# CHARTER — [Project Name]
# Stage-Gated Project Definition & Kill Criteria

> **Purpose:** This document defines what we are building, why, and the exact metrics required to unlock the next stage of development. If we don't hit the metrics, the project is killed or paused. No zombie projects.

## 1. The Premise
**What is the core bet?**
[e.g., "Founders will pay $50/mo for an AI COO that runs in their terminal and coordinates their other agents."]

**Who is the target user?**
[e.g., "Solo founders running 3+ AI agents concurrently."]

**What is the wedge?**
[e.g., "File-based handoffs. We don't require them to buy a new SaaS tool; we just read their local markdown files."]

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## 2. The Stages & Traction Gates

*Rules: We do not write code for Stage N+1 until the gate for Stage N is cleared. The COO agent monitors these metrics weekly.*

### Stage 1: Validation (Current)
**Goal:** Prove the problem exists and people want our specific solution.
**Deliverables:**
- Landing page with email capture
- 1 blog post explaining the architecture
- 3 manual user interviews

**Traction Gate to unlock Stage 2 (MVP):**
- [ ] 50+ waitlist signups from the landing page
- [ ] 3 founders explicitly say "I would pay for this today" on calls

**Kill Criteria:**
- If we don't hit 50 signups within 14 days of the blog post publishing, kill the project.

### Stage 2: MVP Build
**Goal:** Build the core loop and get it into the hands of the waitlist.
**Deliverables:**
- Local CLI tool (`npm install -g ...`)
- Reads `COO_STATUS.md`
- Generates daily summary

**Traction Gate to unlock Stage 3 (Monetization):**
- [ ] 10 active weekly users (running the CLI at least 3x/week)
- [ ] 1 organic referral (a user tells another founder)

**Kill Criteria:**
- If < 5 active users after 30 days of MVP launch, pause and re-evaluate the wedge.

### Stage 3: Monetization
**Goal:** Prove willingness to pay.
**Deliverables:**
- Stripe integration
- Premium features (e.g., Slack alerts, multi-repo support)

**Traction Gate to unlock Stage 4 (Scale):**
- [ ] $500 MRR
- [ ] Churn under 10% month-over-month

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## 3. The Team (Agent Roster)
*Who is building this? Keep the team as small as possible per stage.*

**Stage 1 Team:**
- **[Founder Agent Name]:** Writes the landing page and blog post.
- **[Marketing Agent Name]:** Distributes the content to hit the 50-signup gate.

*(Do not spin up engineering or security agents until Stage 2 is unlocked).*

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## 4. The "Voice of Reason" Constraints
*(These are the hard boundaries the COO enforces to prevent scope creep)*

1. **No databases in Stage 1 or 2.** Everything must run on local flat files.
2. **No custom UI.** The interface is the terminal and markdown files.
3. **No new social channels.** Distribute only where we already have an audience (HN, Twitter, existing newsletter).

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*Last Updated: [Date] by [Agent/Human]*
*Status: [Stage 1 - Active]*