Some clients come to us with big visions — building large-scale platforms, complete ecosystems, or feature-packed apps. And while ambition is a great start, we often encourage a smarter approach: start small.
Advising clients to begin with a lean, focused Minimum Viable Product (MVP) isn’t just a budget-saving strategy — it’s a proven method for building successful products. Here’s why:
Starting small allows you to test your idea with real users before committing to a full-scale build.
We’ve consulted many clients who dream of launching a massive social network — for friendships, dating, or niche communities. They often imagine millions of users from day one. But in reality, business traction is a bigger challenge than tech scalability.
Big projects come with high complexity, more stakeholders, longer timelines — and more room for things to go wrong.
When building the Educational Video Course App, we agreed to use the simplest tech stack to launch the MVP within 2 months. If the initial version proved valuable, the client could scale later.
🎯 Start simple. Prove it works. Then grow with confidence.
➡️ Smaller scope = easier to manage, less technical debt, and more flexibility.
Launching a small version helps you go live in weeks, not months.
In our F&B mobile and POS solutions, we followed the 80/20 rule — building the core 20% of features that deliver 80% of the value. It helped gather feedback early and guided the next iterations.
🚀 Getting into users’ hands fast builds momentum and validates direction.
➡️ Early feedback can shape smarter roadmaps.
When starting small, you’re forced to clarify: What truly matters to users?
In the F&B software projects, we prioritized features based on direct user needs and early feedback — not assumptions.
🎯 The goal is usefulness, not feature count.
➡️ Eliminate distractions and focus on what delivers value.
Early releases allow teams to learn how users actually behave — not how we assume they will.
Thanks to Agile development, we released updates every 2 weeks for both our F&B software and a digital transformation project for an internal company process. The feedback loop was fast, and priorities became clearer over time.
🧪 Real usage beats theoretical planning.
➡️ Continuous learning leads to better product decisions.
Most clients don’t have unlimited resources. Starting small lets them launch within budget, show results, and justify further investment.
It also creates clear cost structure and scope control, which increases trust and reduces tension.
💡 It’s easier to manage costs and expectations when both are small.
➡️ Scale sustainably, not blindly.
Starting small doesn’t mean thinking small — it means building smart.
At Nextafly, we believe in helping our clients grow with confidence by starting lean, learning fast, and scaling wisely.
As promised, I’d like to share some of the roadblocks we encountered in our journey with the client — despite this being one of our most enjoyable and collaborative projects.
We were fortunate in several ways:
✅ The client had a strong software background, which meant we spoke the same technical language.
✅ English was our common working language — helping to minimize miscommunication.
✅ The business goal was crystal clear: use the educational app to boost tablet sales and introduce a new revenue stream via premium licenses.
✅ And most importantly, the client could make decisions quickly and responded promptly, which accelerated development.
These factors helped us close the deal quickly and get off to a fast start. However, even in the most favorable conditions, roadblocks can emerge. Here are a few that came up — and how we handled them using standard project management practices:
1. Ambiguity in Requirements
“At the start, the specifications were high-level and fragmented. It was hard to design a scalable solution without a clear product roadmap.”
PMP-aligned Solution:
2. Budget Sensitivity
“The client was concerned about escalating costs, especially when scope or features evolved.”
PMP-aligned Solution:
3. Hidden Scope
“What was part of the MVP vs. future releases wasn’t always clearly agreed upon.”
PMP-aligned Solution:
4. Unexpected Technical Constraints
“Low-end devices introduced performance challenges, especially with video streaming.”
PMP-aligned Solution:
5. Trust Gap Re-Emerges
“Even after initial trust was built, bugs or timeline slips created friction, especially with new stakeholders joining.”
PMP-aligned Solution:
🧠 Final Thought
Even the most aligned projects can hit bumps. What matters is how quickly you recognize the friction points, communicate openly, and apply disciplined practices to overcome them. This project taught us that trust isn’t a one-time win — it’s something you re-earn in every sprint.
After delivering the MVP in just 8 weeks, what did we do next?
This is the 2nd part of the previous post. Read the part 1: “How We Launched an Educational App MVP in Just 2 Months — Starting from a Cold Email”.
The MVP wasn’t perfect — like any fast-moving project, there were a few features we hadn’t clearly defined upfront. But thanks to our aligned expectations and a reserved buffer for quick adjustments, we made those refinements smoothly. The client expressed genuine appreciation for our approach.
In a quick chat, I asked him, “What made you feel confident in working with us?” He answered with just three words: Transparent. Responsive. Committed.
These weren’t just compliments — they reflected the values we intentionally built into Nextafly from day one:
Transparency – We treat every project as a partnership. The client is part of our team, with shared goals and open progress tracking. No silos, no hidden agendas.
Responsiveness – Especially in remote collaboration, timely and clear communication is key. Our clients never feel left waiting or in the dark.
Commitment – When we promise something, we deliver. That consistency builds trust — and trust is the real foundation for scaling.
With mutual trust established, the momentum accelerated.
Instead of stopping at the MVP, the client shared longer-term goals. We mapped out a roadmap of new features and kept iterating using agile sprints. Each release made the product more powerful — with added functionality like:
Advanced user profiles
Structured course listings
Learning progress tracking
Course performance analytics
Licensing and user feedback features
By launch, the app had matured into a robust educational platform. Early data showed thousands of views per video, and — even better — the app became a key factor in boosting sales of the client’s tablet product line.
We’re now working together on the next phase of the product’s vision.
Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. There were some roadblocks and tough conversations along the way — especially in the early trust-building phase.
But those are stories for next time. 😉 👉 Stay tuned for Part 3 launched soon.
After launching an MVP in just 8 weeks for a Hong Kong-based tablet company, the real success came from what followed — a long-term partnership built on trust, transparency, and commitment. In this follow-up story, we share how clear communication, agile development, and shared goals helped transform a quick project into a growing product ecosystem. Discover practical lessons for building momentum after MVP and scaling with purpose.
Read the part 1: “How We Launched an Educational App MVP in Just 2 Months — Starting from a Cold Email”.
In the spring of 2023, we received an unexpected email from Hong Kong.
It was from a co-founder of a tablet manufacturing company — someone who had found us online. He was exploring ways to pre-install an educational video app onto his tablets for kids aged 4–10. It was clear he was technically sharp, with solid knowledge of mobile development and cloud services. But as we soon found out, tech skills don’t always equal clarity on the product side.
We quickly set up an Explore meeting — something we always recommend before jumping into requirements. That conversation turned out to be a game changer.
During that call, we uncovered critical needs that hadn’t been mentioned in the initial spec. Things like:
Although the client knew his tech stack (Flutter + Google Cloud), he needed help matching tech decisions to business goals for the long product roadmap and short-term. This is where we added value — not by proposing more tech, but by helping him avoid overbuilding.
We learned this early: clients don’t always know what they really need until they talk it out.
That meeting earned us maybe 50% of his trust.
The other 50%? We had to earn it with a clear, affordable, and fast MVP plan.
We scoped a lean MVP that:
We didn’t just “build what he asked for” — we helped him prioritize what matters and avoid what doesn’t.
With the plan aligned, our team got to work. Each sprint had demos, feedback loops, and flexible scope. Within 2 months, the first version of the educational video app was ready — simple, reliable, and surprisingly engaging for the target audience.
The client was thrilled. And more importantly, now fully trusted us for the next phases.
If you’re a startup, hardware company, or early-stage founder with a small budget — don’t wait until everything is defined. Talk to the right partner early. You’ll save time, money, and avoid painful rework later.