The product is real. The market is real. The business isn’t growing. Those three things shouldn’t coexist — and they don’t by accident.
For a small solo, there’s no entry ramp — it’s jump to the top or don’t show up
- Competitors win by letting people start small. Lettuce doesn’t offer that
- ZenBusiness charges $0 to form an LLC. That’s a very easy yes. Lettuce has no equivalent
Pricing is working against acquisition
- $99 feels like a service commitment — it asks for trust before it’s been earned.
- The value is there — but value doesn’t matter if the number triggers hesitation at the door
The right customer exists, but the current product doesn’t meet them where they are
- Solo freelancer, consultant, therapist, contractor crossing $80k+
- Currently stitching together QuickBooks + Gusto + TurboTax + anxiety
- Paying more than $99/month in fragmented tools they hate using
- Spending a full weekend every April on taxes they don’t understand
But they don’t get the full payoff from Lettuce until it’s too late — because the other on-ramps are so much more accessible.
The discovery problem is distinct from the conversion problem
These are two separate failures that look like one.
- Discovery: Lettuce doesn’t show up when this customer goes looking
- Conversion: When they do land, the price and the ask are not the right fit — yet
Fixing one without the other won’t move the needle.