Global IT company Synodus introduced a 3-day delivery model for MVP development, answering emerging questions on how to build fast and attain quality without sacrificing cost.
Combining Lean and Waterfall methodologies, Synodus offers a trust-based partnership that fuels a shared venture. “We take care of technical complexities, while offering peace of mind for startups to explore business opportunities”, shared by Cong Nguyen, CEO of Synodus.
Having completed more than 100 projects in BFSI, Real estate, Healthcare, and Blockchain, this growth-driven mindset helps Synodus establish multiple strategic relationships with startups from ideation to growth stage, lasting for 2 to 3 years on average.
The triangle of every startup
Growing a startup is not an easy task.
On one side, you must move fast. Startups want to be the first mover and validate ideas as quickly as possible. This reduces the risk of failure and also instills confidence in investors by showing that they are moving forward.
On the other, you want to build with quality. A functional MVP increases the chance to attract users and investors. Yet, most startups lack technical experts to ensure that due to challenges in attracting talents. And time spent for product development is stretched.
But there’s a third, where you have to build a viable product without exhausting the limited funds? Being cost-effective allows startups to make more changes without incurring many losses. But under the pressure of time and demand for quality, it requires a certain level of investment.
Startups have different strategies to balance three corners of the triangle. And the quickest road, which has proven to be successful, is outsourcing software development.
Skype outsourced 4 developers from Estonia to build their MVP, while the founders focused on marketing and pitching. Meanwhile, with only $250,000 seed funding, WhatsApp hire an iOS developer from Russia, since this is the only expertise that their team lack.
Is outsourcing truly the way out?
An ODC (Outsourcing development center) offers you diverse talent pool with technical experts to handle project complexities. They are also an immediate relief from budget pressure as you can cut down on the HR costs.
Yet, what used to work yesterday might not be a viable choice today. Cong Nguyen soon realized the limitation of traditional ODC model after over 20 years of experience in building efficient product teams for startups and enterprises.
“Many traditional ODC lack of product mindset and market-specific approach to be a reliable partner for startups. They mostly code as required, not giving consultation on the product’s technical performance”, he shared.
At the same time, their reliance on Agile and Time & Materials payment model, while ensuring an iterative approach, can quickly lead to delayed projects, scope creep, and cost overrun. “Sadly”, Cong added, “many ODC are not fully aware of the time, cost, and quality demand from startups. They won’t be able to support a startup’s growth.”
This urged Synodus to redefine their development model. “Traditional ODC is no longer ideal for startups. And to better serve the market, we leverage a unique hybrid model of Lean startup and Waterfall to deliver fast, maintain control over costs, and seamlessly integrate with our client’s product goals.”
Synodus 3-day-deliver model for MVP development
Quality since discovery phase
On day one, Synodus conducts deep discovery sessions, delving into their client’s unique market, user dynamics, investor needs, and business scope. From there, they actively consult clients and adapt an ideal MVP, rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach.
“In Fintech, we emphasize security compliance and rapid feature validation,” Cong shared, “but in RegTech, we shift to efficient, regulation-compliant workflows that save time and resources.”
This industry-focused mindset sure brings Synodus the advantages in delivering quality for startup. For cost and speed, they propose another idea.
No wasted resources with Lean.
As time is critical, Synodus employs Lean Startup principle.
Based on its Hypothesis-driven development and Data-driven adjustment, they can build an MVP that rapidly iterates ideas with quick testing cycles and constant user feedback loops.
“Every feature is designed as a ‘testable hypothesis’, where we analyze its accordance user data and engagement to assess its impact early on”, Phan Pham, CTO of Synodus, explained, “this is how we minimize waste and ensure product-market fit.”
With Lean, Synodus also strips down MVP development to only the most essential features. They use a Value-first design to classify “what to build” based on a feature’s potential to answer market and user needs. Combining with rapid iterations, your MVP is adaptable yet focuses tight on what matters most.
As lean emphasizes resources optimization, Synodus selectively removes or streamlines roles, such as Project manager and Quality control to eliminate unnecessary costs without compromising delivery. This is how they saved 30% of costs for a KyC/AML development with their RegTech client.
Develop with speed and quality
Moving to an extensive development process on day 2 and day 3, Synodus switched to the Waterfall approach.
“Lean gives us the agility needed for planning phase, but Waterfall comes with a structured process that we can ensure time, quality and budget control”, Pham shared.
“We speed up time-to-market 3 times for a Fintech client by blending Lean and Waterfall. On another case, we quickly wrap up a full-fledged product development in 4 months, which took another ODC 2 years to build with Agile.”
Keeping the budget in check
To connect the last piece of the triangle, Synodus employs a fixed-cost payment model for better cost predictability and management.
“We want to create a reliable development process so that our client can focus more on business-related tasks. The fixed model is the best for this, as it reduces the risk of cost overrun”, Cong Nguyen explained.
“There’s no excuse to stretch the deadline or require additional payment with fixed cost. The model forces our team to optimize internal process to ensure quality and be on time.”
The idea fosters a win-win relationship that sets trust in stone between clients and Synodus. As they prioritize a partnership that boosts long-term growth, the team constantly works towards an alignment to support current goals and future scaling for startups.
“Impressed by our mindset, an entrepreneur has worked with Synodus for 2 consecutive startup projects in Travel and Defi. From strangers we become partners and friends, and this is the support every startup truly deserves.”
Bringing the model into real life.
A National Hospital came to Synodus after their previous vendor failed to deliver within a 28-day timeframe. Using the exact above approach, the team successfully delivered a workable MVP of a Clinical Workflow Application in 3 days.
This MVP focused on three core features including Patient profile management, Appointment scheduling and reminders, and Basic medical documentation. From a solid foundation, the facility can test and iterate if needed, creating the most fitted solutions for their unique process and user demands later.
“Startups need a partner that contributes to their growth, not just hiring coders. And from a fast and effective MVP development process, we offer a tool to validate the market faster and help you find the true market fit”, Cong Nguyen highlighted, “From MVP, we also wish to streamline the idea into a full-fledged product, become a long-term and strategic tech partner for startups and every businesses.”