The Ask
SkyGarden sought assistance in deploying the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) of their m-commerce platform. They required design and technical support to bring their product to market while preparing to build their internal team.
The Observation
For non-technical founders, launching a digital product is challenging due to limited technical knowledge and difficulty managing design and development processes. Building a platform without experience in overseeing developer teams can result in inefficiencies and delays.The Process
- Planning and Ideation
- Conducted a Lean Canvas session to refine the MVP’s focus and features.
- Development
- Merchant Android App: Created using Ionic for the MVP, later transitioned to React Native.
- M-Commerce Website: Developed a mobile-first front end in AngularJs, later ported to ReactJs.
- Backend: Built with Django Oscar for core e-commerce services and Flask for microservices.
- Deployment and Optimization
- Initially deployed on Heroku, later migrated to Microsoft Azure.
- Database transitioned from Postgres to MsSQL during migration.
- Continuous Improvement
- Collaborated with SkyGarden to optimize platform functionality and train their team on managing digital product development.
The Outcome
Over an 11-month collaboration, the following milestones were achieved:
- Developed and launched the MVP merchant app within six weeks, enabling SkyGarden to onboard vendors swiftly.
- Released the first version of the m-commerce website for buyers to make purchases.
- Onboarded approximately 5,700 merchants onto the platform.
- SkyGarden gained significant traction in sales and brand recognition, ultimately securing $1.2 million in seed funding in February 2018.
- The lead developer, James Mwai, transitioned to the SkyGarden team as a Co-founder and CTO, ensuring sustainable growth for the platform.