7. What's Missing: The Gap Between Built and Paid, Renewed, Referred

Assumption: nothing is built yet. So these are gaps between the plan and a business.

7.1 Gaps to pay

Gap	Why it blocks payment	Fix
The described buyer already has a tool	Residential inspectors use Spectora or similar, with the Florida forms included	Sell to PCA firms instead (02).
No pricing model	Undefined in the idea. Per-inspector pricing (Spectora-style) doesn't fit firms that bill per report.	Suggested (verify with 15 principals): Solo $149/mo (1 user, 6 reports) → Firm $449/mo (5 users, 25 reports) → Firm Plus $899/mo (15 users, 60 reports). Overage ~$25/report. 2 months free on annual. 30-day pilot on live reports, no free plan.
No quantified value promise	"Faster reports" doesn't get a principal's signature.	"Save 3 hours per Fannie report and stop lender bounce-backs." Measure it in every pilot.
No credibility	Engineers don't buy report tools from strangers	A PCA engineer co-founder or advisor, named on the site, plus 2 pilot firms willing to be named.
Liability fear	"If your table is wrong, my name is on the report."	Clear terms: the consultant owns every opinion. Every table value is sourced, versioned and overridable. Changelog visible to users.

Gap	Fix
Lumpy volume (GSE volume swings with rates)	Report allowances that roll over within a quarter. Annual plans. A second report family so slow GSE months are filled.
Low switching cost at first	Build it up: cost library, report history, reserve data and templates live in the tool. Offer full export anyway. Trust matters more than lock-in.
Form changes breaking reports	Ship new form versions within 14 days, with a "what changed" note. This is the renewal reason.
Consolidation (customer firm acquired)	Track it. Ask acquirers early. A firm on a good tool is a reason for an acquirer to keep it.

Gap	Fix
Nothing visibly shareable	Lender reviewers see the reports. A small, optional "prepared with InspectForm" line on the report footer.
No free hook	A free GSE useful-life lookup and a "what changed in Form 4099" email. Assessors move between firms, and they take tools they like with them.
No community	ASTM E50 committee presence, and one short talk a year at a due-diligence conference.
No referral economics	One month free for the referring firm when a referred firm pays for three months.

Missing entirely from the idea. Spectora's channels (Facebook groups, InterNACHI) don't reach PCA engineers.
Channels that fit: founder or advisor network, search on form names ("Fannie Mae Form 4099 checklist", "Freddie 1105 unit sampling"), the form-change email, ASTM E50, assessors who move firms, lender reviewers who notice clean reports.
Channels that burn cash: paid ads to "inspectors", trade-show booths before $5k MRR.

Current: "report-writing software for a specialty inspection with mandated forms". Accurate, but aimed at a solved market.
Better: "Turn your site visit into a Fannie or Freddie PCA report the lender won't bounce." One buyer, one outcome.

Founder-led with the advisor: a 30-minute call, then a pilot on one live report. No self-serve signup before 10 firms.
Automate after that: template-import wizard, recorded demo, help center, weekly office hours.

Area	Requirement
Professional responsibility	Terms say the licensed consultant owns all opinions, ratings, useful lives and costs. The software is a drafting and checking tool.
Agency formats	Fannie and Freddie forms are published for use by consultants. Don't imply endorsement. Never say "Fannie Mae approved".
Data confidentiality	Property, borrower and loan data is confidential. NDAs with firms, encryption, per-firm data separation, US hosting.
AI	Label AI-drafted text. Don't train on one firm's reports for another firm's benefit without consent.
Insurance	Carry your own professional (E&O) and cyber cover before firm #5.

Not provided. For this wedge you need at minimum: one developer comfortable with offline sync and document generation, and one person who has written or reviewed 50+ GSE PCAs. Without the second person, distribution and product truth both stall.

Minimum set: pilot-to-paid conversion, reports per firm per month, hours per report (firm-reported), lender bounce-backs per 10 reports, onboarding days per firm, logo churn, share of new firms from referral or search.