Product and scope
User, problem and core flow: what goes in and what stays out.
MVP development for startups: from idea to production
Digitup Studio is a technical studio in Madrid, Spain, that designs and builds MVPs for startups: a working first version used by real users, built on a codebase you won't have to throw away when the product grows. Product and engineering are led directly by the studio's two partners.
In short
- We build your MVP as a web app, an iOS and Android app or a SaaS, live in production with real users.
- It's led directly by the two partners: Stas Nikitin (product, strategy and business) and Anton Zverev (CTO).
- Database, servers, CI/CD, payments, logging and monitoring from day one.
- Projects from €1,000, with delivery from 2 weeks for small scopes.
- Fixed-scope project, flexible payment over 6 or 12 months, or Build & Run with a monthly fee and a buyout option.
- We built Tasaciones.com from scratch, collaborated with The Good Goal in its early stage and took part in building Scouz.
- We work mainly remotely, in English, Spanish or Russian, with clients across Spain and on international projects.
The concept
What is an MVP, and what isn't it?
An MVP (minimum viable product) is the smallest version of your product that real users can use to solve a specific problem, and that tells you whether it's worth building a company around.
The key word is “viable”: software that people use without you sitting next to them, and that produces data. It isn't a clickable mock-up for a meeting, nor a 1.0 with everything you've imagined. It's the minimum cut needed to prove that the problem exists and that someone will use, or pay for, your solution.
| Aspect | Prototype | MVP | Full product |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | Test an interface or a flow before writing code | Validate with real users that the product solves a problem | Scale something that has already proven its value |
| Real users | No, only guided sessions | Yes, a limited group | Yes, every segment |
| Code quality | No code, or throwaway code | Production-grade where it matters, with a reduced scope | Complete, with more testing and automation |
| What you measure | Whether people understand the flow | Usage, repeat use or payment in the core flow | Growth, costs, performance and profitability |
If the risk lies in the user experience, start with a clickable prototype; if it lies in the business, start with a working first version.
Scope of the service
What does an MVP with Digitup include?
Everything it needs to run in production with real users, from scoping to deployment.
UX/UI design
Wireframes, a clickable prototype and screens that let users complete the flow without help.
Web and apps
Web app, SaaS or hybrid iOS and Android app from a single codebase.
Angular / Ionic / TypeScript
Backend and data
APIs, business logic, users and permissions.
Node.js / NestJS / Python / FastAPI / Firebase / PostgreSQL / MongoDB
Payments and integrations
Payments, subscriptions, authentication, email or maps, if the flow needs them.
Stripe / PayPal / Firebase Auth / Mailgun / Google Maps
Production
Servers, automated deployments, logging and monitoring.
VPS / Cloud / Docker / CI/CD
Technical foundation
Why shouldn't you throw away your MVP's code?
Because if the MVP works, you'll be growing on top of it, and rebuilding from scratch costs time and money exactly when you most need to move forward.
When a product takes off, almost nobody stops to rewrite it. Features keep piling up until every change breaks something else. That's why we work from the start with a database, servers, CI/CD, payments, logging, monitoring and security. We cut features, not foundations.
We know this because we've built and run our own products, such as AlisaBot, our platform for building chatbots, so we know what comes after launch: servers that have to keep running, infrastructure costs, payments, support, the App Store, Google Play and SEO.
Who runs it
Who runs your MVP at Digitup?
The two partners, from start to finish. Stas Nikitin, CEO, leads product, strategy and business; Anton Zverev, CTO, leads architecture, development, AI, integrations and infrastructure.
For a non-technical founding team, that means a technology partner accountable for both product and engineering, not a software factory that staffs people by the hour. When a project needs it, we bring in specialists from our network (UX/UI, frontend, backend, DevOps or QA). The team changes with the project; the people in charge don't.
Meet the teamMethod
How do you scope an MVP?
By choosing one type of user, one problem and one core flow that user can complete from start to finish. Everything else goes on a “later” list.
- One type of user: the one with the most urgent problem.
- One problem: the one they already try to solve today, even by hand.
- One core flow: from entry point to result, with no detours.
- One channel: web or app, not both.
- One metric: the signal to continue, change course or stop.
- One “later” list, in writing.
A hypothetical example: a platform that connects tutoring schools with substitute teachers. The MVP needs a school to post a vacancy, a teacher to accept it and both to receive a confirmation. Ratings, chat or automatic invoicing can wait; data security can't.
Timelines
How long does it take to get an MVP to market?
For small, well-defined scopes, delivery starts from 2 weeks. An MVP with several user roles, a back office or integrations needs more phases, and there's no standard number of weeks.
As a reference, a first publishable version of a training app with plans, sessions, a back office and notifications, like 23TopTraining's app for iOS and Android, usually takes two to four months. A small scope and quick decisions shorten time to market; changing the scope halfway through stretches it.
If your MVP is an app, factor in the store review. Apple says it typically reviews 90% of submissions in less than 48 hours, and Google Play notes that, for certain developer accounts, review can take up to seven days, or longer in exceptional cases. A web app doesn't go through that gate.
Investment
How much does it cost to build an MVP?
At Digitup, projects start from €1,000. Each MVP is priced by scope, not from a rate card.
What moves the budget most is how many user types there are (customer, professional, admin), which platforms it runs on, whether it includes payments or subscriptions, which integrations it needs (CRM, calendars, APIs or messaging), whether it uses AI and whether it needs a back office. One user type, one platform and no integrations keep an MVP close to the minimum.
Payment options
How can a startup pay for its MVP?
With three models that build the same software. What changes is how you pay, when it becomes yours and who runs it.
| Model | How you pay | When it's yours | A good fit if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed-scope project | Upfront payment plus agreed milestones | On completion, with the software and access handed over | The scope is defined; lowest total cost |
| Flexible payment | Initial investment, with the rest spread over 6 or 12 months | Once you've finished paying | You want ownership while protecting cash flow |
| Build & Run | Initial fee plus monthly fee; minimum commitment, typically 12 or 24 months | Digitup owns it during the service, with a buyout option defined from day one | You don't want to run the product: hosting, security, support and an evolution allowance are included |
Flexible payment is a payment term, not a delivery deadline. Not every model fits every project: more on how we work with clients.
Platform
Web app, mobile app or both?
To validate an idea, you'd normally start with a single channel: the one your users are on when the problem comes up.
If your users work at a computer or find you through search engines, a web app or a custom SaaS is the short route: it goes live without app stores. If the value depends on the phone (notifications, geolocation, camera or daily use), a hybrid iOS and Android app from a single codebase makes more sense, or a PWA if the stores aren't essential. More on mobile app development.
After launch
What happens after the MVP?
It's time to measure and decide: iterate on the core flow, expand to new users, platforms or integrations, or stop if the data doesn't back it up.
What you learn from real users changes the roadmap, and the MVP is built to iterate: every change ships through CI/CD. You can continue with maintenance and product evolution, move to Build & Run or take it in-house with your own team. If you want to add AI later, see how we integrate AI into real products and processes.
Experience
Which startups have we worked with?
With startups such as The Good Goal, Scouz and Tasaciones.com, and on AI products for education such as Rescrito / Aithor and SacaNota. When we weren't the only team involved, we say so.
At The Good Goal, a sustainability app built around challenges, we collaborated on building the product in its early stage; in its first year, the startup reported more than 60,000 downloads and over 18,000 active users. At Scouz, the app that connects amateur footballers with scouts, we took part in building its hybrid iOS and Android app.
We built Tasaciones.com from scratch: UX/UI, the customer app, assignment of jobs to valuers by area and property type, and the back office.
“Partnering with Digitup on The Good Goal was crucial — we were very early and needed to move faster.” — Nadia De La Fuente, COO of The Good Goal
“Digitup helped us develop the app from scratch — UX, UI and the operational flow of Tasaciones.com.” — Juan Uribarri, co-founder of Tasaciones.com
More reviews on Digitup's Sortlist profile.
Sustainability / Mobile app / Gamification / ESG
Sustainability app with challenges and measurable impact
View project
Sport / Mobile app / Community / Video
App connecting amateur football with scouts
View project
PropTech / Mobile app / UX/UI / Back office
Official property valuations in one click
View project
SaaS / EdTech / Generative AI
AI SaaS platform for academic writing and study tools
View projectFit
When is Digitup a good fit for your MVP, and when isn't it?
We're a good fit when there's a product to build and someone at the startup who makes the decisions.
When we're a good fit
- You've tested the idea with customers and need a version they will actually use.
- Your founding team isn't technical and needs a partner accountable for product and engineering.
- You want to own the code and have a product that grows without being rewritten.
- You'd rather talk to the people who make the technical decisions.
When we're not the right choice
- You want to hire individual developers to work inside your team, without a product brief.
- Your budget is under €1,000 or delivery has to happen in less than 2 weeks.
- An off-the-shelf SaaS, properly configured, is enough (compare custom software and off-the-shelf SaaS).
- The brief is only a campaign, content SEO or branding, with no product to build.
Read next
What else should you look at before you start?
Services that often go hand in hand with an MVP.
Frequently asked questions about MVP development
How much does it cost to build an MVP with Digitup?
At Digitup Studio, projects start from €1,000 and each MVP is quoted by scope, with no rate card. The price depends on what the product has to do, for how many user types, on which platforms (web, iOS, Android) and which systems it connects to. An app, a back office, payments, integrations or AI move it further from the minimum.
How long does it take to launch an MVP?
For small, well-defined scopes, delivery starts from 2 weeks. An MVP with several user roles, a back office, payments or integrations needs more phases, and there's no standard number of weeks. As a reference, a first publishable version of a training app with plans, sessions, a back office and notifications, like 23TopTraining's, usually takes two to four months. If the MVP is an app, also allow time for Apple and Google to review it. A small scope and quick decisions shorten the timeline; changing the scope halfway through stretches it.
Do you work for equity in the startup?
Equity isn't among the engagement models Digitup Studio offers. There are three: a fixed-scope project, with an upfront payment plus milestones; flexible payment, with the investment spread over 6 or 12 months; and Build & Run, with an initial fee, a monthly fee and a buyout option. If cash flow is a concern for your startup, the last two spread the investment over time, and with flexible payment the product is yours once the payments are complete.
Do you hand over the MVP's source code?
Yes, with a fixed-scope project and with flexible payment. With a fixed-scope project, Digitup Studio hands over the software, access and agreed documentation when the project is complete; with flexible payment, the code is handed over once the agreed payments are complete. With Build & Run, Digitup runs the product, the buyout option and its price are defined from the start, and when you buy it you receive the code.
Who owns the product when the project ends?
It depends on the model. With a fixed-scope project, the product belongs to your company once the project is complete; with flexible payment, once the payments are complete. With Build & Run, Digitup owns it for as long as the service runs, and you have a buyout option defined from the start. The model changes payment and ownership, not the quality of the development.
Is it better to start with a no-code tool?
Sometimes, yes. If a no-code tool or a properly configured off-the-shelf SaaS solves the problem without writing software, we'll tell you, and in that case we're not the right choice. A custom MVP pays off when the core flow is what sets your product apart, when you need your own logic, data or integrations, or when you want to keep growing on the same foundation.
Can you be our long-term technology partner?
Yes. After launch, Digitup Studio can continue with maintenance and product evolution, or with Build & Run, which includes hosting, security, support and an evolution allowance. The people in charge are still the two partners, Stas Nikitin and Anton Zverev. If you'd rather run it with your own team, the code and access are handed over according to the model.
Do you help with fundraising?
Fundraising isn't one of Digitup Studio's services: our job is the product and the technology. What we do provide is an MVP in production with real users, usage data from the core flow and a technical foundation ready to grow, so you can show investors a product that works, not just an idea. And if we don't think the idea is worth building in that form, we'll tell you before you invest in it.
Do you publish the app on the App Store and Google Play?
Yes. When the MVP is an app, we publish it on the App Store and Google Play, as we did with 23TopTraining, a hybrid app built with Ionic and Angular. Apple and Google review every app before it goes live, so it's worth allowing time for that. We recommend that the developer accounts are in your company's name. If the stores aren't essential to validate the idea, a web app or a PWA goes live without that review.
Can the MVP include artificial intelligence?
Yes, if AI is part of the value you want to validate. Digitup Studio integrates OpenAI, Gemini, Anthropic, DeepSeek or Perplexity depending on quality, cost, speed, privacy and type of task, and uses the first version to validate responses, costs and real-world usefulness. If AI is the core of the product, we approach it as an AI agent development project.
Do you work with startups outside Spain?
Yes. Digitup Studio is based in Madrid and works mainly remotely, with in-person meetings when the project calls for them. We work with companies in Madrid and across Spain, as well as on international projects, in Spanish, English or Russian depending on the project and the team. Wherever you are, the project is led from start to finish by the two partners, Stas Nikitin and Anton Zverev, and you can start with a 30-minute, no-commitment call with Anton, our CTO.
Have an idea and want to know what its MVP would look like?
Tell us about the problem, the user and what you already know. We'll review the case, propose a technical approach and phases and, if it's a fit, start with a first version. If we don't think it's worth building, we'll tell you.