Quilting fabric stash

Stage 1 of 5

Validate

Is this a real problem for a customer you can reach, who wants it solved?

What the founder did: talked to 16 quilters from the founder's guild and two online quilting groups. 14 had bought fabric they already owned at least once in the past year, and most guessed their stash was worth over $1,000. 11 of 16 said they'd pay $5 a month or $40 a year for an app that knew what was in the closet.

What the guide flagged: a few stash apps already exist, and some quilters use spreadsheets or a folder of photos. Interviewees said the existing apps were slow to add fabric to. The guide also put the ceiling on the table early: a few hundred paying quilters is realistic, so this is a small business, and the build has to stay cheap enough for that to be worth it.

Why Go: a specific, repeated waste quilters could put a dollar figure on, 11 of 16 willing to pay, and a founder who sees the customers every week at guild. The founder was happy with a small ceiling from the start, which made the decision simple.

Stage 2 of 5

Define

What's the smallest thing you can build that proves value?

What got cut: 10 features became 3. Cut: a pattern library, shopping lists, a community feed, AI color matching, guild sharing, a fabric marketplace and printing, among others. Kept: adding a fabric with a photo and yardage in under 30 seconds, a yardage calculator for a pattern's size, and a "what do I have that fits" list.

Why Go: adding fabric quickly was the one complaint about existing apps, so it got the most attention. The target is honest about size: 150 paying quilters by month three, enough to cover costs with about $600 a month left over for the founder.

Stage 3 of 5

Build

Can you build it with AI tools without losing control?

Build path chosen: an AI app builder with photo storage and a subscription payment service, no custom code. The yardage calculator was the founder's own math from years of quilting, and the builder turned it into a screen in an evening. The slow part was making fabric entry fast on a phone, which took three rounds of testing with guild friends.

What the guide flagged: photos add up: a stash of 300 fabrics is a lot of storage. The guide flagged shrinking each photo on upload before it turned into a hosting bill, and keeping a backup of everyone's photos outside the builder, because losing a quilter's stash record would end their trust in the app for good.

Stage 4 of 5

Launch

Is it safe to put in front of real users, and how will they find it?

What the guide flagged: the readiness check caught that a quilter's photos could be opened by anyone who had the link. It's fabric, not bank details, but it would have embarrassed a lot of guild members. Links were made private before launch, and the photo backup was tested by restoring a real stash.

What happened at launch: launched at the founder's guild meeting and in two online quilting groups, with a 14-day free trial. In the first two weeks, 88 quilters started a trial and 31 converted to paid, 24 of them on the $40 yearly plan. That's about $1,000 collected, most of it a year up front.

Stage 5 of 5

Learn

Is it working, and what should you do next?

What the numbers said: 31 paying quilters after two weeks, against a target of 150 by month three. Running costs are $35 a month, so the app already pays for itself. The most-used screen isn't the calculator; it's the "what do I have that fits" list, opened about 4 times per quilter per week.

What the guide flagged: the feedback so far asks for a printable stash list to take to the fabric store. It's small, and it fits the plan. The guide also restated the ceiling: growing past a few hundred quilters means a second channel, like quilt shops, and the founder may not want that. Either answer is fine.