11. 24-Month Gated Roadmap
Date: 30 Sept 2026 Target: climb the MRR ladder. Realistic month-24 targets: $10k MRR full-time, $5k MRR at ~15 hrs/week, profitable, ≥80% gross margin, ≥70% month-3 retention. $20k (Tier B) is a stretch this wedge is unlikely to reach (WHAT-TO-DO-AND-AVOID §1). Rule: nothing in a later phase starts until the current phase's gate is hit. Gates and pivot rules are in WHAT-TO-DO-AND-AVOID §5. Days 1–90 are in 08-90-day-plan.md.
Targets are shown as full-time / ~15 hrs/week.
Phase 1: Prove the pain (Months 0–3) → Gates day 30, day 45, day 90
| Track | Work |
|---|---|
| Customers | 25 / 15 discovery calls. Hands-on records kit for 10 / 6 paying pilots. Day-45 kill test against existing tools. |
| Product | Web app and PWA: licence details, register with missing-fields view, vaccine gate, time-stamped daily log, medication and incident books, one-click inspection pack, spreadsheet import, backups. |
| Distribution | Register lead sheet from 20+ councils. Free inspection checklist. 5 SEO pages. |
| Team | Sign the licence-holder advisor (paid, or 0.5–1% advisor equity). |
| Pricing | Solo £19, Day Care £39. Pilots get founding pricing locked for 12 months. |
| Exit | 30 / 15 paying, ≥60% month-1 retention, ≥1 inspection passed with the pack |
Phase 2: Make it repeatable (Months 4–6) → Gate month 6
| Track | Work |
|---|---|
| Product | Online booking and owner intake that fills the register, licence-limit capacity check, signed consent forms, reminder emails, "records complete" weekly email. |
| Distribution | Association of Dog Boarders partnership (member offer, webinar). Renewal-timed outreach from the register sheet every week, automated. 15 SEO pages. Referral offer: 1 month free per paid referral. |
| Ops | Self-serve onboarding: 3-minute video, guided "first inspection pack" checklist, help centre. |
| Metrics | Daily-log completion, packs generated, vaccine-gate blocks, founder minutes per account. |
| Exit | $1.5k / $800 MRR (~40 / ~20 accounts), ≤3% monthly churn, ≥5 inspections passed with the pack |
Phase 3: Day cares and trust (Months 7–12) → Gate month 12
| Track | Work |
|---|---|
| Product | Staff training records and induction checklist, emergency plan and key-holder page, renewal countdown and "unannounced visit ready" score. Stripe Connect deposits (opt-in, ≤1% platform fee) from month 9. £3/mo archive plan for boarders who stop trading. |
| Distribution | Case studies with a £ figure (licence fees saved, hours saved at inspection). Talk at one association or pet-industry event. |
| Ops | Churn-reason survey. Guidance-change watch on gov.uk, monthly. |
| Exit | $4k / $2k MRR (~100 / ~50 accounts), ≥50% on annual, association partnership live |
Phase 4: Deepen revenue per account (Months 13–24) → Gates month 18, month 24
| Track | Work |
|---|---|
| Product | Plus plan (£69) for kennels, catteries and larger day cares: multiple licences, cattery register, staff roles. Import from KennelBooker, Revelation Pets and Gingr exports. Photo updates to owners. |
| Distribution | Double down on the single best channel from months 1–12. Consider a partnership with a pet-business insurer or a licence-application helper. |
| Team | At full-time and $7k+ MRR: a part-time UK support person (5–10 hrs/week), not another developer. |
| Checkpoint | Month 18: $7k / $3.5k MRR, card deposits live. Missing it means concentrating on one channel and the Day Care plan. |
| Decision at month 24 | $10k / $5k MRR, profitable: target hit. Run it profitably. Consider Wales or Scotland only as separate rulebooks. A sale to a pet-software consolidator is a valid outcome. |
| Exit | $10k / $5k MRR, profitable |
Revenue path (illustrative, not a forecast)
Full-time plan:
| Month | Solo | Day Care | Plus | Deposits revenue | MRR (≈ $) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 0 | ~$0.7k (pilots on founding prices) |
| 6 | 25 | 13 | 2 | 0 | ~$1.5k |
| 12 | 52 | 40 | 8 | ~£150 | ~$4k |
| 18 | 90 | 65 | 20 | ~£500 | ~$7k |
| 24 | 120 | 95 | 35 | ~£900 | ~$10k–11k |
~15 hrs/week plan: roughly half the account counts, and card deposits later: ~$800 at month 6, ~$2k at month 12, ~$3.5k at month 18, ~$5k at month 24.
This assumes blended £29 ($40) per account after annual discounts, monthly churn of 2–2.5% after month 6, ≥50% of new accounts from search, the association or referrals, and ~$1.35 per £. If churn runs above 4%, this path doesn't work. Fix retention and the Day Care mix before spending on growth.
Budget guardrails (bootstrapped)
- Hosting, backups, email, SMS and any AI pre-fill below 8% of revenue.
- Zero paid acquisition before month 6. After it, only channels with payback under 3 months.
- Advisor fees and association sponsorship are the only planned marketing costs in year 1.
- Keep 12 months of personal runway at all times on the full-time plan. If it falls below 6 months, drop to the ~15 hrs/week plan rather than cutting the product.