Virtual CMO: Semi-Automated Marketplace Cold-Start Outreach Web App

Problem Description

BuildMyApp is an on-demand app marketplace in its pilot phase facing the classic chicken-and-egg problem: it needs developers (sellers) and companies with app needs (buyers) to join simultaneously before the platform has traction. There is no system to prospect, draft personalized outreach, approve and send messages, and track performance across channels like LinkedIn, email, Reddit, Indie Hackers, and Product Hunt.

Expected Outcome

A standalone web app that acts as a virtual CMO for the pilot phase -- automatically sourcing prospects on both sides of the marketplace, generating personalized outreach drafts for owner review and approval, sending approved messages via the appropriate channel, and displaying a performance dashboard that tracks which channels are generating signups so effort can be concentrated where results are strongest.

Acceptance Criteria

1. Prospect discovery runs automatically and surfaces a list of developer candidates (sellers) from LinkedIn, Reddit, Indie Hackers, and Product Hunt based on configurable search criteria.
2. Prospect discovery runs automatically and surfaces a list of company candidates (buyers) from LinkedIn and email sources based on configurable search criteria.
3. Each discovered prospect is stored in the app with fields for name, channel source, profile URL or contact info, prospect type (buyer or seller), and current outreach status.
4. For each prospect, the app generates a personalized outreach message draft using the prospect's name, source platform, and relevant context.
5. The app presents an approval queue where the owner can review each drafted message, edit it, approve it, or discard it before any message is sent.
6. No message is sent without explicit owner approval in the queue.
7. Approved messages are sent automatically via the appropriate channel (LinkedIn connection request + message, or email via SMTP/Gmail integration).
8. The app sends a Slack notification to a configured webhook each time new prospects are queued for approval.
9. A performance dashboard displays per-channel metrics including number of prospects contacted, response rate, and number of signups generated.
10. The dashboard identifies and visually highlights the top-performing channel by signup conversion rate.
11. All outreach history (sent messages, timestamps, responses) is stored and viewable per prospect.
12. The app supports separate campaign views for buyer outreach and seller outreach.
13. The owner can pause or resume outreach on any individual channel without affecting other channels.
14. The app includes a settings screen where search criteria, connected accounts (LinkedIn, Gmail/SMTP, Slack webhook), and message templates can be configured.