8. If I Were You: The Next 90 Days (30 Sept – 29 Dec 2026)
The single most important thing
Get 5 produce distributors paying ~$1,000 each for a FSMA 204 readiness sprint by 29 Nov 2026, before writing product code.
- Segment: produce distributors with 5–50 staff, on QuickBooks Online, not on a produce ERP, selling to restaurants, independent grocers, schools and institutions, in two or three US metro areas.
- Job: "Show me I can answer an FDA request in 24 hours, and give my customers lot codes on every invoice."
- How: a done-for-you sprint. Build their traceability plan from a template, turn their last 30 days of QuickBooks invoices and receiving paperwork into the FDA's sortable spreadsheet by hand, and give them a gap list ("these suppliers never send lot codes; these invoice lines can't be traced"). Automate only what you've done by hand at least 5 times.
Week by week
| Weeks | Goal | Exit criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 (to 14 Oct) | Discovery. 20 distributor calls and 5 consultant calls. Ask: which listed foods they carry, what system they run, whether customers have asked for lot data, how they'd answer an FDA request today, and who helps them with food safety. Sign a paid advisor from the trade. | You can write the top 3 pains in their words, and you know what share run QuickBooks without an ERP. If more than 70% are on an ERP, stop and rethink the category. |
| 3–4 (to 28 Oct) | Sell the sprint. Offer it to the best 10. Build the kit: FDA spreadsheet columns, plan template, supplier letter. Test FoodReady and ReposiTrak hands-on. | 3 sprints agreed by 30 Oct (day 30). |
| 5–8 (to 25 Nov) | Deliver sprints by hand. Photograph real case labels and packing slips. Record how long each step takes and where lots go missing. | 5 paid sprints by 29 Nov (day 60). Fewer than 5 means the pain isn't strong enough before the deadline. Switch to consultants as the buyer once; missing twice means stop. |
| 9–11 (to 16 Dec) | Build the thin v1 (web app that works on a phone): QuickBooks Online connection (read bills and invoices), receiving capture (scan or photo, confirmed by hand), lot codes on invoice lines, invoice PDF with lots, one-click FDA spreadsheet, monthly mock recall. | 3 sprint customers using it on real invoices every week. |
| 12–13 (to 29 Dec) | Measure and decide. Offer annual plans with the sprint fee credited. Publish the free Food Traceability List checker and the spreadsheet template. | 2 committed to annual plans. Median mock recall under 2 hours. If you hit it, continue to the roadmap. If you miss it, go back to discovery with a different category or consultants. |
Kill criteria (write these down now)
If at day 90 you have fewer than 3 distributors using the prototype weekly, or no one has committed to an annual plan, the wedge is wrong. Don't respond by adding features. Respond by changing the buyer (consultants) or the food category (seafood, shell eggs, soft cheese).
Hours
- ~15 hrs/week: ~5 hrs of calls in US business hours, ~5 hrs of sprint delivery, ~5 hrs of building. Build starts in week 9, not before.
- Full-time: the same plan, with 30–40 calls in weeks 1–4 and 8–10 sprints by day 90.
The one thing to stop doing
Stop thinking about kitchens, temperatures and sensors.
The catalog idea is a HACCP log with probes. Every version of that is already sold, from £4.99 apps to sensor vendors with installers, and paper is free. Sensors feel like the product that would make you different. In practice they turn you into a hardware support desk. None of it helps a distributor answer the FDA.
A close second: stop describing the product as "HACCP" or "food safety". Your buyer searches for "FSMA 204", "traceability lot code" and "sortable spreadsheet".
What stays on the long-term roadmap (only after proof)
- Supplier CSV and ReposiTrak import (P1).
- Broken-case and inferred-lot tools, timed to FDA guidance (P1).
- The consultant console (P1), which is also pivot A.
- A second listed-food category: seafood, shell eggs or soft cheese (after $5k MRR).
- Then, only if paying customers ask: Xero, multi-warehouse, and a customer data portal.