From Idea to Launch in Two Weeks
Two weeks ago, a founder came to us with an idea. They wanted a platform for their community—somewhere members could access exclusive content, participate in discussions, and manage their subscriptions. Nothing revolutionary, but it needed to work well and look professional.
Fourteen days later, the platform was live. Real users. Real payments. Real business. This is how we did it.
Day One: Requirements
The first day was entirely about understanding what needed to be built. Not a vague discovery phase—a specific, detailed conversation about features, priorities, and constraints.
The core requirements emerged quickly. User authentication with email and social login. A content library with access controls. Discussion forums for members. Stripe integration for subscription billing. An admin dashboard for managing everything.
By the end of day one, we had a complete specification. Not a hundred-page document—a clear list of what the platform needed to do, how users would interact with it, and what success looked like.
Days Two Through Four: Foundation
With requirements locked, building started immediately. The foundation came from our component library—authentication, database schema, API structure, admin scaffolding. This isn't boilerplate we write fresh each time. It's production-tested code that's been refined across dozens of projects.
By day four, we had a working authentication system, a basic admin interface, and the database structure to support everything else. A traditional agency would still be in the discovery phase.
Days Five Through Eight: Core Features
The middle of the project focused on the features that made this platform unique. The content library needed specific access controls tied to subscription tiers. The discussion forums needed moderation tools. The billing integration needed to handle upgrades, downgrades, and cancellations gracefully.
This is where experience matters. We've built content libraries before. We've built forums before. We've integrated Stripe dozens of times. Each implementation is different, but the patterns are familiar. Problems that would stump a team building these features for the first time are problems we've already solved.
Days Nine Through Eleven: Polish
With core features complete, the focus shifted to polish. The user interface needed refinement—spacing, typography, responsive behaviour on mobile. The admin dashboard needed better reporting. Edge cases needed handling.
This phase often gets cut when projects run over budget and over time. But we build this time into the schedule from the start. Polish isn't optional—it's the difference between software that works and software that feels good to use.
Days Twelve Through Fourteen: Launch
The final three days were about deployment and launch. Setting up production infrastructure. Configuring domains and SSL. Testing payment flows with real cards. Writing documentation for the client team. Training them on the admin interface.
On day fourteen, the platform went live. Not a beta. Not an MVP with asterisks. A complete, production-ready platform that members started using immediately.
Why This Timeline Is Possible
Two weeks sounds aggressive, but it's achievable when you remove the waste that typically bloats software projects.
No committee decisions. When a question arose, we discussed it directly with the founder and made a decision. No scheduling a meeting for next week to discuss options.
No rebuilding solved problems. Authentication, billing, admin interfaces—these are solved problems. We don't reinvent them for each project. We use components that work and customise them for specific needs.
No padding for uncertainty. Traditional agencies add buffer to every estimate because they're uncertain about everything. When you've built similar systems before, you know what takes time and what doesn't.
No feature creep. The specification from day one was the specification we built. New ideas went into a list for version two, not into the current sprint.
What This Means For Your Project
If you have a clear idea of what you need, you can have working software in weeks, not months. The constraint isn't technology—it's clarity.
Come to us with a specific problem and we'll solve it quickly. Come with vague aspirations and the project will take longer, not because we're slow, but because defining requirements takes time.
Ready to move fast? Get in touch with your idea and we'll tell you honestly what's possible and what it costs.