Cherry EDA – 12–18 Month Milestone Roadmap
Funding goal: $3M pre-seed
Runway: 18 months
🧠 Q1: Team Formation & Patent Filings (Months 0–3)
- Hire 3–4 key engineers: front-end, backend, SVG tooling, rendering
- Hire 1 UI/UX designer + 1 fractional IP strategist
- File 10 provisional patents covering:
- SVG-based land pattern format
- RA274X true-font export engine
- Rotation engine (non-quantized geometry)
- Background Gerber/DXF renderer
- Live-editable mask apertures
- Netlist diff algorithm
- Internal preview: Cherry alpha demo for internal hardware projects
- Start outreach to 3 early YouTube/hardware creators
🚀 Q2: Closed Beta Launch & Creator Outreach (Months 4–6)
- Release closed beta (Win, macOS, Linux binaries)
- Build landing page + documentation + SVG footprint explorer
- File 5 additional utility patents (netlist comparison, silent DXF export, creator view mode)
- Secure 500+ early access signups
- Release 2 comparison-style videos with creators showing Cherry vs Altium/KiCad
- Begin integration talks with Digi-Key and one fab partner
🌐 Q3: Public Beta & Integration Partners (Months 7–9)
- Public beta release on all platforms
- Open read-only API for CAD/fab plugins
- SVG footprint repo hits 1,000+ patterns
- Secure at least one fab or distribution partner (LOI)
- Support first paid enterprise pilot (white-glove onboarding)
- Reach 2,000+ beta users; track DAU/WAU > 20%
📈 Q4: Monetization & Moat Lockdown (Months 10–12+)
- Roll out paid “Pro” plan with advanced features & secure cloud saves
- Begin patent conversion: file 10 provisionals as utilities with claims
- Embed Cherry viewer in partner web portals (Digi-Key, JLCPCB, etc.)
- Publish 3 more creator collab videos
- Target 5,000+ registered users; 500+ Pro users
- Prepare for next round (Seed or strategic)