We launched on December 27th and the first sign-ups came the same day

Everyone knows you don't launch anything between Christmas and New Year.

We launched on December 27th.

Here's what happened.

A football tournament organiser needed a registration and payments platform. Sign-ups and payments online, in one place.

We built it on what we'd spent all autumn learning with clubs. Forms that create the fees. Payments that go through without anyone chasing anyone.

On the 27th it went live. An email went out to about 100 parents.

And the first sign-ups came in that same day.

Families logging in in the middle of the holidays, the long lunch barely over.

No campaign. No event. One email and a link that worked.

The worst week, according to whom

On paper, it was a mistake. Half the country on holiday. Inboxes ignored. If something breaks, nobody's around to fix it.

The textbook advice is to wait for January. Do it properly. Make it an event.

But the tournament had its own calendar, and families needed time to register. Waiting for January would have given us a flashier launch. And a worse one for them.

Besides, during the holidays families have something they don't have the rest of the year. A bit of time at home. And, I suspect, a strong desire to do anything other than the washing-up.

The right day to launch is the day your users need it, not the day the calendar says is good.

Two days later, another reminder of the same thing. I sent an outside developer what he needed to finish coupons with extras for a cabins client's booking engine. They had to be ready for the January 10th opening.

Another fixed date. Another opening that wasn't going to move because we were on holiday.

That's the price of working for businesses with real calendars. Their dates become yours. You can complain, or you can decide openly whether it's worth it and rest afterwards. I prefer the second. Complaining I can do for free any other day.

Slowly, which is our speed

Looking back, the year started with me asking a developer to park payments and finish calendars.

And it ended with families signing up online the same day we launched, and a booking engine getting new features ready for its next opening.

In between: a server that fell over every month, a developer who had to leave, a quote I dared to make honest and a form that changed how I see clubs.

The services kept paying the bills. And underneath, with no investors and no rush, something that looked a lot like a product started to take shape.

Slowly. Which is the only speed we've ever had.

We launched in the worst week of the year.

Nobody told the parents.

P.S. Nobody needs a big announcement. They need a link that works when they click it. The rest is tinsel.