How I hand off a new MVP to a founder’s internal team.

Shipping the product is only half the job.

The real test is this:
Can a new developer take over without calling me every day?

Here’s the Dev Handoff Playbook I create for every project so founders never get stuck depending on one developer.

1. The 5-Minute Onboarding README

Not a novel. One page covering:

• How to run the project locally (copy-paste commands)
• Where the secrets live and how to rotate them
• The “gotchas” that cost hours the first time

A new developer should be able to boot the system in minutes.

2. Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)

Not just what we built.
Why we built it that way.

• Why PostgreSQL over Mongo (and when to reconsider)
• Why we chose that third-party API instead of building in-house
• What we would change at 10× scale

Future developers stop second-guessing and start shipping.

3. The “Panic Button” Runbook

What to do when:

• Payment webhooks stop firing
• The database connection pool maxes out
• Production data is accidentally modified

Clear steps. No guessing under pressure.

4. Environment Map

One diagram showing:

• What runs where
• What costs what
• What is one config change away from disaster

Most founders have never actually seen their system mapped.

5. The “Bus Factor” Audit

I ask one question:

“If I get hit by a bus tomorrow, what’s the first thing the next developer would Google?”

Then I document that.

The result?

When a new developer joins the team, they can start shipping almost immediately.

No “where is anything?” threads.
No long onboarding calls.

Your MVP isn’t finished when it ships.

It’s finished when someone else can own it.

I build MVPs for founders who want a product they can actually grow a team around.

DM “HANDOFF” and I’ll share the playbook template.