Many product teams use the RICE framework to prioritize work:
Reach × Impact × Confidence ÷ Effort
It is one of the most widely used scoring systems for deciding what to build next. The goal is simple: ship features with the highest impact while keeping effort as low as possible.
Inside larger companies, this framework works well. There is usually enough data to estimate reach and there are enough colleagues to challenge assumptions and refine ideas. Most importantly, decisions need to align with business objectives and multiple stakeholders.
But when you are a solo founder, the environment looks completely different.
Early stage products rarely have reliable reach numbers. Impact is often hypothetical. Confidence is mostly intuition. Even effort estimates are distorted because you are a single person wearing many hats: engineer, designer, product manager, and customer support.
Because of this, many early decisions cannot rely on precise scoring systems. What actually matters is how quickly…
