8 weeks
from idea to MVP
from idea to MVP
product discovery
Trnava / Slovakia
Product discovery
UX/UI design
Product management
Development
Testing
Rootie, a game-changing B2B marketplace for agricultural raw commodities like starch, gluten, and maltodextrin, emerged from the vision of a seasoned industry veteran with over a decade of successful trading experience.
The Sudolabs team helped clients with discovery and idea validation, interviews to find target users, and collecting feedback for improvement. Then we designed and delivered the whole application from scratch in just 2 months. The client is currently in a phase of fundraising.
"Sudolabs impressed us with their unprecedented level of professionalism, which allowed us to fully trust the quality of their software solutions."
Prior to Rootie, the agricultural industry relied on outdated communication methods, leading to lengthy negotiations and a need for more transparency in product availability. The process needed to be reimagined.
At Sudolabs, we balanced client ideas with problem-solving, focusing on tangible issues. Our approach aimed for a comprehensive, user-focused platform. Strategically, we targeted smaller players engaged in frequent, smaller-scale transactions. Transitioning large corporations was challenging due to long-term contracts, so our tactical approach made a significant impact.
As a result, we delivered an extended MVP in just 8 weeks and introduced vital features. Let’s deep dive into our approach.
Our engagement began with a clear goal: to revolutionize the competitive landscape by introducing a unified platform for raw material producers and consumers. This platform aimed to stabilize prices, streamline trading processes, and extend visibility on a pan-European scale.
With close cooperation between the Sudolabs team and Rootie founder, we conducted rigorous product discovery sessions and identified potential challenges, such as time-consuming trading processes, ensuring timely raw material supply, adapting supplier structures for larger companies, and addressing price volatility.
To develop our marketplace product effectively, we collaborated closely with the client to define clear product segmentation. Our in-depth market research not only pinpointed key market players but also uncovered market gaps, offering valuable insights into user needs and aspirations.
As part of our user-centric approach, we conducted interviews with our target audience, revealing critical issues and suggestions that will shape our product's future. These insights allowed us to identify three distinct user personas: suppliers, buyers, and traders.
Moving into the solution space, we began by crafting basic flows for the first Minimum Viable Product (MVP) version. These foundational flows are visualized in the provided image, the 'Opportunity solution tree.' Over time, we gradually incorporated potential features, enabling us to move seamlessly into the design phase.
In the design phase, wireframes aligning with the client's vision were created. We followed a user-centric approach and validated our solutions through interviews, capturing user emotions and daily struggles.
Progressing toward the final product, we conducted extensive research to establish a strong design system. This system played a pivotal role in shaping our branding strategy and the choice of a suitable product name. The journey culminated in the creation of high-fidelity designs and other essential elements.
The app runs on NextJS, which is a full-stack web framework based on the React component library. For data persistency, we used the PostgreSQL database paired with Prisma as ORM, which also takes care of database migrations. GraphQL is used to communicate between the frontend and backend parts of the app (GraphQL Yoga on the backend and Apollo GraphQL on the frontend). For styling we used TailwindCSS which provided great DX.
We also used Locofy (a low-code platform that lets you convert your Figma designs into a live prototype running on code, saving you 80%-90% of your time) to generate the initial code for various pages of the app.
The sellers can list their products on the page, providing the product info, packaging sizes, delivery terms, and other product-related information. For storing this product information specifications we used AWS's S3 storage.
The customers can browse products from the sellers, allowing them to place an order or request a product sample. The sellers can then send back offers, which the users can then accept and an order is created. The users are notified of these changes via email notifications, which Sendgrid handles. The ability to export orders was crucial for the users so we created PDFs with order summaries by utilizing React-pdf.
Before Rootie, the agricultural commodities industry relied on outdated methods like phone calls and emails, leading to lengthy negotiations and a need for more transparency in product availability.
Rootie changed the game by introducing a modern, efficient, and transparent platform. It streamlined communication and made it easier to buy and sell agricultural commodities, providing real-time information on product availability. It was a breath of fresh air for the industry, ushering in a new era of agricultural commodity trading.
Sudolabs worked side by side with clients and delivered this innovative platform, and as a result, we delivered an extended MVP in just 8 weeks and introduced vital features:
Next.js (React.js)
Apollo GraphQL
Tailwind CSS
PostgreSQL
GraphQL Yoga
Sendgrid
AWS S3
44 Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA 94104
