In less than four months, our client's idea went from concept to acquiring their first B2B client. Like many , they had a question: “How do we swiftly demonstrate a functional product to our customers without compromising quality?” startups over four major projects like this in the past 1.5 years. Let's be honest: . In this article, we will share three fundamental blocks for building a product. We hope these insights will inspire and help kickstart your startup journey. Our team has successfully built moving fast without an established process is tough Additionally, we will provide our best practices for an efficient development process that leads to successful partnerships and positive outcomes for everyone involved: founders, technical teams, and users. Part I. Vision As a startup owner, you're filled with excitement about the potential of your idea. This enthusiasm pushes you to jump right into building and introducing your product new to the market. But let's keep this spark and start by doing market research and talking to potential users first. You need to validate your idea and ensure there is a demand for it. This process should not take too long, as we're in a startup reality. However, it's important to have a clear vision of what problem your product solves and who your target audience is. In this section, we'll spotlight key aspects of the vision-refining process. 1. Team collaboration Having open communication between founders and technical teams is vital. Founders need to communicate their vision and goals for the product, while developers can provide valuable insights on what features are feasible and how long they may take to develop. We conduct to brainstorm, exchange perspectives, and delve deeper into the concept. This collaborative process helps shape your product's vision as a technological solution. discovery workshops 2. Positioning Even at the beginning of the path, when you haven't tested the product itself, positioning is something that helps to speed up time for development 3-4 times. How? Positioning helps you stay focused on your differentiated value and prioritize what to incorporate into your MVP. "The perfect positioning" is a rare occasion before the product hits the market. , a marketing expert who works with positioning for tech companies, recommends using the . It serves as a framework to address : April Dunford positioning thesis several critical questions Who do we think we compete with? What sets my product apart from the rest? What unique value can I bring to the market? Who are the people that I believe will love it? It is used more for internal purposes: to test assumptions and find out where we can be wrong. There always can be a customer segment that we never thought of or a functionality that wasn't planned. But the thesis helps you get off the ground, and it evolves into a statement when your proposition finally aligns with the market demand. 3. Pre-sales: idea as a business "Should I go ahead and build this product?" "Is there a market demand?" and "Can I build a business around this product?" - these are all questions that might still cross your mind, and they're valid. Pre-sales is a great method to find out if your idea can turn into a successful business. The goal is to share your vision with your target audience to see if there’s enough demand. According to , pre-sales can boost win rates to 40–50% for new businesses and 80–90% for existing ones, compared to average rates. McKinsey research Here's why pre-sales are so useful: This tells you if people like your idea. You get real customer feedback. This cash can help you with production. You earn some money upfront. You know there's a demand before you invest in a product. It reduces risk. You can test your positioning, unique benefits, and pricing model by creating a landing page, running an ad campaign, or even using networking and social media connections. It can result in a base of leads, early adopters, and valuable user feedback. And you might be thinking, . Well, let's talk about that. "But wait, we have nothing to pre-sell" Part II. Strategy Every product enters a vibrant market. There is an existing competition, customer expectations, and hidden challenges. Your idea may be fully formed or be just an outline. However, without a well-defined execution plan, it becomes difficult to convince investors of its value. The purpose of the strategy is to minimize risks and maximize opportunities. A strategy helps you stay focused and on track, while also providing a roadmap to follow. Here are a few rules that make our strategy quick and effective to put into action. 1. Lean Startup methodology It is important to set realistic goals. If you want to go far and fast, it is better to start small. The method says that there is no need to spend lots of time and money on a final, polished version, as this version won't be the final one. It is crucial to achieve customer feedback as fast as possible to continue refining the product. Lean Startup An entrepreneur's aim isn't only to build a product, but to solve a problem. Making a product is just one way to achieve that goal. Most startups and new products rely on MVP (Minimum Viable Product). shares the idea that an MVP is not just about building the simplest possible version of a product. It's about taking minimal time and effort to start to from MVP. Aaron Dinin learn 2. Start validation before development Our team usually works on a functional prototype before an MVP. This is a cost-efficient method to present the product's concept and validate the most critical hypotheses. (or a functional, interactive prototype) is like an early model of a product. It's built to test a concept or process, learn from it, and show to investors and users. A working prototype Creating a prototype like this usually takes us around a few weeks. We don't have to do any actual development; we can create it while we're in the discovery phase. https://youtu.be/SLCQTOU7MPI?embedable=true Once we've got a functional UI prototype, the idea owner already has a demo version of the product that can be shown to customers. It's time to do customer interviews, present the product to potential investors, gather all the feedback, and process the information. This knowledge guides the following decision-making for both the client and the technical team. It helps : to address key questions when developing an MVP? What areas should we prioritize with our product-market fit, and adjust our strategy? Are we on the right track or do we need to pivot our future iterations? How do we strategically plan This is a moment to start pre-selling, check if there's market demand, and do customer discovery to find out the pain points and motivations of customers for future product development. 3. Prioritize and focus on essential features When you're launching an MVP, make sure to prioritize the key features that support your unique value proposition. Various techniques like the Value & Effort matrix, MoSCoW method, or Kano model can help you decide what to focus on and organize your development process into efficient cycles. If you're planning to handle the implementation on your own, we recommend putting your focus on: that solve the main problem. Core functionalities that users are explicitly asking for. High-demand features that can be implemented fast and have a significant impact. Quick wins An MVP focuses on solving a single problem. It usually has basic functions and 2-3 key features. Part III. Tactics: how to build products faster Let's dive right into development! Our goal here is to create a product in a fast and efficient way, without compromising on quality. To speed up the development process, you have options like hiring developers (freelancers, in-house, or outsourcing). Alternatively, you can leverage tools specifically designed to assist non-technical founders. In this section, we'll share tactics to help you quickly and efficiently build your MVP. 1. Low-code / no-code technologies The name itself suggests that you don't need to code much. These tools are user-friendly and empower non-tech founders to build their first product versions. This approach saves time and money, which makes it a top choice for technical teams that work with startups. Plus, it's a great way to test the waters before committing to complex development. From the other side, these platforms have limitations. You won't have complete control over the code, but you can still make some tweaks and customize your software to a certain extent. Having some programming knowledge helps with that. Our team thoroughly analyzes all project requirements before making a decision, taking future scalability into account. Each platform has unique features, so if you're working on your own, don't forget to do a platform audit and see how future-proof it is. Choosing the right tool is key. 2. Pre-build solutions and third-party integrations Whenever possible, integrate existing tools, platforms, and services to avoid reinventing the wheel. This can significantly reduce development time for functionalities like payments, authentication, and data analytics. Popular use cases for API integrations: like PayPal, Stripe, or Braintree for online transactions. Payment gateways like Zoho, Salesforce, HubSpot, or Zendesk to streamline customer data management. CRMs and ticketing systems tools like Zapier to automate tasks and streamline processes. Workflow automation for inventory management, order processing, and product search capabilities. E-commerce APIs like LiveChat, Intercom, or Zendesk Chat to improve customer communication and support. Chat systems to provide real-time availability and booking options for customers. APIs from popular travel and booking services 3. Iterative development Sometimes startup founders come to us with a key goal: release the MVP out ASAP. Iterative development is the way we make that happen and keep the product moving forward. Each iteration produces a new version of the program, continuing until the final result is achieved. This approach enables us to: Iterative development is structured in cycles, including planning, development, testing, and reviewing. after each iteration and learn faster; gather feedback a continuous process based on relevant user data; make improvements to keep up with the market. reduce risks and be flexible 4. Use existing frameworks and libraries These tools offer ready-made components and functionalities that can be effortlessly integrated into your product, saving time on coding from scratch. But don't forget to consider your project's specific needs before choosing a framework or library. It's also a good idea to regularly update and maintain these tools to ensure they keep working smoothly and stay secure. 5. Development practices When it comes to quality, the approach is vital in creating software that can be easily maintained and scaled for the future. Here are some important methods to consider: : Breaking down a system into smaller, manageable parts makes it easier to understand, develop, and test. Modular Design : Writing code that can be used across different parts of the application saves time and effort. Code Reusability : Code should be easy to read for anyone who may work on it in the future, which includes using naming conventions and writing clear comments. Readability : Using tools like Git helps keep track of changes and enables collaboration among developers. Version Control : When the team implements tests that run automatically, it ensures that new changes don't break existing functionality. Automated Testing : Automating the build and deployment process speeds up the release cycle and reduces human error. Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) : Maintaining good documentation is crucial for making technical aspects clear for different team members, onboarding new people, and for reference purposes. Documentation 6. Prioritize communication and collaboration Ensure that everyone is on the same page, because this is how encourages sharing of ideas, and helps resolve issues early. Here are some that we use: rules for effective communication and collaboration to keep everyone updated daily team stand-ups with clients to discuss progress, updates, and gather feedback weekly or bi-weekly meetings to track our progress agile project management tools for open communication and constant connection between our project team, clients, and key stakeholders. clear communication channels Conclusion A well-planned and executed launch plan sets the stage for a successful product that meets customer needs, drives engagement, and creates a loyal user base. We're eager to offer our skills in and handle technical along the way. from scratch building products If you decide to work on your own, there are still plenty of possibilities to validate your idea and leverage pre-built solutions. Use these strategies to effectively prioritize tasks and ensure you're directing your resources towards the right things.
