:
Build V0 with duct tape. Lovable. Xano. Relay. Airtable. Whatever ships fastest.
Then sell it.
Not to friends. To strangers who don't care about your vision.
If they pay, you have permission to build. If they don't, you just saved $100K.
But here's what I hear:
"We need native apps because we compete on UX." "If it were easy, everyone would do it." "Our solution is special."
No. You're special after revenue. Before revenue, you're just another nobody with a $0 solution.
The best filter for strategy? Pretend you only have $3K/month. Even if you raised $500K.
Scarcity forces ruthless focus on revenue.
Will they pay?
Answer that first. Then burn cash.