MVP as a Service
I'm doing the challenge "12 startups in 12 months" and I'm considering what to do the next month.
One of the best skills I've learned from this challenge is how to build an MVP quickly… I mean really quickly!
Right now, I can create the first version of a SaaS in a week or so, with these functionalities:
- user authentication (social or magic link)
- payment gateway with Stripe
- subscription model or one-time purchase
- user dashboard and private pages
- billing and invoices
- blog for SEO
- dynamic sitemap
- Google Analytics
- SendGrid and Nodemailer integration
- landing page
- GPT prompt for marketing
...and more.
I'm considering creating a new project about “MVPs as a service”.
Here's how it would work:
⁃ Describe your project as detailed as possible.
⁃ I will create a Minimum Viable Product of your project for you ASAP (less than 2 weeks if possible).
Does this sound interesting to you? 🤔
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The core functionality of any startup idea in my experience is the actual value. What you just mentioned is more about everything except the actual MVP.
I think it makes more sense to offer a product that startup founder can use to get these functionalities and have ability to build on top.
These features are already built... The MVP should be developed in the week I mentioned in my post…
I need just to work on the real MVP
Argh, I misunderstood :)
Then I am afraid founders would see you as a competitor, not a resource. You are basically saying that you can build anything and super fast, all you are lacking is ideas.
But it's a nice way to find co-founders as a CTO, being honest with your expectations on equity from the beginning 🤷♂️
I m going to get paid for the MVP, so the founder has the ownership of the project…
I am not going to be a competitor, I ve got my own business to manage, I just want to make some extra money in my free time 😂
No idea why some people are dismissing this and suggesting you’d be seen as a “competitor”. You’d essentially be hired as a developer. Makes perfect sense and I’m sure there’s a market. Not only that, but there are plenty of companies offering these services. Could be good to niche down further and become a pro at a particular type of startup. Either way best of luck for real
Thanks!!! 🙏🏻 I appreciate it
Good luck! ;)
What framework are you using? I have built a lot of SaaS over the years (90% of them just throwaway fun to scratch an itch) and using Laravel as a framework I could have live everything you listed in a day. By that mean a full day, not 7 hours. Maybe like 15 hours.
I am using Next.js. Yeah the setup of these functionalities will takes me 1 day, the other 13 days are to develop the core of the mvp 😂
Btw I tried Laravel a couple of years ago and I run away lol
I'm curious how many hours a day you work on your first version of a SaaS with all those functionalities and to finish it under a week. I want to be a speedster like you while managing my time properly 😁
It took me 2 months to develop the first version of the boilerplate I am using (and the first SaaS MVP as well).
The second one just 1 month.
The third one 2 weeks 😁
I am lazy, I work 6-8 hours just in the weekdays and rarely in the weekends (just 1 day!)
if working 6-8 hours on a weekend is considered lazy then I better start working harder.😅
The word “rarely” is the key 😁
I think it's a really interesting idea and I'm surprised there's not more services like this. Would you consider doing it on a purely equity basis?
If i like the project why not? 😏
let's chat! would love to pick your brain
linkedin.com/in/stephenarmenti
Sure! I added you on Linkedin 😁
I run something similar at https://www.influencelabs.ca
2 weeks sounds kind of tight for this kind of work. My general rule is to give myself double the time I think it would take me to complete a task so that I can account for new clients, emergencies, and just so that I'm not constantly stressing over deadlines.
I Like your landing
Doing the same here 😂 btw it really depends on the project. Sometimes you can build an mvp in 2 days, sometimes you need an entire month! On avg 2 weeks is ok for a first version
It is a good idea and we tried this with our agency, but everyone has a specific use case. So apart from the core infrastructure (subscriptions, payment etc) getting the logic and UX right take some back forth imo.
This is my main concern… i don’t want to create an agency business, so I need to find a workflow to automate it as much as possible
I love this idea and thought about it in the past. My concern is with deadlines. I mean, will you/your team really finish each MVP in 2 weeks? Will it actually scale? On the other side you say: "Describe your project as detailed as possible", have you think and work in really really specific process? If not, I would recommend start from there and validate with a real customer because one thing is a entrepeneur challenge where you're your own metric and another completly different is a real world customer. Do you know the SMART technique? I think if you and your team can crack the process for a consistent and scalable process this could be a huge success. Maybe some day you could automate the whole process and finally turns into a full suite for MVP-all
Yeah. Completely agree with you… btw I am doing some validation before building it to see if there is a market… if nobody ask me to do it, I won’t 😇
I thing this is a good idea and I might be able to use your services. Have you worked with crypto payments and wallets?
Smart contacts yes, payment and wallet not really tbh…
Share your idea via telegram (https://t.me/riccardolinares) 😎
I was thinking of a similar solution for a while. Probably it would best work as a guide or ebook, or sth of this nature. What you listed here is not an actual MVP, it's a way to do an MVP using tools. And 2 weeks turnaround is quite long for MVP IMO.
Tell that to myself of 3 yrs ago lol
(It took me at least 6 months to launch anything)
That's definitely a good thing to have some kind of "template" project that gives you everything you need.
But there are already some people out there doing exactly this, e.g. check out https://supastarter.dev/.
Yeah I know… but they provide just the “SaaS template” and you have to customize it yourself… I want to target a different audience: who cannot code and is not into tech… i would provide the customization service on top of my own boilerplate
Got it! I'm sure there are people out there who would love such a service. Also, you might want to offer service plans as well, e.g. for regular updates of an app. Because things are not done by just developing the app.
Hey, I believe such solutions already exist in the market, and there are quite a few emerging ones as well. Obviously, it doesn't mean you can't build one. It does mean, however, you'd want to find your differentiation as soon as possible.
It can be business model, tech, UX, and many more. Do you have any thoughts?
Still thinking about it… maybe the option to choose between equity or money? 🤔 idk
good luck
Thanks 🤓
The idea is fantastic, and I believe there are many founders who are seeking a partner like this to validate their ideas at minimal cost.
The question that arises is how much you will charge for developing an MVP. Is there a standard workflow in place?
I would charge something like 500$ for a basic mvp with the option to add features on demand.
…And If i like the project, I can consider also to get paid with some equities lol
What do you think about it?
I've considered doing that too, but with one more 0, lol. Ultimately I abandoned the idea because I don't think I'd enjoy it.
5k? 😏 why not… CHARGE MOREEEEEE
I'm sure there's a market for it. If you're so confident in spinning up an mvp so quickly then where is your website? 😂
Lol… Validate first, create later… doing some biz research 😉