This article is part of my ↗️ where I share resources about building things. Join me :) Note: toolkit newsletters As a , I built micro tools to solve my own problems. For example: , , and product builder↗️ article tool event app portfolio tracker , finance tracker , SaaS tracker , habit tracker . I recently built a meal kit delivery startup for my ongoing experiment with fast prototyping. I built both the startup page & mobile app MVP. Here’re my processes & to create the functional tech product in 1 day. templates 1. Getting it right 🙌 One way to “de-risk” new ventures is to test & validate the idea in the market before actually building it. You don’t want to spend $ on engineering hires early on to build something for 6 months that no one is going to use. Therefore, a minimum viable product (MVP) is your good friend. An MVP should be viable enough to build it and functional enough for people to use it. What makes a functional MVP? A live product with a few initial features that are working, solving problems, and testing for your problem hypothesis. It should be more than just a website. 1. Functional. Able to build it fast for idea validation purposes without requiring ( . 2. Viable to build. insert X amount of angel investment) Able to gain early users’ traction such as signup, download, checkout, and payment. 3. Traction. Able to collect data points and user feedbacks to conclude whether the idea will succeed. 4. Testing & feedback. 👉 Try the meal kit startup (1) website | (2) mobile app 2. Startup idea 🥗 As a starting point, I ideated the meal kit startup idea from and . Blue Apron HelloFresh is a meal kit delivery service for fitness meal cooking plans that deliver fresh ingredients based on customized meal preferences to your doorstep. Meal Kit Go The startup landing page is designed to test marketing messaging, explain the value proposition, and drive awareness for the where users can use the actual MVP (browse meals, customize order, checkout). mobile app Try the live demo (1) Meal Kit Go landing page (2) Meal Kit Go mobile app Some key features for the MVP List of curated meal recipes Recipe descriptions (calories, fresh ingredients, instructions) Pricing of meal kit subscription plans Customize meal preferences Add to cart & show product details Order form with the delivery address Customer payment via Stripe 3. Tools I used 🔨 There are existing tools that can help you to build a *working* product in hours — not months. Here’s what I used to build the meal kit startup: Carrd A simple, lightweight & fully responsive page builder. I use Carrd to build, design, and launch the startup . For prototyping purposes, I love using it because you don’t need a custom domain to publish the site to live. landing page 👉 Try the meal kit startup (1) website | (2) mobile app Glide A mobile app generator with app-like features. I use Glide to build the for the meal kit startup where it allows users to sign-in via Google, browse recipes, customize meal plans, and place orders. mobile app Stripe I integrate Stripe with the Glide app to handle customer checkout and payment processing. It also allows user to enter their home address so we can deliver the meal kit to their doorstep. Google Sheets I use Google Sheets to create the mobile app databases and store information such as user registration (i.e. email addresses) and app content (i.e. meal recipes, image assets, subscription pricing, product order details). Airtable A spreadsheet hybrid database creation tool. I use it to build the application form on the landing page to collect lead information (i.e. name, email, bio, phone number) and store them as lead database. 4. Building functional features 🚀 One way to think about the initial features for your startup MVP is to map out the user journey. You visualize the action steps that a user would take to accomplish a goal. For example: Transform the user journey into functional features Once I map out the user journey, I start to work on the app functionality, design, and marketing messaging for the startup MVP. Here’re some key user steps of the Meal Kit Go and : startup website mobile app (1) A landing page with mobile responsive design Build the landing page to include key messaging, explain the meal kit concept, and drive awareness for the mobile app MVP. 👉 Try the meal kit startup (1) website | (2) mobile app (2) Explore recipes and save to favorite list Users can browse a list of meal recipes, learn more about the recipes (calories, fresh ingredients & cooking instruction) and save to favorite list. 👉 Try the meal kit startup (1) website | (2) mobile app (3) Browse a selection of cooking plans There’re 3 weekly subscription options. Users can order 2x, 3x or 5x recipes per week and get the meal kit delivered. (4) Customize order & add to cart Users can customize their meal preferences based on their fitness goals (bodybuilding, protein meals, weight loss, and smoothies pack). We will curate relevant recipes and customize the meal kit accordingly. (5) Edit cart, checkout with Stripe Users should be able to see their cart orders with product description details, checkout, enter their delivery address and pay. 👉 Try the meal kit startup (1) website | (2) mobile app [1] Find me on / / 🔥 Personal Site Twitter LinkedIn [2] In case you miss out, I can send my upcoming toolkit to your inbox — 💌 Click here to join my newsletter [3] Get the Carrd & Glide 🟥 app template

How I Built a Meal Kit Delivery App In a Day Using Stripe, Google Sheets, Glide and Carrd

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