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The Forgeon Founder Challenge - 7 Days to Production (Go Viral Edition)

Forgeon

Forgeon

@forgeon.io

The Forgeon Founder Challenge - 7 Days to Production (Go Viral Edition)

Goal: turn lurkers into founders. In 7 days, ship a working SaaS on Forgeon, post progress daily, tag #ForgeonChallenge, and invite one friend. Virality is a loop; this article gives you the loop.

Ship Loud. Ship Fast. Ship Forgeon.

Silent builders don’t get users. Founders who ship in public do.

The Forgeon Founder Challenge is a one-week runway to launch a tiny but real SaaS. You’ll get daily prompts, dead-simple deploy steps, meme-ready social copy, and a referral nudge that compounds reach.

What You Get (and Why It Spreads)

  • A script, not a sermon. Each day has one keystone action you can complete in under 90 minutes.
  • Proof loops. Post → get feedback → iterate → post the delta.
  • Remixable assets. Tweet/Threads/LinkedIn hooks, short-video script, and a single-command deploy.
  • Referral kicker. Bring one friend = unlock bonus templates.

The 7-Day Schedule (Copy This)

Day 0 — Announce

  • Post: “I’m joining the #ForgeonChallenge: ship a tiny SaaS in 7 days. Hold me accountable.”
  • Task: Pick a problem you can describe in one sentence.
  • Deploy: scaffold + hello world.
init.sh — Node example

# Zero-friction intake
forgeon init my-saas              # or upload ZIP / paste repo URL in the UI
forgeon db create postgres        # optional: Mini-RDS Postgres
forgeon deploy                    # build → artifact → runtime → live URL

Day 1 — Keystone Action

  • Define the one action that proves value (e.g., “create invoice”, “share link”, “embed widget”).
  • Ship: the shortest path to complete that action.
  • Post: before/after GIF of that action.

Day 2 — Pricing Switch (Even If Hidden)

  • Ship: /pricing with two tiers + free path.
  • Post: “If this solved X, would you pay $Y?” (poll)

Day 3 — Persistence & Secrets

  • Ship: DB migrations + env secrets.
  • Post: short loom: “from local to live in 2m.”
  • Forgeon: add secrets → redeploy artifact (fast).

Day 4 — Notifications That Matter

  • Ship: one notification that signals success (e.g., “first customer onboarded”).
  • Post: screenshot of notification + why it matters.

Day 5 — Polished Path to Wow

  • Ship: onboarding micro-copy + empty states.
  • Post: side-by-side: “yesterday vs today”. Tag a friend.

Day 6 — Beta Invite + Feedback Form

  • Ship: invite flow, capture emails, 60-sec feedback form.
  • Post: your beta link. Offer a tiny incentive (swag/credit).

Day 7 — Launch Thread

  • Ship: a stable URL, status page, and a one-page landing.
  • Post: a launch thread (template below) + thank-yous + roadmap gist.

Social Toolkit (Steal These)

1) Hook Options (pick one)

  • “I’m building a SaaS in 7 days with Forgeon. No permission slips. #ForgeonChallenge”
  • “From repo to live URL in 120 seconds. Dare me to ship? #ForgeonChallenge”
  • “Followers scroll. Founders ship. I pick ship. #ForgeonChallenge”

2) Mid-Week Update (140–200 chars)

Day 3/7: DB + secrets + live deploy on Forgeon. Time-to-value down to 3:21. Tomorrow: notifications for the “aha” moment. #ForgeonChallenge

3) Launch Thread (5–7 tweets/notes)

  1. I built a tiny SaaS in 7 days using Forgeon—a PaaS for people who ship.
  2. Problem: pain in one line.
  3. Keystone action: user does X in <5 minutes>.
  4. Tech: Next.js/Go/Python, Forgeon deploys → domains → certs → DB → notifications.
  5. Beta link: https://your-url (first 50 get access).
  6. Roadmap: 3 bullets.
  7. If you’re building, join the #ForgeonChallenge next week.

Why Forgeon Works for Virality

  • Time-to-URL ≈ minutes → more cycles, more posts, more learning.
  • Artifacts & redeploy → show deltas without long builds.
  • Edge + certs + domains → “I have a real URL” today.
  • Mini-RDS & secrets → the “it’s real” backbone in one place.
  • Notifications → every win becomes a social post.

Viral Prompts for Builders (Daily)

  • “What is one tiny delight you shipped today?”
  • “What did you delete?” (simplicity is content)
  • “Which metric moved? Post the number.”
  • “Who did you help?” (customer story > feature list)

The Referral Kicker (Tiny, Powerful)

Invite one builder to join the challenge with you.

Bring 1 friend → unlock bonus: a template pack (landing, pricing, email), a Slack invite for feedback loops, and 1:1 office hours slots as we can fit them.

Post copy:

I’m doing the #ForgeonChallenge. I need 1 wingmate who can ship small & loud for 7 days. Comment “⚡” and I’ll DM you the pack.

Template Pack (Included Below)

Minimal Landing (copy)

Headline: Ship in public. Learn in days. Sub: Deploy a real SaaS in one week on Forgeon—domains, certs, DB, the works. CTA: Start the 7-day challenge

Status Page Checklist

  • /status page wired
  • incident template
  • “what changed” log

Email #1 (Welcome)

Subject: You’re in. Day 1 starts now. Body: One action today: define your keystone action. Reply to this email with it.

Tiny Code You Can Paste in Minutes

Health & ready endpoints (Node/Express)

main.js — Node example
app.get('/readyz', (_req, res) => res.sendStatus(200))
app.get('/livez', (_req, res) => res.sendStatus(200))

Forgeon CLI deploy loop

init.sh — SH example
forgeon build      # or push via UI; artifacts stored w/ checksum
forgeon deploy     # routes + cert; redeploy from artifact is instant
forgeon logs -f    # tail runtime logs

The Founder Oath (Public Version)

I will ship small and loud. I will measure the moments that matter. I will invite one friend to build beside me. I will keep the keys to my stack.

If this hits, your product will compound in public. Your posts will teach, your loops will tighten, and your users will show up.

Start today. Post the Day-0 message. Tag #ForgeonChallenge. We’ll be watching, cheering, and—when you win—retweeting.

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