42%
of startups fail because there is no market need. Usually because the MVP never tested the right thing.
CB Insights, 2024
Products & Platforms
Startup MVPs your early customers can use.
Senior engineers ship your first product, fully wired and on real users, fast enough for the runway and durable enough for the next round. No agency-grade prototypes that die at first contact with real users.
Fast enough for the runway. Built well enough for the next round.
Most MVPs ship one of two ways. Slow, expensive and overbuilt, so you run out of cash before users. Or fast, cheap and disposable, so you raise the round and immediately rebuild from scratch. We ship a third kind. Senior engineers who have launched real products move quickly, pick stacks that scale, and make the architectural decisions that do not bite at series A. You get a working product in weeks, real users in months, and a codebase the next ten engineers can build on.
How we engage
Our way of working with you
What we actually do on every engagement, regardless of stack, model or scope.
- 01Map the real problem
We start with the user, not the feature list.
Workshop with you and, ideally, early users. We map the smallest thing that proves the value, the riskiest assumptions to test first, and the architecture sized for what you actually know today.
- 02Define "good" upfront
Success is measurable before code is written.
We agree on what "MVP launched" means: usage metric, conversion, retention. So six weeks in, we are not arguing about scope; we are measuring.
- 03Work alongside
Senior engineers in your team, not a separate squad.
We work shoulder-to-shoulder with founders, product and your first internal engineers. Knowledge transfers as we build, not in a handover doc at the end.
- 04Ship a narrow slice fast
First working version in users' hands in 4 to 8 weeks.
A narrow, fully functional slice on real users. You see whether the value is real before burning the runway.
- 05Plan our exit from day one
Your team owns it the day we leave.
Documentation, runbooks, CI/CD, observability. Built so your first engineering hire onboards in week one, not month three.
By the numbers
Most startups do not fail at the idea. They fail at the build.
The data behind startup failure rarely shows up in the deck. Most of it is downstream of the same mistakes at MVP stage.
70%
of tech startups fail within 20 months of first funding. Typically when bad architecture meets real users.
Failory, 2023
~2×
longer to get real users for in-house MVPs vs. senior-led builds with established practices.
Codino delivery data
~80%
of post-MVP rebuilds happen within 18 months, driven by architecture decisions made under time pressure.
Industry estimate
What you get
Everything you need to launch, with the architectural decisions that survive scale.
An MVP your early customers can actually use
A working product on real users, not a prototype. Auth, payments, onboarding, the core flow. All of it actually working.
Architecture that scales without rewriting
Stack and structure picked for what you will grow into, not just what you need this month. No "we will fix it after series A" technical debt by default.
Product design alongside engineering
UX, visual design and a real design system. The product looks like it was built by adults, and the next feature does not require redesigning the world.
AI features where they actually help
Smart onboarding support, content generation, search, classification. Integrated where the data and the use case justify it.
Real CI/CD from day one
Automated tests, preview environments, observability and on-call runbooks. So the first incident is not the day you also figure out how to deploy.
A handover your first hires can run with
Architecture docs, code-level documentation, runbooks and onboarding guides. Your seed-round engineering team onboards in days, not months.
Selected work
Recent startup MVPs we built from scratch, and the products they grew into.
Illumie
Illumie is a social network that allows people to share news, articles, music, and videos with friends.
View Case Study
Pathship
Pathship is a real-time learning platform that helps enterprise clients move their business forward. Backed by AI that recognizes how engaged learners are.
View Case StudyWhat Clients say about us
Zach Walker
CEO
"Maciek and his team are amazing. We went to them with our project, wireframes, and deadlines and not only did they stay on track with their deadlines, they provided great insight and knowledge into areas that helped us improve our platform. Highly recommend them!"
Illumie
Todd Gibson
VP of Product
"Working with Codino has been exceptional. Their dedication to our project's success was unparalleled. From meticulous attention to detail to proactive problem-solving, they consistently exceed our expectations."
Pathship
How we deliver
From idea to a product real users use. Phased so each phase delivers value.
- 01
Frame
Founder workshop. We map the user, the assumption being tested, the smallest valuable build. You leave with a scope, a phased plan and a fixed budget envelope.
- 02
Design
Product design on real flows. Architecture decisions, stack choice, data model. All locked in before code is written so nothing gets rebuilt mid-flight.
- 03
Build
Senior engineers shipping fortnightly. Preview environments, real test coverage, working product in your hands every two weeks.
- 04
Launch & operate
Production launch, monitoring, runbooks, on-call handover. We stay through stabilisation and step out clean, or stay on as the engineering team if you prefer.
What changes when an MVP is senior-built
Talk about your MVPReal users use it, not just demo screenshots
Real flows on real data with real auth, real payments and a real onboarding path. The product survives contact with users.
The next round does not require a rewrite
Architecture and code that the series A engineering team can build on, not throw away.
Your engineering hires onboard fast
Documented code, clean architecture, real test coverage. Week-one productivity for the first ten hires.
You make product decisions from data, not from gut
Analytics, event tracking and dashboards built in from launch. So the question "is it working?" has an answer.
Where we build MVPs
Sectors where time-to-real-users and durable architecture both matter, and where junior teams typically pick one or the other.
B2B SaaS
- Multi-tenant foundations with strong isolation
- Self-service signup, billing, onboarding
- In-product analytics from launch
- AI features integrated with customer data
MVP development, explained
Most MVPs run 6 to 10 weeks from kickoff to production launch on real users. Scope drives the timeline; we will be honest at kickoff about what fits in your runway and what does not.
Both options. Most founders prefer fixed-price for the MVP phase with a defined scope, then move to a flexible model once the product is in front of users. We are explicit about scope and trade-offs either way.
Yes, design is in the engagement from day one. Product designer, UX, visual design and a real design system. We do not hand off engineering-built UIs that look like engineering-built UIs.
Your choice. We stay through stabilisation by default, and many founders keep us on as the engineering team through series A. Or we hand over to your in-house hires with documentation, runbooks and onboarding plans.
Yes, and we treat AI features the same as any other product capability: real evaluation, guardrails, cost budgets, observability. Not bolted-on demos.
Why Codino
- Senior-only teams. Every MVP led by engineers who have shipped and operated startup products at scale.
- Architecture that scales. Picked for what you will grow into, not just this month's scope.
- Design and engineering in one team. Products that look as good as they work.
- EU-based with EU data residency and GDPR-compliant delivery by default.
- Honest scope. We tell you what fits in your runway, not what fits in your wishlist.
- Smooth handover. Your first engineering hires onboard in days, not months.
Let's Talk About Your Project
Get In Touch
Maciej Roman|CEO & Co-founder