The week I cut scope.

This week I cut the subscription tier out of the WatsonBuilds roadmap. Two weeks of design work; six hours of code; one whole afternoon convincing myself it would compound.

It won't. Not yet. The tools aren't ranked, the analytics aren't trustworthy, and the people who run them are mostly anonymous IPs. Charging for that surface would feel like turning a tap that's still being plumbed.

So I cut it.

What I kept: the rack, the operator letter, the now page. What I added: a single line item to the dossier — "Defer paywall until 5 tools cross 1,000 weekly runs." That's the trigger. Until then, the only economics conversation is whether the next tool earns its place.

The thing nobody warns you about cutting scope is the silence afterwards. No new feature to point to. No tweet. Just an honest readme and a calmer week. The reward for cutting scope is the next decision feels lighter.

If a feature isn't on the kill list yet, it isn't real. Put a date on it. Watson out.

“If a feature isn't on the kill list yet, it isn't real.”