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From Idea to MVP in 90 Days: A Startup’s Product Development Journey with PowerGate Software

For startup founders, time-to-market is everything. The ability to turn an idea into a functional product can be the difference between first-mover advantage and missed opportunity. But building an MVP within a limited timeframe requires more speed. It demands a clear process, the right team structure, and disciplined execution. 

In this article, we break down the exact development progress used by PowerGate to help a startup go from concept to MVP in just three months. From the initial discovery phase to final deployment, this approach demonstrates how lean teams, agile methods, and smart technical decisions can accelerate product delivery, without compromising quality. 

If you’re a founder planning your MVP roadmap, this is the blueprint you’ll want to study. 

The Story: From Setback to Success – How Our Partner Found Its Momentum 

Before partnering with PowerGate Software, our partner, a goal alignment and performance management startup, had already made their first attempt to bring their vision to life. Their in-house team had tried building the mobile app using IONIC 4, but the effort fell short. Facing mounting pressure and a tight timeline, the founders made a bold move: they flew directly to Hanoi to find a trusted technology partner who could get the job done in a fast way. 

That’s when PowerGate stepped in. 

Given the combination of unclear requirements and an extremely strict deadline, we applied our Smart Approach Methodology: first, launch a Discovery Phase to clarify the product vision, user journeys, and key features; then move into the Build Phase with laser focus. 

This approach allowed us to: 

  • Refine the user stories collaboratively 
  • Narrow the scope without losing product value 
  • Prioritize only what was essential for launch 

Within 3 months, PowerGate delivered a clean, intuitive, and fully functional MVP mobile app ready for real users. 

But the journey didn’t stop there. What started as a time-sensitive MVP build evolved into a long-term partnership. Over the next four years, we continued to scale and evolve the platform alongside their internal team, until the day our company partner was acquired by Microsoft. 

It’s a powerful reminder: the right partner doesn’t just build your product, they help shape your outcome. 

Photo 1 

Why PowerGate Software?

Our startup founder partners chose PowerGate for a few key reasons: 

  • Speed to Market: PowerGate offers a rapid kickoff, assembling a dedicated product team in under a week. 
  • Product Ownership Mindset: From Day 1, PowerGate’s team took an active role in shaping the product, not just building what was asked but helping define what should be built. 
  • Startup-Proven Process: With over a hundred MVPs built for startups worldwide, PowerGate brought a battle-tested playbook for lean, agile development. 
  • Transparent Communication: Weekly demos, Slack collaboration, and full access to the dev process ensured full visibility at every stage. 

Phase 1: Discovery & Product Design (Weeks 1–4) 

The journey started with product discovery workshops led by PowerGate’s Product Manager and UX Designer. Together with the founders, they defined: 

  • Core user personas and pain points 
  • Essential MVP features 
  • User flows and wireframes 
  • Long-term product vision (to avoid future rework) 

By the end of Week 4, the team had delivered a complete Figma prototype, a clickable, investor-ready visual of the product. 

Phase 2: Agile Development (Weeks 5–8)

With a clear roadmap in place, the development phase moved swiftly using Agile methodology. The team worked in short sprints with continuous feedback loops to ensure alignment with the product vision. 

Technology Stack: 

  • Backend: Ruby 
  • Frontend: Ionic 4 (cross-platform mobile framework) 
  • Infrastructure: Amazon Web Services (AWS) 

Team Composition: 

  • Software Developers 
  • Project Manager  
  • Quality Assurance/Tester 

This lean and focused team ensures rapid progress while maintaining quality, delivering incremental builds for regular review and user testing. 

Phase 3: Final Touches & Launch (Weeks 9–12) 

The final stretch focused on: 

  • Polishing UX and performance 
  • QA testing and bug fixing 
  • Adding simple analytics and crash reporting 
  • Preparing production deployment with DevOps best practices 

The MVP launched publicly on Day 89, fully functional, user-tested, and ready for early customers. 

Phase 4: Scale-Up Phase (On-going) 

Following the successful MVP release, Ally entered the Scale-Up Phase, transitioning from a functional prototype to a high-performing, enterprise-ready platform. As active users began relying on the product daily, the focus shifted to stability, scalability, and continuous innovation. 

Key Activities: 

  • Maintaining a Live System: With a growing user base and real-time usage across different time zones, ensuring system reliability is critical. PowerGate implemented: 
  • Monitoring with real-time alerts for system anomalies 
  • Automated regression testing to safeguard against feature breakage 
  • Hotfix workflows for quick resolution of live issues without disrupting users 
  • Data backups and disaster recovery plans to protect user data 
  • Feature Expansion: Based on user feedback and market needs, we continuously rolled out new modules. 
  • Architecture Optimization: We restructured parts of the backend for better scalability, shifting towards microservices, and optimizing database performance to handle enterprise workloads. 
  • DevOps & Automation: CI/CD pipelines were implemented, along with infrastructure monitoring and auto-scaling on AWS to support 24/7 uptime and global access. 

PowerGate’s Role: More Than a Development Partner 

What made this journey successful wasn’t just PowerGate’s engineering capability, it was the product mindset applied throughout: 

  • Helping the founders focus on the “must-have” features 
  • Offering UX insights that improved usability 
  • Keeping timelines and priorities crystal clear 
  • Supporting long-term scalability from Day 1 

Photo 2: Caption: PowerGate’s staffs in Hanoi office 

Thinking of Building Your MVP? 

PowerGate has helped hundreds of startups go from idea to MVP with speed, focus, and quality. Whether you’re a founder, a product manager, or a startup investor looking for a reliable tech partner, our team is ready to bring your product to life. 

 Let’s turn your idea into reality – in just 90 days. 

PowerGate Software – Leading Software Product Studio in Vietnam 

PowerGate Software is a global software development company, founded in 2011 and based in Hanoi, Vietnam, with offices in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Australia. We provide full-cycle software development services, including custom software, mobile/web apps, AI, blockchain, cloud, and ERP systems.

  • Contact: +84 24 66 54 22 83 
  • Email: contact@powergatesoftware.com 
  • HO: 6A Floor, C Tower, Central Point, 219 Trung Kinh Str., Cau Giay Dist., Hanoi, Vietnam 

Source: From Idea to MVP in 90 Days: A Startup’s Product Development Journey with PowerGate Software

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