# Launch board scouting kit for small and medium businesses

Version of November 3, 2026. Companion to the jwatte.com post "Indie Launch Boards for Small and Medium Businesses": https://jwatte.com/blog/indie-launch-boards-small-business-guide/

Prices, ranks and rules below are as the boards and vendors showed them on November 3, 2026. They change often. Check before you rely on any number.

## How to use this kit

Give it to one person who will own the job. They need a Chrome browser on a home or office connection, 30 minutes a week and permission to start free trials with a separate email address. Part 1 sets up the browser once. Part 2 is the weekly routine. Parts 3 and 4 are the checks and the scoring sheet for each tool. Part 5 is only for businesses that sell software and want to list it.

## Part 1. One time setup

### A research profile in your normal Chrome

1. Add a new Chrome profile using Google's steps at https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/2364824 .
2. Name it "Research" and do not sign it in to any Google account.
3. In that profile, make a bookmarks folder called "Launch boards" with these pages:
   - https://nicklaunches.com/ (open the last full week from the "Launch archive" list)
   - https://saascity.io/live
   - https://hauntboard.com/
   - https://twelve.tools/
   - https://deeplaunch.io/
   - https://whatiambuilding.com/directory
4. Make a separate email address for trials and newsletters. Never use the owner's main email or the company Google account for a tool you are only testing.
5. On cookie banners, pick the most limited option.

### A disposable Windows 11 sandbox for downloads and extensions

Use this for anything that wants a desktop install, a browser extension or a file you do not trust. Windows Sandbox is included in Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise and Education (Microsoft Learn: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/application-security/application-isolation/windows-sandbox/).

Requirements from Microsoft's install page: virtualization turned on in the BIOS, at least 4 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended), at least 1 GB of free disk and at least two CPU cores.

To turn it on, type "Turn Windows features on or off" in the taskbar search, tick Windows Sandbox, click OK and restart if asked. Or, in PowerShell run as Administrator:

```powershell
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName "Containers-DisposableClientVM" -All -Online
```

Then open Windows Sandbox from the Start menu. Things to know:

- Closing the sandbox deletes everything in it. Each start is clean.
- Software on your PC is not available inside. Install Chrome inside each session if you want Chrome there.
- Networking is on by default.
- If you want a Chrome that keeps settings between tests, use a full Windows 11 virtual machine instead, on your own PC or rented in the cloud.
- A rented cloud machine browses from a data center address. Some sites show those visitors a "verify you are human" page. When that happens, stop and read the page from the research profile on your home or office connection. Never try to get around the check.

## Part 2. The weekly routine (30 minutes)

| Step | What to do | Done |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open the "Launch boards" bookmarks in the research profile | [ ] |
| 2 | On Nick Launches, open last week's page. Ranks 1 to 9 marked "Featured" are paid; sort the rest by votes in your head | [ ] |
| 3 | On SaaSCity Live, read "This week" and note which rows say "Featured" | [ ] |
| 4 | On Hauntboard, read the leaderboard and the "New this week" list | [ ] |
| 5 | Skim twelve.tools and DeepLaunch's newest additions (DeepLaunch's top row is "Paid placements") | [ ] |
| 6 | Search each board for your own problem words, for example "invoice", "inspection", "receptionist", "booking", "quote" | [ ] |
| 7 | Copy every candidate into the scoring sheet in Part 4. Keep at most three a week | [ ] |
| 8 | Run the Part 3 checks on each candidate | [ ] |
| 9 | Start at most one trial, with fake data | [ ] |
| 10 | Close every tab you opened | [ ] |

Rules of thumb:

- Rank is not quality. The best unpaid launch on Nick Launches in the week of October 26 had 26 votes. Hauntboard's leader had 2.
- A product listed on several boards is a maker promoting widely. It is not proof that customers want it.
- Trade specific tools (one kind of customer, written for them) fit small businesses far more often than general "AI for everything" tools.

## Part 3. Vetting checklist for one tool

Open the tool's own website in the research profile and scroll every page you check to the bottom.

| Check | What to look for | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Does it load | The home page opens and is not a hosting error such as "Deployment Paused" | |
| Who runs it | A company or person name, a country, a way to reach a human | |
| Pricing | A pricing page with monthly and annual prices; note which toggle is selected | |
| Free tier limits | What stops working when the trial or free tier ends | |
| Privacy policy | Exists, names what data is collected and where it is stored | |
| Terms | Exists; look for who owns what you upload and how you cancel | |
| Data out | You can export your records in a common format (CSV, PDF, JSON) | |
| Data in | What it needs access to (email, calendar, Google Drive, accounting software, store admin) | |
| Upload claims | For "never uploads your files" tools, run the Network check below | |
| Signs of life | A changelog, recent blog post or support reply within the last few months | |
| Regulated data | See the table below before any real customer, patient or financial data goes in | |

**The Network check for "your files never leave the browser" claims.** In Chrome, press F12, open the Network tab, tick "Preserve log", then process a fake file of a known size (for example a 2 MB test PDF). Look at the list of requests. A request whose size is close to the file's size, sent to the tool's server, means the file was uploaded. Only small requests (scripts, fonts, analytics) is consistent with local processing. Repeat with your browser offline if the tool still works without a connection.

**Regulated data: check this before you store anything real.**

| Your business | Rule to check | Before you use a new tool |
|---|---|---|
| Dental, medical, therapy, veterinary with human health data | HIPAA | Ask for a signed business associate agreement before any patient information goes in |
| Tax preparer, bookkeeper, lender, many financial services | FTC Safeguards Rule under the Gramm Leach Bliley Act | Check whether the rule covers you; ask where client data is stored and who can see it |
| Anyone taking card payments | PCI DSS | Never paste card numbers into a tool; use your payment processor's own features |
| Schools and tutoring centers with student records | FERPA | Check with whoever handles your FERPA obligations before student data goes in |
| Anyone recording phone calls | Your state's call recording law | Ask how calls are recorded, stored and disclosed to callers |
| Real estate listings with edited photos | Your MLS rules | Check the labeling rules for virtually staged photos |

## Part 4. Scoring sheet

Score each line 0, 1 or 2. Anything under 10 waits. Anything with a 0 on "Does it load", "Who runs it" or "Regulated data" is out.

| Tool | Board and date seen | Solves a problem we have (0 to 2) | Price we can live with (0 to 2) | Does it load (0 to 2) | Who runs it (0 to 2) | Privacy and terms (0 to 2) | Data export (0 to 2) | Regulated data OK (0 to 2) | Total (out of 14) | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |

Cost worksheet for the one tool you trial:

| Line | Formula | Your numbers |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | from the pricing page | |
| Seats or units | people, locations, minutes, inspections | |
| Monthly cost | price x seats | |
| Yearly cost | monthly x 12 | |
| 36 month cost | monthly x 36 | |
| Break even | yearly cost / gross profit per job or hour saved | |

Worked examples from the post (vendor prices on November 3, 2026):

- InspectPro, two inspectors: Pro $49.99 a month plus one extra seat at $24.99 = $74.98 a month, $899.76 a year, $2,699.28 over 36 months. The free plan covers 2 inspections a month, then $5 each, so for one inspector it costs more than Pro from 12 inspections a month.
- dolfyn AI receptionist: from $179 a month = $2,148 a year. At an assumed $400 gross profit per job that is five or six recovered jobs a year; at an assumed $900, under three.
- MeeLang Pro for ten people: 10 x $9.99 = $99.90 a month, about $1,199 a year.
- GapCite Growth: $79 a month = $948 a year on monthly billing.

## Part 5. If you sell software and want to list it

Listing prices as read on November 3, 2026:

| Board | Free route | Paid routes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SaaSCity (saascity.io/pricing) | Badge on your site, "405-day review queue" | Quick Pass $19.99, Premium $39.99, Max $99.99, one time | Max includes 30 days "Featured on homepage" |
| Hauntboard (hauntboard.com/pricing) | Badge on your site, review within about 72 hours, 20 free slots a week | Launch Now $19, Spotlight $49; sponsor slot $49 a week, $89 two weeks, $149 a month | Publishes its traffic at hauntboard.com/stats |
| twelve.tools (twelve.tools/pricing) | A backlink to their site is required; review within 72 hours | Pro $36 one time | Pro is "Featured regularly on the homepage" |
| DeepLaunch (deeplaunch.io/pricing) | Badge on your site; remove it and your link becomes nofollow; 5 free slots a day | One-Time Pro $19.90 (shown reduced from $29.90), Featured Listing $29.90 a month, Ultimate $199 a year | 14 day money back guarantee on paid plans |
| Nick Launches | Not read (behind sign in) | Not read | Has an MCP server and REST API with anonymous reads |
| What I Am Building | Free, no paid plan | None | A link in bio page, not a launch board |

Before you pay:

1. Read the board's traffic numbers if it publishes them. Hauntboard's stats page showed a median of 0 launch week visits across 13 finished launches and 8 visits sent all time.
2. Do not pay for a listing because of its "dofollow" link. Google's spam policy lists "Exchanging money for links, or posts that contain links" and "Excessive link exchanges" as examples of link spam (https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies). Treat a listing as a page people and AI assistants can find.
3. A free listing that requires a badge on your site is a link exchange. Decide if you want that badge on your site for as long as the listing lives.
4. Prepare once and reuse: a 60 character tagline, a 160 character description, a square logo, three screenshots, a pricing page link and a privacy policy link.
5. Count results for a month: visits from each board in your analytics, sign ups, paying customers. Drop any board that sends none.

## Red flags

- The top of the list is paid and not labeled.
- Vote or visitor counts that two sources on the same page disagree on by ten times or more, with no explanation.
- A product site with no company name, no privacy policy and no pricing.
- A tool that asks for full access to your email, Google Drive or store admin before you have seen it work.
- A free tier that requires a link or badge on your site, with the link quietly downgraded if you remove it.
- The site is down, shows a hosting error or has not changed in months.

## Sources (all read November 3, 2026)

- Nick Launches: https://nicklaunches.com/ , https://nicklaunches.com/week/2026/44/ , https://nicklaunches.com/docs/
- SaaSCity: https://saascity.io/ , https://saascity.io/live , https://saascity.io/pricing
- Hauntboard: https://hauntboard.com/ , https://hauntboard.com/stats , https://hauntboard.com/pricing
- twelve.tools: https://twelve.tools/ , https://twelve.tools/pricing
- DeepLaunch: https://deeplaunch.io/ , https://deeplaunch.io/pricing
- What I Am Building: https://whatiambuilding.com/ , https://whatiambuilding.com/directory
- Vendor prices: https://inspectprohq.com/ , https://dolfyn.ai/ , https://meelang.com/ , https://gapcite.com/pricing
- Google spam policies (last updated 2026-08-28): https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies
- Windows Sandbox: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/application-security/application-isolation/windows-sandbox/ and https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/application-security/application-isolation/windows-sandbox/windows-sandbox-install
- Chrome profiles: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/2364824