A developer shipped a polished demo this month. It was good work, aimed at a market the founder is not selling to. Meanwhile her website still told the old story, so any serious buyer who visited would see a business that did not match the conversations she was actually having.
Capability is not demand. A demo shows what can be built. It does not show who will pay for it. The fastest way to lose a quarter is to let what the engineer finds interesting quietly redirect the business.
There were three fixes, in order. First, fix the front door. The website should describe the market you are pursuing today, even if it is one plain page, because buyers check before they reply. Second, settle who decides. When a founder and a developer have no formal agreement on direction, ownership or weekly rhythm, the product follows whoever builds fastest. Write down who sets the market, what gets built and who owns it. Third, ask the money question early. The warmest opportunity was a customer with a real need, and nobody had asked what the budget was. A paid pilot answers more than ten enthusiastic meetings, because willingness to pay is the one signal that cannot be faked.
And the product name? Branding can wait. A name that might confuse is a problem for month three. A customer who has not been asked to pay is a problem for this week.