Three Months Building Awatif Full-Time: Build, Sell, Launch
Three months ago, I left my job to build Awatif full-time.
The vision was ambitious: automate structural building design from end to end. But a vision is not yet a product, and a product is not yet a business.
We needed to narrow the problem, put something useful in front of engineers, and learn whether they cared enough to use—and eventually pay for—it.
This is what the first three months looked like.
Month 1: Build Something Focused
We started by cutting the scope aggressively.
Instead of trying to automate the complete structural design process, we focused on 2D structural analysis and design. It represented only a small part of the larger vision, but it was concrete enough to build, test, and explain.
Starting small was not a compromise on the vision. It was the only practical way to move toward it.
An ambitious product can easily become a collection of unfinished ideas. A narrow first version creates something more valuable: a real workflow that a real engineer can react to.
Month 2: Sell Before It Was Finished
The second month was the most exciting.
I contacted 150 structural engineers. The goal was not to push a finished product; it was to understand their work, show what we were building, and ask for honest feedback.
The response gave us our first meaningful signal:
- 30 engineers booked a demonstration
- 3 people paid for the MVP before it was finished
They were not friends doing us a favour. They were engineers who saw enough value in the direction to pay for an incomplete product.
That mattered more than compliments or social-media engagement. It showed that the problem was real and that at least some engineers were willing to pay for a solution.
Month 3: Launch Before We Felt Ready
Thirty one-to-one demonstrations produced valuable conversations, but they were also extremely time-consuming. We needed a way for more engineers to experience the product without requiring a personal call every time.
So we launched publicly through a webinar.
We did not feel ready, but that feeling was unlikely to disappear. A private product can always be improved one more time. Launching creates a different kind of progress: people can finally try it, encounter the rough edges, and tell you what actually matters.
The webinar went well, but a successful launch did not mean revenue suddenly started flowing.
It did something more useful at this stage: it made the product easier to access and increased the amount of feedback we could collect.
What We Were Really Optimising For
Early revenue is encouraging, but it was not the main goal.
The goal was to find active users who genuinely valued the product—and to understand why. That requires patience, repeated conversations, and a willingness to ask direct questions.
The first three months taught us a simple sequence:
- Build the smallest useful version.
- Put it in front of the people who experience the problem.
- Ask for commitment, not just opinions.
- Launch before everything feels polished.
- Keep listening.
Awatif is still at the beginning. But the shift from building privately to learning in public has already changed how we make decisions.
Continue with Part 2: The Problem Was Right. The Business Model Was Wrong.