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What to build, and what you need first

⏱ 20 min5 steps

What you can build depends on where you are right now. Think of it as a ladder.

This isn't legal or tax advice. It's what I found when I checked each company's own rules on October 17, 2026. Rules and fees change, so check them again on the day you sign up, and ask a professional when real money is involved.

The rules below look like a wall of paperwork at first. Rung 1 has almost none.

Before this, you'll want:

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Steps

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  1. Read the five rungs, and note where you are

    Do you have a business set up? A business bank account? Are you ready for a company to check your identity before it pays you? Start on the lowest rung that answers your question, and climb when the first version proves people want it.

    Rung 1: Nothing to sign up for

    What you can build: a tool for yourself, an information site, a comparison site with plain links, a free lookup tool.

    What you need: a and free , if you want it on the internet at all.

    What you can skip: if your site collects nothing about visitors (no forms, no sign-ups, no analytics, no ads, no affiliate links), most of the reasons you'd need a go away. The moment you add any of those, you need one. For example, Google Analytics' own terms require a privacy policy that mentions its cookies.

    Rung 2: Collecting emails

    What you can build: a , a waiting list, a "tell me when it's ready" form.

    What you need:

    • A privacy policy. California's law requires one from any commercial site that collects personal information, like an email address, from people in California. Anyone can visit your site, so plan as if that includes you.
    • A real mailing address in every marketing email. That's the federal CAN-SPAM rule. A PO box, or a private mailbox from a mailbox service, counts. It doesn't have to be your home.
    • A working link, honored within 10 business days. A good handles this for you.

    Rung 3: Earning affiliate money

    What you can build: a comparison site or newsletter with links that pay you a commission.

    What you need:

    • A clear next to the links. The FTC says to put it near the recommendation, where people can't miss it. "" alone may not be clear enough. Something like "I get a commission if you buy through these links" is. Amazon requires its own exact sentence: "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases."
    • A privacy policy. Amazon's program, for one, requires you to tell visitors about cookies and the data you collect.
    • Tax information when the program asks for it, or it may hold your commissions.

    What you can skip: an . Affiliate programs like Amazon's take individuals.

    Rung 4: Taking money directly

    What you can build: a , a paid guide, a .

    Two ways to do it:

    • Sell through a or platform like Etsy, Gumroad or Lemon Squeezy. They handle more for you. Etsy collects and pays US in the states that require it. Lemon Squeezy, now part of , is the , which means it takes on the tax side. Gumroad says it does too. In return, they take a bigger cut. This is the best place to start without a business set up.
    • Take payments on your own site with Stripe. As an individual, Stripe asks for your legal name, date of birth, home address (not a PO box), the last four digits of your Social Security number and a bank account. You don't need an or an LLC; a sole proprietor can use their own Social Security number. Stripe also reviews your website. It has to be public and show what you sell, how to contact you, and your refund policy.

    Taxes: all of it is income. Marketplaces and payment apps like Etsy and PayPal send you and the IRS a Form 1099-K once you're paid more than $20,000 across more than 200 sales in a year, and some states set lower amounts. Stripe uses the same amounts for your own account. The income counts either way. This is where an accountant earns their fee.

    Rung 5: App store apps and plug-ins

    What you can build: an iPhone or Android app, a Chrome extension, a WordPress plug-in.

    What you need:

    • Apple: $99 a year. You can join as yourself, under your legal name. To join as a business, it has to be a legal entity, like an LLC, and you need a D-U-N-S number first. Apple reviews apps before they go in the store, and takes 30% of sales, or 15% for small developers in its Small Business Program.
    • Google Play: $25 once, and they may check your ID. New personal accounts must test the app with at least 12 people for 14 days in a row before it can go live. Google takes a cut of every sale too.
    • Chrome Web Store: a one-time registration fee. WordPress.org: free, with a review of your code before it's listed.

    Why a web app is often the better road: a website people use in their phone's has no store fees, no review queue, and no waiting on anyone. It works on iPhone and Android at once. That's what I liked about building a web app. Unless your idea needs something only an app can do, start there.

    If you don't have an LLC or a business bank account

    Rungs 1 to 3 work fine as yourself. For rung 4, start on a marketplace or platform that handles the tax side. Keep a separate personal account for the money anyway, so it's all in one place at tax time.

    If you do

    Everything opens up. You can set up Stripe as your business, join Apple's program as an organization, and keep the money in the business's account from day one.

    1. Read the rungs.
    2. Write down where you are today: an LLC or not, a business bank account or not, and anything you already pay for, like your Claude plan.
    domain Your website's name on the internet, like gethomebydark.com. You rent it by the year from a company called a registrar. All wordshosting A company's computers that keep your site or app running on the internet, so people can reach it. All wordsprivacy policy A page that tells visitors what information your site collects about them and what you do with it. All wordsnewsletter A regular email for people who signed up to hear about one topic. All wordsunsubscribe Ask to stop getting someone's emails. A marketing email needs a working way to do it, usually a link at the bottom. All wordsemail service A company that stores your subscriber list and sends your newsletter, and handles unsubscribes for you. All wordsdisclosure A plain line telling readers you get paid, or get something of value, for a listing or a link. All wordsaffiliate link A link to a store that pays you a small commission when someone buys through it. All wordsLLC A limited liability company, a simple way to set up a business that's legally separate from you. All wordsdigital download A file people buy once and download, like a spreadsheet template, a printable planner or a guide. All wordssubscription Something you pay for every month or every year until you cancel it. All wordsmarketplace A place that lists things from many makers, so you can pick what you want. Etsy is one for shoppers, and takes a cut of each sale. In Claude Code, a marketplace is a list of plugins, usually kept on GitHub, that you add once and install from. All wordssales tax Tax added to what a customer pays, which the seller has to collect and pass on to the state. All wordsStripe A company that takes card payments for a website and sends the money to your bank, keeping a small fee from each sale. All wordsmerchant of record The company that legally makes the sale. When a platform is the merchant of record, it handles more of the tax for you. All wordsEIN A tax number for a business, from the IRS. Like a Social Security number, but for the business. All wordsbrowser The app you use to visit websites, like Safari or Chrome. All words
    That's not what I see
    I can't tell which rung my idea is on.
    That's what the next steps are for. Write down what you have today, and Claude helps you place the idea.

  2. Start Claude Code in your my-idea folder

    1. Open (Cmd+SpaceWindows key, type Terminal, press Enter).

    2. Go to your my-idea . Type this and press Enter:

      cd ~/Backyard/my-idea

      cd ~\Backyard\my-idea

    3. Check the says my-idea.

    4. Start . Type this and press Enter:

      claude
    Terminal An app on your Mac where you type instructions instead of clicking on things. Claude Code works inside it. All wordsfolder A place on your computer that holds files and other folders, like a drawer in a filing cabinet. All wordsprompt line The line in Terminal that ends with a % sign. The word right before the % is the folder you're in. All wordsClaude Code Claude, working inside Terminal. It can make files and run things on your Mac, with a safety checker watching what it does. All words

    You should see:

    Claude Code's name and version at the top, a line starting with ❯ where you type, and ⏵⏵ on in the bar at the bottom.

    auto mode Claude works without asking, and a separate safety checker blocks anything risky. All words
    That's not what I see
    It says "cd: no such file or directoryCannot find path … because it does not exist".
    The my-idea folder isn't there. It comes from Check the idea first and The three files, so do those first, then come back.
    It says "zsh: command not found: claudeThe term 'claude' is not recognized".
    This Terminal window doesn't know about Claude Code. Close the window with Cmd+WCtrl+Shift+W, open a new one and try again. If it still says that, go back to Claude Code and .install Put a new program on your computer so you can use it. All wordssign in Tell Claude Code which Claude account is yours, so it knows you've paid for it. All words

  3. Ask Claude which rung your idea starts on

    This asks Claude to read your idea from , place it on the ladder and list what that rung needs. Where you are today goes at the end.

    1. Copy the prompt below.
    Read PRD.md for my idea. Using these five rungs, tell me which rung it starts on, and whether a smaller version could start lower: 1. nothing to sign up for (no forms, sign-ups, analytics, ads or affiliate links); 2. collecting emails; 3. earning affiliate money; 4. taking money directly; 5. app store apps and browser or WordPress plug-ins. Then list exactly what I'd need before I launch at that rung: accounts, documents, pages on my site, fees. For anything about fees or rules, tell me where to check it on the company's own website, because it changes. This isn't legal or tax advice, and say so if something needs a professional. Here's where I am today:
    1. Paste it into Claude Code with Cmd+VCtrl+V.
    2. Type a space, then where you are today, from step 1, like no LLC, no business bank account, a personal bank account, a Claude Pro plan.
    3. Press Enter.
    prompt What you type to Claude. A good one says what you want, how to work and what never to do. All wordsPRD.md One page on the problem, who it's for, and what "done" looks like. PRD stands for product requirements document. All words

    You should see:

    Claude names the rung your idea starts on and whether a smaller version could start lower. Then it lists what you'd need at that rung, with where to check each fee or rule.

    That's not what I see
    Claude says there's no PRD.md.
    Do The three files first, then come back to this step.
    Claude said my idea needs rung 5 but I only want to try it.
    Ask it: What's a version of this I could put in front of 10 people on rung 1 or 2? A web page people can use on their phone often answers the same question an app would.
    The fees Claude gave me don't match this page.
    Fees change. Trust the company's own website over both of us, and check it on the day you sign up.

  4. Make the list of what your rung needs

    1. Write down everything Claude listed for your rung, on paper or in a note.
    2. Check off what you already have.

    If the list feels like too much, start one rung lower.

    That's not what I see
    The list feels like too much.
    Start one rung lower. Every rung below yours is a real result, and you can climb when the first version proves people want it.

  5. Decide where you'll start, and write it in your PRD

    This prompt has Claude add a "Starting rung" section to PRD.md.

    1. Copy the prompt below.
    Add a section to PRD.md called "Starting rung". Say which rung this project starts on, why, what I need before launch at that rung, and what would make me climb to the next one.
    1. Paste it into Claude Code with Cmd+VCtrl+V and press Enter.
    2. Read the section, and tell Claude what to change.

    Then pick your build track. Each one says which rung it starts on. Build one idea at a time, in my-idea.

    You should see:

    Claude adds a Starting rung section to PRD.md and tells you it did.

    That's not what I see

    Nobody has reported a snag on this step yet. Getting stuck is normal. Read the step again one line at a time, and compare your screen with the video.

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Your challenge

Write down the rung your idea starts on, and the list of what that rung needs. Check off one thing on the list this week.

Last checked 2026-10-20

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