November 19, 2025

November 19, 2025

The P0 Launch

The 10-week launch playbook that regularly generates millions of impressions

pascal's notes

Episode Transcript

How to get millions of impressions with your product launch when nobody knows who you are (yet)?

Sumeru Chatterjee from Coworker AI built a 10-week launch playbook at 4 unicorns (and even ran a launch agency) that regularly generates millions of impressions.

We used it last week to launch our Winter Founder Residency (focal.vc/residency) and hit 100,000+ impressions in 24 hours.

Here’s how:

Every founder dreams of launching with a big bang.

Most fail miserably.

Not because the product is bad. But because they treat launches like an afterthought - something scrambled together a week before going live.

Two fundamental truths about launches:

1/ Launching isn’t about releasing a product - it’s about claiming territory in people’s minds.

2/ The best founders launch consistently.

Take OpenAI and Anthropic. They launch almost weekly now, even when the capability has been around for weeks (like Anthropic for Finance - no new features, just claiming mindshare).

While you should launch all the time, not all launches are equal:

  • P0 launch: Launch the company itself - not just a product, but a worldview about why things must change

  • P1 launch: Major new products or markets.

  • P2 launch: Features and updates.

P0 launches matter most. They’re about establishing that a problem exists that shouldn’t. This is counterintuitive because founders love their solutions.

But customers don’t care about your solution until they agree with your problem.

Artisan AI’s recent launch nailed this:

They didn’t launch “AI sales agents”. They launched the idea that human salespeople were becoming obsolete.

Controversial? Yes.

Memorable? Absolutely.

Did it work? They raised their Series A weeks later….

P0 launches should feel risky.

If your launch feels safe, you’re probably doing a P2 when you think you’re doing a P0.

The difference matters because P0 launches create categories, while P2 launches iterate within them.

3 fatal mistakes most founders make with P0 launches:

  • They optimize for looking legitimate instead of being memorable.

  • They launch to everyone vs someone: A P0 launch needs emotional specificity. You’re not just solving a problem; you’re creating a feeling (fear of falling behind, excitement about what’s possible, etc). Pick one. Own it completely.

  • Launching isn’t an event, it’s a 10-12 week campaign: That’s how long it takes to build belief.

With a P0 launch, you’re launching a worldview. The product is just proof it’s actionable.

In a world with infinite products, the scarcest resource is conviction.

Make it count.

You only get one chance to be the newcomer who sees what everyone else missed.

Want Sumeru’s detailed 10-week launch playbook?

Go to LinkedIn / X and drop your email in the comments of this post and I’ll send it over:

Subscribe now


Enjoyed reading this?

Then check out my conversation on the focal podcast with Sumeru Chatterjee of Coworker AI who built a 10-week launch playbook at 4 unicorns (and even ran a launch agency) that consistently generates millions of impressions.

Youtube | Apple Podcast | Spotify


Recently started a company or thinking about it?

At focal, we’re technical, AI native builders’ first choice for their first check.

We lead their first round at the very start with up to $1M. Often before they even write their first line of code.

Reach out.

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