We get a lot of inquiries from startup owners or startup conceptualists. You know the type - "I have an idea and funds, please estimate my project" or "Can you estimate Airbnb clone for me?". And the answer is usually not simple.

It is truly very exciting to meet all of the founders, as the variety of their ideas is amazing. The energy coming from the founders is addictive and inspiring every day.

I want to share with you some thoughts about our approach towards those type of projects and workshops that we organize whenever we have a chance.

What's the problem?

Usually, as a founder you have this amazing idea with a lot of functionalities build around it (since you've been thinking about it for so long). Naturally, you want a company to provide you with a budget and time needed to deliver the product.

The biggest challenge in the RFP process is to give an estimation based on a vague description. Some of the descriptions we are seeing are:

"Make a clone of ... " - usually all the clones like Airbnb, Uber, Instacart went already through their MVP stage and currently their development is at least at the base of a couple of millions of dollars.

"It should have all the standard user / payment / communication features" - for one product 'standard' can mean something completely different than for another. E.g. think about the payments - just collecting payment is a standard for some projects, but for another one refunding feature can be pretty standard as well.

Even with more precise description and features breakdown, we would still have questions about edge cases, special user stories, product business value, etc.

And this is where we come in the process. We usually try to take a step back with the owner.

How to solve it?

We organize a two-day workshop during which we address the question how to implement a simple yet engaging product that you can build your business upon.

The main goal is to get as close to your idea as possible so that we get to know the general concept and to see all the details (about the market, customers, etc.). We approach every project as a partner, we think like an investor, we plan it like a business, and implement it smart to keep traction high and be ready to scale up.

But first of all, simplicity!

As an example, let us look at something totally different - a car. A car is a successful product because it lets people travel from point A to point B fast. So did you need A/C or leather seats when the car was invented? No. You just needed to satisfy this one main need of your customers. Of course, when cars were produced, other people started doing it also and then people realized that they can have more - not only fast travels but also convenient or luxurious ones. Same goes for any of your startup ideas. It is great that as an owner you have the full vision, but usually, it takes much less to prove that you're on the right track. And this is exactly what we do.

We help you to extract the essence and as a result we provide a full MVP documentation for the design & development, accurate estimations (at last!) and the development approach with tech suggestions. This way you will know how much does it cost to create your dream product, and what’s more, you even can have the basic feel of its usage thanks to all the documentation created.

It's also a perfect material for the investors, as you cannot get more precise and business oriented than this.

Extra Value

What is also very important is that during those two days we get to know each other since we work as a team from the very first day. You will also get to know Warsaw after hours and talk about less business-oriented topics. As a result, you will feel whether there is a chemistry between us (and needles to say, it always is. :)

I realize of course that very often people want us to give estimates right away, tell how soon the product will be on the market and how much it will cost. But believe me, taking those two days to concentrate on your business needs with a development perspective might save you a lot of time, energy and money in the end.

If you have an amazing idea and would like to see how you can approach it or you have it already described and need a precise quote do not hesitate and contact us. We can set up a workshop meeting very fast (flights to Warsaw are very convenient), get to know each other and begin this amazing journey:)