T-3 to launch. Here's what we're checking off today.

Monday, July 6, 2026. Three days from launching Avery NXR on Product Hunt.

I'm writing this at 10:30 AM Bangalore time from my desk. Half the office is here. Ruban is on a call. There's a small stack of pending items on my whiteboard.

Here's what's actually on my list today. In case founders reading this want to know what T-3 looks like from the inside — real work, not marketing.

The comment moderation sim (this morning)

We're running a rehearsal at 11 AM Bangalore time.

Five team members will simulate a launch day comment thread — I'll send 40 mock comments across 60 minutes. Some easy. Some skeptical. Some clearly hostile. Two designed to test if the team escalates correctly.

Goal: identify weak spots in our response cadence before Thursday.

If someone freezes on a hard question, we know today, not Thursday.

The video final pass (this afternoon)

Our demo video is 3:50. Twitter caps standard uploads at 2:20.

I need our editor to cut a 90-second Twitter version by end of day. First 3 seconds have to open on visible product action — no title cards.

Full-length version stays for LinkedIn, embedded on avery.software, and YouTube.

Two versions of the same video, sized for the algorithms of each platform.

The waitlist warmth calls (afternoon)

We have ~340 waitlist signups from the last 90 days.

I'm personally reaching out to ~30 of them today. Not mass email. Individual messages.

Priorities: → Anyone who provided company context that suggests they might be a real customer → Anyone who joined in the last week (highest recency = highest intent) → Anyone connected through networks I recognize

The message is short: "Hi [name], we launch Thursday. Wanted you to know first. If you want a preview call in the next 48 hours, my calendar is open."

The team readiness audit (right after this post)

Every team member needs:

→ Product Hunt account, created + active for at least 24 hours by Thursday → Personal LinkedIn/Twitter primed for launch day sharing → Their specific launch day role confirmed → Their comment moderation shift confirmed → Access to the internal Slack "signal-only" channel we'll use Thursday

I'll walk through the audit with each team member individually today. 10-15 min per person. Not optional.

The competitor pipeline check (today)

I'm scanning Product Hunt for upcoming launches Thursday July 9.

Some info is public via PH's Coming Soon pages. Some isn't (competitors keep launches quiet until 24hrs before).

If a well-funded competitor is launching same day, we adjust our messaging (not our timing — the launch is set). Specifically: we lean harder into "local-first" as our differentiator vs. whatever their positioning is.

Yesterday I saw nothing threatening. Today I'll check again. Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday morning.

The press follow-ups (today)

Six weeks ago we started reaching out to trade publications. Some are moving.

Today I'm sending polite follow-ups to five outlets that were "interested but timing unclear."

The nudge: "We launch Thursday. If you want to time coverage with the launch, this week is your window. Happy to answer any remaining questions."

Some will convert. Most won't. That's fine.

The internal Slack channel setup (afternoon)

We're creating a launch-day-only Slack channel: #launch-signal.

Rules for that channel: → Only urgent items. No celebration. No status updates. → Anything that needs a human decision within 15 minutes. → Anything customer-facing that might blow up. → Any product bug surfaced during launch.

Celebration + normal chatter goes elsewhere. The signal channel stays clean.

The onboarding flow load test (tonight)

Engineering is running a 100x normal traffic simulation against our sign-up + first-agent-configured flow tonight.

Not just infrastructure load. Actual user flow simulation with realistic timing.

If we find a bug tonight, we fix it Tuesday. If we find one Thursday during launch, we lose customers.

The Ruban check-in (end of day)

Ruban and I have a standing 6 PM check-in this week.

Not a status meeting. A "what am I missing" meeting.

Ruban sees things I don't. I see things he doesn't. The check-in surfaces the delta.

Today's likely agenda: press outreach status, competitor pipeline, tomorrow's content plan, my energy level check.

The content ship (throughout the day)

Today's content: → LinkedIn launch announcement post (this morning) → Twitter demo video tweet (60 min after LinkedIn) → Reddit engagement (afternoon — r/LocalLLaMA, r/AI_Agents, r/selfhosted)

None of this is optional. All of it moves the needle.

The things I'm NOT doing today

Just as important:

→ Not fielding investor inbounds (deferring to Ruban this week) → Not doing "quick" partnership calls (parking until post-launch) → Not adding features to the product (feature freeze started Sunday) → Not obsessing over metrics I can't influence today

Discipline of NO matters this week more than any other week.

What I'm feeling at T-3

Focused, not panicked. The plan is clear. The team is ready. The product works.

The remaining 3 days are about execution + resilience. Not brilliance.

I'll sleep tonight if I can. Get to the office early tomorrow. Do it again.

For founders preparing your own launch

A pattern I've noticed across founders I've talked to:

At T-7 they're anxious about strategy. At T-3 they're anxious about execution. At T-0 they're anxious about survival.

The strategic decisions should be locked by T-3. Whatever your positioning is, whatever your pricing is, whatever your GTM sequence is — that's the plan.

T-3 to T-0 is execution. Doing the checklist. Trusting the plan. Managing your own energy.

If you're at T-3 still debating strategy, you've moved too slow. If you're at T-3 executing the checklist, you're where you should be.

For our July 9

3 days out. Checklist is real. Team is ready.

Thursday July 9, 12:01 AM PT, we go live.

→ avery.software — Product Hunt launch this Thursday. producthunt.com/products/avery-nxr?launch=avery-3