Is FoundStep just another project management tool?

No. FoundStep is purpose-built for indie developers and solo founders who want to stop starting and start shipping. Most project management tools are flexible by design you can skip steps, change scope silently, and never be held accountable. FoundStep enforces a strict project lifecycle: you cannot build without validating your idea first, and you cannot ship without completing your todos. The constraints are the product.

How is FoundStep different from Notion, Linear, or Trello?

Notion, Linear, and Trello are general-purpose tools built for teams. They give you infinite flexibility which works well for teams with managers and external deadlines, but is fatal for solo builders with no external accountability. FoundStep gives you zero flexibility on the things that matter: you can't skip validation, you can't silently add scope after locking, and every decision is recorded permanently. It's not a better task manager. It's a different category of tool entirely.

Who is FoundStep built for?

FoundStep is built for indie hackers, solo founders, side project builders, and anyone who has a habit of starting projects and not finishing them. If you have 10 unfinished projects and want discipline to actually ship, FoundStep is for you. It is not built for large teams, enterprises, or non-technical project managers there are no team collaboration or multi-user features.

Can I use FoundStep with a team?

No. FoundStep is a single-user tool designed for solo builders. There are no team collaboration, sharing, or multi-user features. Every workspace belongs to one person. If you need to work with others, FoundStep is not the right fit.

Does FoundStep work for non-developers?

FoundStep is optimised for indie developers and solo technical founders. The workflow idea capture, validation, scope locking, todos, versioning maps directly to how software gets built. Non-developers building digital products may find it useful, but the mental model is developer-first.

What is Scope Locking?

Once you've planned your features and todos, you lock them features and todos independently. While locked, nothing can be added without unlocking first. Every unlock requires a written reason that is permanently recorded in your Shame History. You can always remove items without unlocking cutting scope is encouraged. Adding scope requires accountability. This creates the psychological friction that stops the most common reason projects fail: endless scope creep.

What is the Shame History and how does it work?

Shame History is the permanent record of every time you unlocked your features or todos. Each entry shows the reason you gave and the timestamp. It lives in your Activity tab and cannot be deleted. The goal isn't punishment it's awareness. When you know every scope change is logged forever, you think twice before making it. Your Ship Card also shows your total unlock count publicly.

How does the AI idea validation work?

Before you can start building, FoundStep runs your idea through a 6-stage AI validation: Problem Viability (is the pain real?), Problem Reality (evidence in the wild), Market Demand (size and trends), Competitive Opening (gap competitors leave), Distribution (channels you can own), and Unit Economics (price, CAC, LTV). AI researches each stage — you don't fill in a questionnaire. After reviewing the AI findings, you commit to a verdict: Build, Wait, or Kill. This process is not optional it's part of the lifecycle.

How does the AI Next Action feature work?

Every workspace has a Next tab. FoundStep analyses your current workspace state features, todos, lock status, deadline proximity, unlock count, and lifecycle phase and surfaces the single most important action to take right now. It categorises actions as Critical, Warning, Celebrate, or Action, and gives you a direct button to take that action without navigating elsewhere. It polls automatically every 2 seconds so the recommendation is always current.

What happens when all my todos are done?

When every todo in your current version is completed, FoundStep automatically advances your workspace to "Ready to Ship." You don't update any status manually. You then review and click "Mark as Shipped" that's a deliberate action you take, not something that happens automatically. Shipping is always your conscious decision.

The Harbor is your personal wall of shipped projects. Every workspace you mark as Shipped appears here as a card with its title, category, description, and live URL. It's a visual record of everything you actually finished not everything you started. The more you ship, the better it looks.

A Ship Card is a downloadable social share image generated for every shipped project. It shows your project name, category, ship date, days to build, version, and total unlock count. You can customise the background, colours, and pattern. The unlock count is displayed publicly it's your accountability metric. Download it and post it anywhere.

Can I iterate after shipping? What happens after v1.0?

Yes. After shipping your MVP, you can create new versions (v1.1, v2.0, etc.) and continue iterating in the Post-MVP phase. Each version has its own features, todos, lock state, and milestones tracked independently. Only one version can be active at a time to enforce focus. FoundStep tracks the full version timeline so you always know where each iteration stands.

What if I decide not to build an idea?

That is a win. The AI validation exists so you can kill weak ideas before spending months on them. Choosing Wait or Kill is a deliberate, recorded decision not a failure. The best code you'll ever write is the code you never wrote. Killed and parked ideas are tracked separately so you can review your decision history over time.

What does the AI MVP Planner generate?

Describe your idea and the AI Planner generates a structured MVP plan: recommended features with titles, descriptions, and business rationale; subtasks per feature with priorities; effort estimates (Small / Medium / Large); feature dependencies; excluded items with explanations; V1.1 suggestions for after you ship; and architecture hints. You review and select what you want before anything is created. You get up to 5 plan generations per workspace.

What are soft and hard deadlines?

FoundStep supports two deadline types. A soft deadline is a recommended target date it acts as a gentle reminder. A hard deadline is a critical date with stronger urgency. Both are integrated into the AI Next Action system. When a deadline is approaching or passed, the Next tab surfaces it as a Critical or Warning action so you can't ignore it.

Can I try FoundStep before paying?

Yes. A free trial is available if you're eligible. You get full access to all FoundStep features during the trial no feature gating between plans during the trial period. After the trial, choose the plan that fits your build pace.

What is the difference between Starter and Builder?

The only difference is workspace capacity. Starter gives you up to 10 active workspaces. Builder gives you unlimited active workspaces. Every feature validation, scope locking, AI Next Action, AI MVP Planner, Ship Cards, Harbor, versions is fully available on both plans. There is no feature gating.

What happens when I exceed my plan's workspace limit?

Workspaces beyond your plan limit become read-only. A locked modal appears and you can still view everything, but you cannot edit until you upgrade. Upgrading to Builder instantly unlocks all workspaces. Nothing is deleted and no data is lost.

What happens to my data if I cancel?

Your data remains accessible in read-only mode after cancellation. Your Harbor, Ship Cards, and all workspace history are preserved. You won't lose your record of what you've shipped.

How does billing work?

FoundStep uses Stripe for payments. You can choose monthly or yearly billing on both plans. Yearly plans may include a discount. Subscription management plan changes, cancellations, and billing history is handled through the Stripe Customer Portal.

Is there a mobile app?

FoundStep is currently a web application that works in any modern browser, including on mobile. A dedicated mobile app is in development and will be available soon. For now, the web app is fully responsive and works well on mobile for checking your Next action, updating todos, and reviewing your workspace.

What is side project management?

Side project management is the practice of keeping personal software projects — apps, tools, SaaS ideas — on track without external deadlines or a manager. The challenge is accountability: without it, most side projects are abandoned before they ship. FoundStep solves this with enforced validation before building, scope locking that prevents silent feature creep, and a permanent Shame History that makes every scope change visible. It is project management built specifically for solo developers building on the side.

Why do developers abandon side projects?

Project abandonment in software development has three root causes: building without idea validation first (spending months on something nobody needs), scope creep without accountability (features grow endlessly until momentum dies), and no clear definition of done (no deliberate ship moment). FoundStep addresses all three: mandatory 6-stage AI validation before the build phase, Scope Locking with Shame History for every change, and an explicit Ship action that marks a project finished.

How does FoundStep prevent scope creep?

Scope creep — the gradual expansion of a project beyond its original plan — is the most common reason side projects never ship. FoundStep prevents it structurally: once you lock your features and todos, nothing can be added without first unlocking. Every unlock requires a written reason that is permanently recorded in your Shame History and displayed publicly on your Ship Card. The friction of accountability stops most scope creep before it starts.

Is FoundStep an MVP planning tool?

Yes. FoundStep includes a built-in AI MVP Planner that generates a structured minimum viable product plan from your idea description: recommended features with business rationale, subtasks per feature, effort estimates, feature dependencies, and post-v1 suggestions. Combined with the 6-stage AI validation, FoundStep is purpose-built for indie developers who need to define, scope, and ship an MVP without over-engineering it.

For solo devs who start everything and ship nothing.

Stop Starting Projects. Start Shipping Them.

Foundstep is a project manager that hard-caps your features at 7, locks your scope, and refuses to let you scope-creep. The constraints are the product. Ship what you started. Or kill it on purpose.

Start Building See how it works

What it is

The side project management system for solo developers — built to end project abandonment

This is the opinionated side project management workflow built for indie hackers, solo founders, and solo developers struggling with project abandonment. The platform replaces flexible task tracking with a strict five-stage lifecycle: capture, validate, lock scope, build, and ship. Every scope unlock is permanently recorded. Every kill decision is preserved. The constraints are the product.

How the lifecycle works

Before writing a single line of code, the platform researches your idea across 6 AI dimensions: Market Demand, Competition, Pricing, Reach, Founder Fit, and Buildability. The AI gives evidence — you make the call. Only after your written verdict — Build, Wait, or Kill — does the workspace unlock the build phase.

Why scope locking matters

Once features and todos are planned, you lock them. Any new item added after lock requires a written reason, timestamped forever in your Shame History and surfaced publicly on your Ship Card. Removing items stays free — cutting scope is encouraged. Adding scope demands accountability.

How it differs from Notion, Linear, or Trello

General-purpose task managers give teams infinite flexibility — useful when external managers and deadlines exist, fatal for a solo builder with neither. Solo developer productivity requires different constraints: validation cannot be skipped, scope cannot silently grow, and every unlock decision is recorded permanently. It is not a better task tracker. It is a different category of tool.

What you get on the free plan

Start with a 7-day free trial, no commitment. The Starter plan ($12.99/mo, or $10.99/mo billed yearly) includes up to 10 active workspaces and every core feature — validation, scope locking, AI MVP Planner, Ship Cards, Harbor gallery, version timeline, AI Next Action. The Builder plan ($29.99/mo) lifts the workspace cap and adds AI credits. All features are on both plans; the difference is volume, not gating.

Validation stages: 6
Free workspaces: 10
MVP plan generations: 5
Active versions: 1

“The best code you will ever write is the code you never wrote. Choosing Wait or Reject is a deliberate, recorded decision — not a failure.”
— Validation philosophy

Read the full FAQ for pricing, mobile, team support, and data export details. The about page covers founder context. Compare against alternatives on the compare page.

The side project management system for solo developers — built to end project abandonment