Strategic Rationale
Why This Audience First
The MVP focuses on a single course: "Tell Me About Yourself." This is an intentional choice, not an oversight. The audience was selected through pre-MVP surveys and interviews that identified highest-intent users. Here's why this selection matters.
High Motivation, Clear Stakes
Non-English speakers at U.S. companies face communication barriers that limit their credibility despite technical and professional strength. Early-stage founders need to build trust quickly in first conversations. Both have immediate, tangible reasons to practice: career advancement, credibility, and funding depend on how they introduce themselves.
This isn't abstract learning. It's preparation for specific, high-stakes situations with clear outcomes. That motivation translates directly to willingness to pay for quality practice.
Clear Value Proposition
When someone is preparing for a high-stakes introduction that affects their credibility, the value of feedback is obvious. They can directly connect AI feedback and optional human practice to their goal: building trust quickly.
This clarity makes it easier to validate whether people will pay. The value isn't theoretical—it's tied to specific, upcoming events with real consequences. By focusing on one course, we simplify validation while maintaining clear value.
Focused Testing
By focusing on one high-stakes introduction course, we can test whether professionally motivated learners will pay for AI feedback and optional human practice. The core need is the same: improving communication for career-critical outcomes.
The value proposition is consistent: AI feedback plus optional human practice for a high-stakes introduction. This hybrid approach allows us to test the value of both components while learning what drives engagement. By narrowing to one course, we avoid testing multiple hypotheses at once.
Market Validation
The target audience represents a clear market segment with demonstrated demand for communication support. People already invest in interview coaching and professional introductions when the stakes are high.
By focusing on one course first, we validate whether AI feedback and optional paid human practice is a viable product for high-stakes professional communication. This validation phase comes before any platform expansion or scaling decisions.
This Doesn't Mean Exclusion
Choosing this course first doesn't mean other learners aren't important. It means we're starting with the clearest test case for high-stakes professional communication.
If this MVP validates the core hypothesis—that people will pay for AI feedback and optional human practice for high-stakes professional communication—then we can expand to other audiences and formats in post-MVP phases. But we need to validate the foundation first. The MVP is not a stepping stone to subscriptions, marketplaces, or scaling—those are conditional next steps.
The Bottom Line
This single course gives us the best chance to learn whether AI feedback and optional paid human practice is a viable product for high-stakes professional communication. It has clear motivation, obvious value, and immediate need.
Once we observe and learn whether this works—and which components (AI feedback vs human practice) provide more value—we can decide on next steps. But we need to start somewhere clear and focused for validation, and this is it.