Pre-sale results: when to start building your product

Oscar

End of January. Twelve shops asked. Five prepaid, four said “call us when it's ready”, three said no.

You

Five of twelve! That's a win.

Alex Tutor

Check it against the rule you wrote before the first ask: at least three by the end of January. Five passes. The decision was made before anyone felt anything about it.

Nina

Then I build, from 1 February.

Alex Tutor

And Dennis paid first. GarageDesk has just reached its first money milestone.

Oscar

Honestly, if only two had paid, I'd have found a way to call it a win too.

Alex Tutor

Everyone would. That's why the number went on paper first.

Alex Tutor

Question 1

Three shops reserved three months at 1,800 UAH and two reserved a year at 6,000 UAH. How much prepaid cash does GarageDesk hold?

Your answer

Units: UAH

Oscar

Dennis and one other shop took the year. Greg and two others took three months. It's all in the account.

Alex Tutor

Until 1 April it's a promise, not income. If you miss the date, every hryvnia goes back.

Nina

And in monthly terms, after launch? Three shops at 600, two at 500…

Alex Tutor

Work it out, and compare it with the 2,000 you pay for tools.

You

What if a shop asks for its money back in March?

Alex Tutor

Give it back, quickly and politely. The promise was the point of the offer.

Alex Tutor

Question 2

After launch, the three-month shops pay the equivalent of 600 UAH a month and the two yearly shops count as 6,000 / 12 each. What is GarageDesk’s monthly recurring revenue (MRR)?

Your answer

Units: UAH a month

Oscar

Greg hesitated for a week. Then Martha told him she'd type in the client list herself if that's what it takes.

Alex Tutor

The user pushed the decision maker. That's the roles lesson working in real life.

You

And the four who said “call us when it's ready”?

Alex Tutor

They said “not now”. Tell them the launch date, without pressure, and note who asks first.

Oscar

One of the four has already called back to ask whether we could help move his notebook into the system.

Alex Tutor

Note him. That's the first sign a “not now” may turn into a yes.

Alex Tutor

Question 3

Which statements are true at the end of January? Select all that apply.

Choose all that applyThe pre-sale passed the rule written in advance: 5 prepaid, 3 were neededGarageDesk has reached its first money milestoneThe 17,400 UAH can be spent freely right awayNina’s living costs are now coveredThe four “call us when it’s ready” shops count as future customers

Oscar

Two said their regulars come back anyway: small places where everyone knows the owner. One won't put car owners' phone numbers into any online system.

Alex Tutor

The first two may simply not be your audience. The third is a worry you'll hear again. Write it down as a risk to answer, not as a lost cause.

Nina

So before launch we need a clear line about whose data it is and who can see it.

Alex Tutor

Yes. Shops will ask, and “we'll figure it out” is not an answer.

You

Should they worry that the two “regulars come back anyway” shops are right?

Alex Tutor

Only if bigger shops start saying it too. From two tiny places, it's a note about who the audience is.

Alex Tutor

Question 4

Match each answer from the pre-sale with what Nina and Oscar should do about it.

Pick an answer for each row. Choosing an answer that is already used moves it to this row.

Prepaid for three months or a year
Choose an answer
“Call us when it’s ready”
Choose an answer
“Our regulars come back anyway”
Choose an answer
“I won’t put customers’ numbers online”
Choose an answer

Alex Tutor

These five are your early adopters. They paid for what GarageDesk will become. They'll forgive rough edges, but not silence.

Nina

What do I tell them now? Launch is five weeks away.

You

Can I write the message?

Alex Tutor

Please. Thanks, the date, what you need from them, and the refund promise.

Oscar

Dennis has already asked when he can hand over his niece's notebook.

Alex Tutor

Question 5Short answer · AI-checked task

Write a short message (4–5 sentences) from Nina to the five shops that prepaid. Include thanks, the launch date, what GarageDesk needs from them before launch, and the refund promise.

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You

Can I try the module on another pre-sale?

Alex Tutor

Yes. ClinicSlot, Hannah and Leo from module 1, ran their own pre-sale. Their result is less clear than yours.

Oscar

Less clear how?

Alex Tutor

Read it and decide with their own rule. Price, prepayment, the cash and what to do next.

Alex Tutor

Question 6Case · AI-checked task

Decide what Hannah and Leo should do after their pre-sale.

ClinicSlot (from module 1) sends booking reminders for small private dental clinics in Kharkiv at 800 UAH per clinic per month. Their tools cost 1,600 UAH a month.

Before building, Hannah and Leo ran a pre-sale: three months for 2,400 UAH or a year for 8,000 UAH, start in June, full refund if not live by 1 July. Before the first ask they wrote a rule: build if at least 4 of 15 clinics prepay by 30 April.

Results from 15 clinics:

3 prepaid: 2 for three months, 1 for a year.
6 said “call us when it’s ready”.
4 asked for a free three-month pilot instead, “to see if patients like it”.
2 said no: one owner books patients himself on paper and likes it; one clinic is closing in autumn.

Leo says: “Three payers and ten more interested — that’s basically four. Let’s build.”

Write your advice (250–400 words):

Calculate the prepaid cash, the yearly plan’s discount, and the monthly revenue the three clinics would bring after launch. Does it cover the tools?
Apply their rule. What does it say, and what do you make of Leo’s argument?
How should they read the “call us”, the free-pilot requests and the two no’s?
What should they do next, including what they owe the three clinics that paid?

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Alex Tutor

Next module: the smallest thing that works, live on 3 March for five shops.

Alex Tutor

That’s the lesson. You answered every task — nicely done.

Next lesson: A solution is not a product