Product Feature Research

06 - Quick Reference Card

🎯 For CreateOS specifically: The CreateOS-tuned version of this card is CreateOS - 30-60-90 Plan — same cheat-sheet format, week-by-week tactical detail, named BD targets. Use this page for the general framework, that page for the execution.

Print this. Pin it above your desk. Read before every product meeting.

The one-screen cheat sheet

Acquisition (get them in the door)

✅ Pre-signup prompt box · example prompt chips · template carousel · enterprise logos · named competitor imports · distinctive brand imagery ❌ Utility-only landing · no social proof · hidden features · generic CTA

Retention (keep them coming back)

✅ Persistent usage widget (3 meters) · named design presets · visible agent reasoning · in-flight stop · version history with autolabels · command palette · rich project cards ❌ Hidden consumption · opaque agent · no interrupt · blank project grid · modal hell

Revenue (make them pay)

✅ Credit metering + subscription base · gate-at-moment-of-desire paywall · bundle-OR-unbundle autonomy · branded watermark + credit reward · monetization stack (for makers) · procurement artifacts (for enterprise) ❌ Flat unlimited pricing · settings-page paywalls · free forever with no cap · "Contact sales" without SOC 2/SBOM

Strategy (pick your fight)

✅ One audience ring · one autonomy axis · one signature pattern · one viral loop — each executed better than peers ❌ Feature-parity with Replit · straddling maker + enterprise · reinventing the shell · generous-free-tier with no compounding mechanic


The 10 numbers to live by

# What Target
1 Landing → prompt-submit rate 25-40%
2 Prompt-submit → signup-complete 50-70%
3 Signup → first successful generation < 30s for 80%+
4 Day-7 retention 50-65%
5 Day-30 retention 25-40%
6 Sessions per active user / week 3-5+
7 Free → paid conversion (30 days) 3-8%
8 Paid gross margin (after LLM cost) > 60%
9 Paywall-modal → upgrade rate 4-10%
10 Credit-run-out → upgrade rate 15-30%

The 5 moves, in order

  1. Install the pre-signup prompt box. (Acquisition. Week 1.)
  2. Ship the persistent usage widget. (Retention + revenue. Week 2-3.)
  3. Pick one audience ring and remove everything else. (Strategy. Week 4.)
  4. Gate one premium feature with a moment-of-desire modal. (Revenue. Week 5.)
  5. Ship one viral loop. (Strategy + revenue. Month 2-3.)

Everything else is optimization.

Who to copy for each decision

Decision Copy from
Landing page Replit - Homepage and Prompt Entry (structure) + Anything.com - Landing and Prompt Entry (brand)
Signup flow Anything.com - Signup — clean, social-only, last-used-provider badge
Workspace shell Replit - Workspace Home — usage widget + templates + recent projects grid
Agent chat Anything.com - Agent Chat (named stages) + Replit - Agent Chat with Preview (tool calls) — combine both
Publish flow Replit - Publish App — richer config, referral badge
Settings IA Anything.com - Project Settings — clean sections
Paywall modal Replit - Core Upgrade Modal — feature-list with hover illustrations
Version history Anything.com - Version History — auto conventional commits

The hardest truth

You can't out-build Replit or Anything.com at their own game. You must pick a different game (audience / pattern / loop) and play it better.