Timeline to Summer Launch (5-6 months available)

Current date: January 23, 2026
Summer window: June 1 - August 31, 2026

Phased Approach

Phase 1: Feb (Weeks 1-4) - Legal + Core Backend

• Complete trademark search & ToS/Privacy Policy (Issues #140-143)
• Wire critical backend: Frens, Waves, Lantern lighting, User profiles
• Merchant backend integration (signup → approval → offers)

Phase 2: March (Weeks 5-8) - Closed Beta

• 5 merchants onboarded (using partner network)
• 50-100 invited users (San Diego only)
• Basic safety features: blocking, reporting
• Heavy monitoring & iteration

Phase 3: April (Weeks 9-12) - Pilot Expansion

• Scale to 15-25 merchants
• 500-1000 users
• Analytics/attribution infrastructure (Issues #64-65)
• Cross-device testing & bug fixes
• First revenue validation

Phase 4: May (Weeks 13-16) - Pre-Launch Polish

• Advanced safety features (if needed)
• Marketing materials & go-to-market strategy
• 50+ merchants recruited
• Performance optimization
• iOS/Android PWA testing

Phase 5: June 1 - Soft Launch 🚀

• Staged rollout: San Diego first
• Monitor for 2-4 weeks
• Expand to adjacent markets (Orange County, LA)

Phase 6: July-August - Full Summer Launch ☀️

• Public marketing campaigns
• Scale to 100+ merchants
• Multi-market expansion
• Influencer partnerships

Why This Works

1. Strong foundation already built: Auth, venues, UI, deployment, security
2. Clear scope: 37 open issues, most are enhancements not blockers
3. Defined business model: Merchant pilot strategy already documented
4. High dev velocity: 50+ commits in January alone
5. Lean MVP mindset: Can launch without every feature (SOS, dark mode, etc.)

Critical Path Items

Must-Have for Launch:

• ✅ Legal compliance (ToS, Privacy Policy, trademark) - 2 weeks
• ✅ Core mechanics working (light lantern, wave, frens) - 3 weeks
• ✅ Merchant system end-to-end - 2 weeks
• ✅ Basic safety (block, report) - 1 week
• ✅ 25-50 merchants recruited - ongoing from March

Nice-to-Have (can defer):

• SOS emergency system (Issue #128) - Phase 2 post-launch
• Advanced analytics dashboard (Issues #64-65) - MVP version sufficient
• Dark mode (Issue #116) - post-launch
• Separate merchant portal (TODO.md) - not needed until 50+ merchants

Realistic Summer Launch Scenarios

Conservative (June 15):

• 4 weeks cushion for unexpected delays
• Start with invitation-only in 2-3 cities
• 30-50 merchants

Aggressive (June 1):

• Everything on track
• San Diego + Orange County
• 50+ merchants

Aspirational (July 4 weekend):

• Peak summer marketing moment
• 3-5 cities
• 100+ merchants
• Press coverage

The Bottom Line

You have 21 weeks until June 1 and 27 weeks until August 31.

Based on your current progress, development velocity, and the well-documented business strategy, a summer launch is not just realistic—it's highly achievable if you:

1. Prioritize ruthlessly: Legal + core features only for closed beta
2. Iterate in market: Launch lean, improve based on real feedback
3. Merchant-first: Get 5 merchants by March, expand from there
4. Accept imperfection: Ship with 80% of features, not 100%