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name: SaaS Launch Audit description: This skill should be used when the user asks to "audit my SaaS", "check if I'm ready to launch", "review my launch checklist", "verify my pricing", "audit my payment setup", "check my AI visibility", "prepare for Product Hunt", "validate my SaaS for launch", or mentions launching a SaaS product. Provides a comprehensive, repeatable checklist with PASS/FAIL verification and actionable next steps. version: 1.0.0 allowed-tools:

• WebFetch
• WebSearch
• Bash
• Read
• Grep
• Glob
• mcp__claude-in-chrome__*
• AskUserQuestion

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SaaS Launch Audit

A comprehensive, repeatable audit workflow for SaaS products approaching launch. Provides clear PASS/FAIL states with single actionable next steps.

Purpose

Validate launch readiness across 10 critical areas: validation, pricing, payments, AI economics, discovery, competitors, social presence, legal, trust infrastructure, and launch day operations. Incorporates 2026-specific guidance on outcome-based pricing, AI visibility optimization, and modern SaaS metrics.

Workflow Overview

1. Discovery Survey - Gather project context (product type, audience, stage)
2. Interactive Verification - Actively verify items using browser tools and web queries
3. PASS/FAIL Report - Output each item with status and next step for failures
4. Iterate - Re-run audit after fixes until all items pass

Discovery Survey

Before running the checklist, gather project context. Use AskUserQuestion:

Questions to ask:

1. Product type: B2B SaaS, B2C, Developer Tool, Marketplace, or Other?
2. Target audience/ICP: Who is the primary customer?
3. Current stage: Pre-MVP, Beta/Early Access, or Ready to Launch?
4. Does the product use AI/ML that affects unit economics?
5. Primary domain/URL to audit (if live)

Platform recommendations based on product type:

• Developer Tools: GitHub, Hacker News, Reddit, X, Dev.to
• B2B SaaS: LinkedIn, Product Hunt, G2/Capterra
• B2C/Consumer: X, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube
• Indie Hacker: Product Hunt, Indie Hackers, X, Reddit

Audit Checklist (10 Sections)

1. Pre-Launch Validation

2. Pricing Strategy

Consult references/pricing-2026.md for detailed guidance.

3. Payment Integration

Consult references/payment-verification.md for Stripe go-live checklist.

4. AI Economics (if applicable)

Consult references/metrics-2026.md for AI-first metrics.

Note: IER (Inference Efficiency Ratio) is a useful internal metric but not an industry standard. Target AI costs < 30% of revenue as the primary benchmark.

5. GEO & AI Discovery

Consult references/geo-visibility.md for optimization guide.

2026 Fact: AI agents account for ~33% of organic search activity. Only 12% of companies appear across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude.

6. Competitor Intelligence

Run scripts/competitor-visibility.sh for automated checks.

7. Social Media & Launch Prep

Consult references/launch-tactics.md and references/platform-guides.md.

8. Legal & Compliance

9. Trust Infrastructure

Consult references/trust-infrastructure.md for Trust-as-a-Product guide.

10. Launch Day Readiness

Output Format

Report each item as:

Copy[PASS] Item description

or

Copy[FAIL] Item description
  → Next step: Single actionable instruction

Example output:

Copy## Pricing Strategy

[PASS] Pricing model selected (usage-based)
[PASS] Value metric identified (API calls)
[FAIL] 3-4 tiers with clear differentiation
  → Next step: Add a middle tier between Free and Pro to capture mid-market
[PASS] Annual contract incentives configured (20% discount)
[FAIL] Pricing page not found
  → Next step: Create /pricing page with tier comparison table

Verification Tools

Browser Verification

Use mcp__claude-in-chrome__* tools to:

• Navigate to pricing, terms, privacy pages
• Check for cookie banners, structured data
• Verify billing portal accessibility
• Review social media profiles

Web Search Verification

Use WebSearch to:

• Query AI assistants for brand visibility
• Research competitor pricing
• Check product mentions and sentiment

Script Verification

Use provided scripts:

• scripts/tech-audit.sh - Core Web Vitals, SSL, security headers
• scripts/competitor-visibility.sh - AI visibility comparison

Reference Files

Consult these for detailed guidance:

• references/pricing-2026.md - Outcome/usage-based pricing strategies
• references/payment-verification.md - Stripe go-live checklist
• references/geo-visibility.md - GEO/AI discovery optimization
• references/launch-tactics.md - Product Hunt and social strategies
• references/trust-infrastructure.md - Trust-as-a-Product requirements
• references/metrics-2026.md - AI-first SaaS metrics (gross margins, cost optimization)
• references/platform-guides.md - Platform-specific launch guides

Completion Criteria

The audit is complete when:

1. All 10 sections have been evaluated
2. Each item shows PASS or FAIL with next step
3. User has a prioritized list of fixes

Re-run the audit after implementing fixes until all critical items pass.

Key 2026 Insights (Research-Verified)

Embedded throughout this audit:

1. Pricing: Per-seat is declining (126% YoY growth in credit models). Use outcome-based or hybrid models. Note: pendulum swinging back toward simplicity.
2. AI Economics: Target AI costs < 30% of revenue. Traditional SaaS: 80-90% margins. AI-first: 50-65% margins.
3. Discovery: AI agents now ~33% of organic search. Only 12% of companies appear across all AI platforms. Server response < 200ms critical.
4. Trust: Trust-as-a-Product is a differentiator, not just compliance.
5. Product Hunt: 26.5% of launches get 500-1000 users. 49% fail by relying on PH alone. Warm outreach > cold DMs.