Helping a startup team find product-market fit faster, for less
Even superheroes need help from a friend sometimes. Our team at Stackfound recently had the opportunity to work with a security startup that needed a minimum viable product (MVP) web app developed on an aggressive timeline. The goal was to get a functional demo system up and running quickly so the ProtectedNow team (this is a pseudonym for privacy purposes) could begin discussions with prospective customers and investors. They needed a partner who could move swiftly without compromising on quality. We were ready for the challenge.
Our Approach
To meet ProtectedNow’s needs, we decided to leverage a mature open-source Vue.js project as the foundation for the web app. This approach allowed us to significantly reduce both development time and costs while providing ProtectedNow with a foundation to continue building on after they had validated their product market fit. By building on a well-established framework, we could focus on integrating the specific and unique features tailored to ProtectedNow’s unique value proposition.
The Development Process
Our team worked diligently to deliver the MVP application on time and budget. Here’s how we did it:
Focus on Core Features: As soon as our team met with and heard that ProtectedNow was still searching for product-market fit we knew that a fully custom web app would not be the right solution. We immediately began evaluating existing open-source projects that could serve as a foundation for their unique core features. We worked with their team to make sure the candidate project’s licenses would allow them to continue developing and selling their own product developed on top of each open-source project without risk. We also focused on open-source projects that had strong community support to decrease the risk of the project becoming stale and unsupported before ProtectedNow had a chance to minimize their dependency on it.
Rapid Prototyping: We quickly developed a prototype to validate the core functionalities and gather early feedback from ProtectedNow’s team and their prospective customers. We followed the “make it work, make it right, make it fast” philosophy, keeping in mind that their demo sessions with prospective customers were highly likely to result in significant changes to the project requirements.
Agile Methodology: We employed an agile development process, with frequent check-ins and sprint reviews. This ensured continuous progress and allowed us to adapt to any changes or new requirements efficiently.
Successful Delivery and Ongoing Support
Despite the compressed timeline, we successfully delivered the MVP web app on schedule. The startup was able to use the app to conduct effective demos and start meaningful conversations with prospective customers and investors.
But our support didn’t end there. We continued to provide assistance in the following months, addressing any questions, changes, or issues that arose during the customer demos. This ongoing support helped the startup iterate more quickly while searching for product-market fit and ensured that their team was always ready at critical presentations.
Conclusion
Projects like this are a testament to our team’s commitment to delivering solutions to challenging problems, even under aggressive timelines. By leveraging mature open-source technologies and maintaining a flexible, client-focused approach, we helped a promising security startup get off the ground and start showcasing their innovative solution to the world. We look forward to seeing their continued success and are proud to have played a role in their journey.
If you’re facing a similar challenge or need a reliable partner to bring your vision to life, Stackfound is here to help. Schedule a free consultation today or call or text us at (972) 299-0075 to learn how we can support your next project. If you’d like to see one of the ways we give back to the open source community, check out our launch of our open source dev container utility, devconfigs!