suede-free-tools

# Suede Free-Tool Growth Strategy Suede uses engineering as marketing when a genuinely useful tool can create qualified discovery and a natural bridge to the paid product. Select, score, and scope the smallest maintainable calculator, grader, generator, or utility whose output earns attention rather than merely capturing it. ## Initial Assessment **Check for product marketing context first:** If `.agents/product-marketing.md` exists (or `.claude/product-marketing.md`, or the legacy `product-marketing-context.md` filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task. Before designing a tool strategy, understand: 1. **Business Context** - What's the core product? Who is the target audience? What problems do they have? 2. **Goals** - Lead generation? SEO/traffic? Brand awareness? Product education? What is one lead worth (LTV and close rate from this source)? 3. **Resources** - Technical capacity to build? Ongoing maintenance bandwidth? Budget for promotion? Timeline? 4. **Existing Behavior** - What tools or manual workarounds does the audience use today? How are leads generated now? --- ## Core Principles ### 1. Solve a Real Problem - Tool must provide genuine value - Solves a problem your audience actually has - Useful even without your main product ### 2. Adjacent to Core Product - Related to what you sell - Natural path from tool to product - Educates on problem you ...