The 1-page launch brief

Most projects fail in the brief, not the build. The brief either has too much (“we want to be the Uber of X for Y in 17 countries”) or too little (“just make it nice”).

Here’s the 1-page brief we use on every AuraMark launch. Steal it.

The template

1. The business in one sentence: what you sell, who you sell to, why they buy from you (not someone else).

2. The audience in three details: demographic, pain point, where they currently spend money on this.

3. The wedge offer: the smallest, most concrete thing you’re selling on launch day. Not “consulting services.” Specifically: “a 4-product starter kit at $199.”

4. The launch criterion: what has to be true to call this launched? “First customer pays” / “First booking confirmed” / “Site is live with all CTAs working.”

5. The success metric (90 days out): one number. “10 paying customers” / “$10K revenue” / “50 booked discovery calls.”

6. The non-goals: what we’re not doing in v1. “No multilingual. No mobile app. No subscription. No team accounts.” Saying no in writing prevents scope creep.

Why this works

• It’s short enough that the team reads it (15-page briefs get skimmed)
• It forces you to commit to specifics (no “platform” or “ecosystem”)
• It gives the team a decision filter (“is this on-brief?”)
• It can be revised in 5 minutes if reality changes mid-build

Output

One PDF. Signed by you. Pinned to the project channel. Read by every team member on day 1. Updated only by you, in writing, when something changes.

That’s it. No 30-page brand books. No 17-tab spreadsheets. Just six clear answers on one page.