The Problem We Set Out to Solve In late 2021, with companies still adjusting to the post-COVID economy, lease accounting compliance under ASC 842 and GASB 87 had become a nightmare. Spreadsheets kept crashing. Traditional ERP modules were bloated, expensive, and difficult to configure. Mike Cheng, a partner at Frazier and Deeter (and my former colleague from FASB days), saw the pain firsthand. We decided there was a real opportunity: build a lean, modern SaaS tool that could automate lease calculations, simplify compliance tracking, and actually be usable for mid-sized businesses, not just Fortune 500s. lean, modern SaaS tool And so, LeaseJava was born. LeaseJava Why We Chose the MERN Stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React.js, Node.js) We knew from Day 1 that speed, scalability, and developer productivity would make or break the project. After evaluating several stacks, we choseMERN for three main reasons: MERN Rapid Development: JavaScript across front and back end meant faster prototyping and fewer handoffs. Scalability: MongoDB’s flexible document model fit the variable nature of lease contracts perfectly. Cost Efficiency: Open-source tools allowed us to scale without heavy licensing fees. Rapid Development: JavaScript across front and back end meant faster prototyping and fewer handoffs. Rapid Development: JavaScript across front and back end meant faster prototyping and fewer handoffs. Rapid Development: Scalability: MongoDB’s flexible document model fit the variable nature of lease contracts perfectly. Scalability: MongoDB’s flexible document model fit the variable nature of lease contracts perfectly. Scalability: Cost Efficiency: Open-source tools allowed us to scale without heavy licensing fees. Cost Efficiency: Open-source tools allowed us to scale without heavy licensing fees. Cost Efficiency: Bonus: Our offshore development team at Infiny (Mumbai, India) already had deep MERN expertise, further compressing our ramp-up time. Bonus: How We Bootstrapped Development We had no external funding. Every dollar mattered. Here's how we built LeaseJava lean: Tight MVP Scope: We ruthlessly prioritized features that mapped directly to regulatory needs—no vanity metrics, no "nice-to-haves." Remote Collaboration: Coordinated across U.S. and India time zones via Zoom and Jira. Agile sprints every 2 weeks kept the momentum. In-House PMO: While I personally managed sprint planning and QA while Mike shaped Product Requirements, user workflows, UI design, and functional priorities. Serverless First: We minimized backend costs early by designing for serverless scaling (AWS Lambda, MongoDB Atlas, etc.). Rapid Pilot Feedback: Early pilot customers got hands-on fast, and their feedback shaped 70% of our v2 backlog. Tight MVP Scope: We ruthlessly prioritized features that mapped directly to regulatory needs—no vanity metrics, no "nice-to-haves." Tight MVP Scope: We ruthlessly prioritized features that mapped directly to regulatory needs—no vanity metrics, no "nice-to-haves." Tight MVP Scope: Remote Collaboration: Coordinated across U.S. and India time zones via Zoom and Jira. Agile sprints every 2 weeks kept the momentum. Remote Collaboration: Coordinated across U.S. and India time zones via Zoom and Jira. Agile sprints every 2 weeks kept the momentum. Remote Collaboration: In-House PMO: While I personally managed sprint planning and QA while Mike shaped Product Requirements, user workflows, UI design, and functional priorities. In-House PMO: While I personally managed sprint planning and QA while Mike shaped Product Requirements, user workflows, UI design, and functional priorities. In-House PMO: Serverless First: We minimized backend costs early by designing for serverless scaling (AWS Lambda, MongoDB Atlas, etc.). Serverless First: We minimized backend costs early by designing for serverless scaling (AWS Lambda, MongoDB Atlas, etc.). Serverless First: Rapid Pilot Feedback: Early pilot customers got hands-on fast, and their feedback shaped 70% of our v2 backlog. Rapid Pilot Feedback: Early pilot customers got hands-on fast, and their feedback shaped 70% of our v2 backlog. Rapid Pilot Feedback: Engineering Lessons Learned Small Teams Win Fast: Our core team never exceeded 5 people during MVP buildout. Decision-making was quick, and handoffs were minimal. Don’t Over-Engineer Early: Version 1.0 didn’t need multi-language support, custom analytics, or integrations. Focus on the painkillers first. Compliance Logic Is a Beast: Accounting for present value calculations, asset amortization, lease modifications, and remeasurements required a deep functional understanding, which we codified into reusable modules. UX Matters More Than You Think: Lease accounting is complex. Making it visually simple (dashboards, alerts, guided steps) increased user adoption dramatically. Small Teams Win Fast: Our core team never exceeded 5 people during MVP buildout. Decision-making was quick, and handoffs were minimal. Small Teams Win Fast: Our core team never exceeded 5 people during MVP buildout. Decision-making was quick, and handoffs were minimal. Small Teams Win Fast: Don’t Over-Engineer Early: Version 1.0 didn’t need multi-language support, custom analytics, or integrations. Focus on the painkillers first. Don’t Over-Engineer Early: Version 1.0 didn’t need multi-language support, custom analytics, or integrations. Focus on the painkillers first. Don’t Over-Engineer Early: Compliance Logic Is a Beast: Accounting for present value calculations, asset amortization, lease modifications, and remeasurements required a deep functional understanding, which we codified into reusable modules. Compliance Logic Is a Beast: Accounting for present value calculations, asset amortization, lease modifications, and remeasurements required a deep functional understanding, which we codified into reusable modules. Compliance Logic Is a Beast: UX Matters More Than You Think: Lease accounting is complex. Making it visually simple (dashboards, alerts, guided steps) increased user adoption dramatically. UX Matters More Than You Think: Lease accounting is complex. Making it visually simple (dashboards, alerts, guided steps) increased user adoption dramatically. UX Matters More Than You Think: The Outcome: From MVP to Acquisition Within 6 months, LeaseJava launched a pilot-ready MVP. Within 18 months, it achieved profitability with paying customers. And by December 2024, Caseware—a global leader in accounting software—acquired LeaseJava. Within 6 months, LeaseJava launched a pilot-ready MVP. Within 18 months, it achieved profitability with paying customers. And by December 2024, Caseware—a global leader in accounting software—acquired LeaseJava. Caseware 👉 Read the official Caseware acquisition announcement. Read the official Caseware acquisition announcement. Final Thoughts: What I’d Tell Any Technical Founder Start with the Stack You Can Ship Fast: Speed to MVP matters more than theoretical scalability in the early days. Relentlessly Cut Scope: Every feature either solves a real user pain or it doesn’t. Respect UX from Day 1: Tech doesn't win alone. Simplicity wins. Bootstrap When You Can: Constraints make you smarter and more disciplined. Start with the Stack You Can Ship Fast: Speed to MVP matters more than theoretical scalability in the early days. Start with the Stack You Can Ship Fast: Relentlessly Cut Scope: Every feature either solves a real user pain or it doesn’t. Relentlessly Cut Scope: Respect UX from Day 1: Tech doesn't win alone. Simplicity wins. Respect UX from Day 1: Bootstrap When You Can: Constraints make you smarter and more disciplined. Bootstrap When You Can: From a few Zoom calls to a live SaaS product to a successful acquisition — all without raising a dime.That's the power of focus, execution, and engineering discipline. 📬 Thinking of building your own SaaS? 📬 Thinking of building your own SaaS? Let's connect — I'm always happy to swap notes with other founders and technologists. Find me on LinkedIn or at www.acuvity.com. LinkedIn www.acuvity.com
