8. If I Were You: The Next 90 Days (1 Oct – 29 Dec 2026)
The single most important thing
Get 15 Alberta employers to pay CA$399 for an "audit evidence sprint" during this audit season, and 2 consultants to pilot with their clients, before you build a product.
- Why now: ACSA's published cycle has action plans due 6 Nov 2026, data collection closing 31 Dec 2026, and final submission on 21 Jan 2027 (research/10). Evidence pain peaks in exactly this window. Next year's window is 12 months away.
- Segment: Alberta construction employers with 3–100 workers holding COR or SECOR, and the consultants who run their programs.
- Job: "Show me what my auditor will find missing, and help me close it before 31 December."
- How: concierge first. An Airtable base with an element-by-element evidence index, a gap checklist and a certificate list. You collect their records (photos, scans, Drive folders), index them, and send a gap list with dates. Automate only what you've done by hand at least 15 times.
Hours per week available decides the pace. At ~15 hrs/week, aim for 8 sprints, not 15, and 1 consultant. Every other exit number scales the same way.
Week-by-week
| Weeks | Dates | Goal | Exit criteria |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | 1–14 Oct | Discovery and permission. 10 consultant calls, 10 employer calls. Ask about last year's audit: what was missing, how long evidence took, what tools they use, what they pay. Research SiteDocs, Safety Evolution and 2 other Canadian tools in detail. Email ACSA about referencing the audit instrument. Sign a certified-auditor advisor. | Top 3 pains in their words, with hours or dollars. A clear answer on whether an incumbent already does element mapping well for small firms. If yes, stop here. |
| 3–4 | 15–30 Oct | Sell the sprint. One-page offer, CA$399, delivered by 15 Dec. Consultant pilot: free sprints for 5 of their clients in return for weekly feedback. | 5 paid sprints and 2 consultant pilots by 30 Oct. Fewer than 3 paid: the pain isn't real at this price. Change buyer (consultants only), not the pitch. |
| 5–8 | 31 Oct – 27 Nov | Deliver by hand, then build the thin v1 (PWA): offline capture of 5 templates, certificate list with expiry alerts, evidence index by element, gap view, PDF evidence pack. Canadian hosting region. | Pilots' gap lists sent. Consultants run ≥5 clients each on the prototype. |
| 9–10 | 28 Nov – 11 Dec | Free hooks. Refund calculator, SECOR readiness checklist, 2026–27 audit-deadline page. 10 SEO pages on Alberta audit questions. | Pages live. First organic leads, however few. |
| 11–13 | 12–29 Dec | Close the season. Help every pilot close gaps before the 31 Dec cut-off. Offer an annual plan with the sprint fee credited, starting 1 Jan. | 15 sprints delivered, ≥8 annual commitments for 2027, 2 consultants ready to move more clients in January. |
Kill criteria (write these down now)
- In week 2, an incumbent already maps evidence to the Alberta audit tool, at a price small firms pay, and consultants like it. Stop.
- By 30 Oct, fewer than 3 paid sprints and no consultant pilot. Stop, or switch once to consultants only.
- By 29 Dec, fewer than 5 annual commitments. The pain is seasonal only. Don't respond by adding features.
The one thing to stop doing
Stop thinking of this as a "safety forms app".
Forms are what Safesite and Mitti give away. Every week spent on a form builder, a nicer inspection screen or a dashboard is a week not spent with the consultants and auditors who decide whether this works. The only thing worth building in these 90 days is the evidence index and gap view, and only after 5 people have paid.
A close second: don't start the US OSHA product "on the side". It's a different country, a different rule and a crowded search market (analysis/02).
What stays on the long-term roadmap (only after proof)
- Consultant console with their own templates and white-label packs.
- Corrective-action tracking and interview-prep sheets.
- Certificate photo reading with capped AI.
- A second province (BC or Manitoba), only after Alberta renewal at month 16.
- Subcontractor pre-qualification for prime contractors.