LocalPerks - Local Loyalty Coalition

Model: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4
Status: Completed
Cost: $2.36
Tokens: 235,067
Started: 2026-01-05 21:23

MVP Roadmap & Feature Prioritization

Minimum Viable Product

MVP: A coalition loyalty platform where customers earn points at one local business and redeem at any participating business in their neighborhood
Core Problem Solved: Independent businesses can't offer competitive loyalty programs individually
Must-Have Features:
  • Business enrollment & dashboard
  • Consumer points wallet
  • QR code transactions
  • Cross-business redemption
  • Coalition management
NOT in MVP:
  • Mobile apps (web-first)
  • Marketing automation
  • Advanced analytics
  • Payment processing
  • Multi-city features
Success Criteria: 2 pilot neighborhoods, 20+ businesses, 500+ consumers, 40% cross-business redemption rate

Feature Prioritization Matrix

HIGH VALUE
PHASE 1 (MVP)
Business Dashboard
Points Wallet
QR Transactions
User Auth
Coalition Setup
LOW EFFORT
PHASE 2-3
Mobile Apps
Payment Integration
Advanced Analytics
Marketing Tools
HIGH EFFORT
DON'T BUILD
Social Features
Gamification
Custom Hardware
LOW VALUE
PHASE 4+
White Label
Enterprise API
Multi-City Platform
HIGH EFFORT

Top 10 Features by Priority Score

Rank Feature User Value Biz Value Ease Score Phase
1 Points Wallet & Balance 10 10 8 9.4 MVP
2 QR Code Transactions 9 10 9 9.3 MVP
3 Business Dashboard 8 10 8 8.8 MVP
4 Cross-Business Redemption 10 9 7 8.7 MVP
5 User Authentication 7 9 9 8.3 MVP
6 Business Discovery Map 8 7 6 7.1 Phase 2
7 Mobile App (Consumer) 9 8 4 7.0 Phase 2
8 Coalition Management 6 9 7 7.0 MVP
9 Transaction History 7 6 8 6.9 Phase 2
10 Payment Integration 8 7 5 6.8 Phase 2

Phased Development Roadmap

Phase 1: Core MVP (Weeks 1-12)

Build the foundational coalition loyalty platform with web interfaces for both businesses and consumers. Focus on proving the core value proposition: points earned at one business can be redeemed at another in the same coalition.

Feature
Priority
Effort
Timeline
User Authentication (Phone/Email)
P0
5 days
Week 1
Business Dashboard & Enrollment
P0
8 days
Week 2-3
Points Wallet & Balance System
P0
7 days
Week 3-4
QR Code Transaction Processing
P0
10 days
Week 5-6
Cross-Business Redemption Engine
P0
8 days
Week 7-8
Coalition Setup & Management
P0
6 days
Week 9
Basic Reporting Dashboard
P1
5 days
Week 10
Testing & Bug Fixes
P0
10 days
Week 11-12
Success Criteria:
✓ 2 pilot neighborhoods enrolled
✓ 20+ businesses onboarded
✓ End-to-end transaction flow working
✓ 500+ consumer signups
✓ 40% cross-business redemption rate
✓ <5 critical bugs reported

Phase 2: Product-Market Fit (Weeks 13-20)

Enhance user experience with mobile apps, improve retention through better UX, and add payment integration for seamless transactions. Focus on proving sustainable unit economics and user engagement.

Consumer Mobile App (React Native)
P0
12 days
Week 13-15
Business Discovery & Map Interface
P1
6 days
Week 15-16
Payment Integration (Stripe)
P0
8 days
Week 16-17
Transaction History & Receipts
P1
5 days
Week 17
Push Notifications & Email
P1
4 days
Week 18
Enhanced Analytics Dashboard
P1
6 days
Week 19-20
Success Criteria:
✓ 1,500+ active users
✓ 30-day retention > 40%
✓ Mobile app in app stores
✓ $2,000+ MRR from business subscriptions
✓ 5 neighborhoods active
✓ Net Promoter Score > 40

Phase 3: Growth & Scale (Weeks 21-28)

Add viral growth mechanisms, advanced marketing tools for businesses, and automation features to reduce operational overhead. Focus on expanding to 3+ cities and proving scalable growth channels.

Referral Program & Viral Mechanics
P0
7 days
Week 21-22
Marketing Automation Tools
P1
8 days
Week 22-23
Advanced Business Analytics
P1
6 days
Week 24
Multi-City Platform Support
P0
10 days
Week 25-26
Automated Settlement System
P0
8 days
Week 27-28
Success Criteria:
✓ 5,000+ active users
✓ 3 cities operational
✓ Viral coefficient > 0.3
✓ $8,000+ MRR
✓ 100+ businesses enrolled
✓ Automated operations (minimal manual work)

Technical Implementation Strategy

Low-Code/API-First Approach

Component Solution Time Saved
Authentication Clerk/Auth0 5 days
Payments Stripe Connect 7 days
Database Supabase 4 days
Email/SMS Resend + Twilio 3 days
Hosting Vercel 3 days
Total — 22 days

Cost Structure (per 1,000 users)

Service Monthly Cost
Hosting (Vercel Pro) $20
Database (Supabase Pro) $25
Auth (Clerk Pro) $25
Payments (Stripe) 2.9% of volume
Communications $15
Fixed Costs $85/month
Unit economics: $0.085 fixed cost per user + transaction fees

Development Timeline

Foundation & Setup
Week 1-2
Core Features
Week 3-6
Polish & Testing
Week 7-8
Beta Launch
Week 9-10
Mobile Apps
Week 11-13
Scale Features
Week 14-18

Key Milestones & Success Metrics

Milestone 1: MVP Ready
Week 12
✓ End-to-end transaction flow
✓ 2 pilot neighborhoods
✓ 20+ businesses enrolled
✓ 500+ beta users
✓ 40% cross-redemption rate
Milestone 2: PMF Validation
Week 20
✓ 1,500+ active users
✓ 40%+ 30-day retention
✓ $2,000+ MRR
✓ Mobile apps launched
✓ NPS > 40
Milestone 3: Scale Ready
Week 28
✓ 5,000+ active users
✓ 3 cities operational
✓ $8,000+ MRR
✓ Viral growth (k>0.3)
✓ Automated operations

Risk Management & Contingencies

High-Severity Risks

Chicken-and-Egg Problem
Businesses need consumers, consumers need businesses
Mitigation: Launch in dense neighborhoods with 15+ businesses committed pre-launch
Founder Burnout
Solo founder managing technical + business development
Mitigation: 1-week breaks every 8 weeks, outsource non-core tasks

Medium-Severity Risks

Technical Complexity
Settlement system more complex than estimated
Mitigation: Use Stripe Connect for marketplace payments, 30% time buffers
Regulatory Compliance
State-by-state stored value regulations
Mitigation: Legal review in month 2, conservative compliance approach

Launch Strategy & Go-Live Plan

Pre-Launch (Week 10-11)

• Build waitlist (target: 500 signups)
• Partner with 2 business associations
• Create demo videos
• Secure 20+ business commitments
• Prepare PR materials

Beta Launch (Week 12)

• Invite 100 beta users
• Monitor critical metrics 24/7
• Weekly feedback surveys
• Rapid iteration cycle
• Community building

Public Launch (Week 16)

• Product Hunt launch
• Local media outreach
• Reddit/HackerNews posts
• Paid acquisition ($2K budget)
• Referral incentives

Post-MVP Roadmap Vision

6 Months (Month 4-9)

Focus: Product-market fit optimization
Features: Advanced analytics, integrations, team features
Goals: 2,500 users, $15K MRR, break-even

12 Months (Month 10-15)

Focus: Enterprise & scale readiness
Features: API platform, white-label, advanced marketing
Goals: 10,000 users, $50K MRR, Series A ready

18-24 Months

Focus: Platform ecosystem & expansion
Features: Marketplace, international, adjacent verticals
Goals: National presence, $200K+ ARR