Case Study - From 2-Week MVP to 1000+ Users: Scaling an ESG Platform
I joined Nossa Data as the first hire and delivered a production-ready MVP in 2 weeks. Six weeks later, we scaled to 170+ companies and 1000+ users as the official WDI reporting platform.
- Client
- Nossa Data
- Year
- Service
- MVP Development, AWS Infrastructure, ISO27001
The Challenge
Nossa Data needed to deliver a fully functional MVP to trial users, including Toyota and Vodafone, within just 2 weeks. The platform had to be ready for these companies to start filling out the Workforce Disclosure Initiative (WDI) questionnaire immediately.
Additionally, they had just closed a major deal and needed to scale from pre-MVP to supporting nearly 1,000 users across 170+ companies within 6 weeks.
The pressure was on. No room for error. No time for rewrites.
What I Did
As the first hire at Nossa Data, I led the technical execution from day one:
Week 1-2: MVP Development
- Rewrote the back-end in FastAPI (Python) for speed and maintainability
- Kept the existing PostgreSQL database but optimized queries and indexing
- Built the dashboard UI using Next.js, React, and Tailwind CSS based on Nossa Data's mockups
- Containerized everything with Docker and deployed to AWS ECR
- Hosted front-end and back-end apps on AWS Fargate for auto-scaling
- Handled data migration and AWS ELB switchover with zero downtime
Week 3-4: First Onboarding Wave
- Onboarded the first 8 trial companies onto the platform
- Fixed bugs in real-time as users reported issues
- Simplified the questionnaire UX based on user feedback
Week 5-6: Scaling to Production
- All 170 companies (5-50 users each) were successfully using the platform
- Users provided glowing reviews: "easiest ESG data submission tool on the market"
- Became the official reporting platform for ShareAction's (now Thomson Reuters Foundation's) Workforce Disclosure Initiative
Months 7-24: ISO27001 & Head of Engineering
- Promoted to Head of Engineering
- Led the full ISO27001 security refactor to enable enterprise deals
- Migrated from a single AWS account to a multi-account AWS org with SSO
- Implemented Teleport for strict ACL-based database access
- Used Pulumi (Infrastructure-as-Code) for reproducible, auditable infrastructure
The Tech Stack
- FastAPI (Python)
- React + Next.js
- PostgreSQL (AWS RDS)
- AWS Fargate
- Docker + AWS ECR
- Pulumi (IaC)
- Teleport (Zero Trust Access)
- ISO27001 Compliance
The Results
- MVP to Production
- 2 weeks
- Companies Onboarded
- 170+
- Active Users
- 1000+
- Uptime During Scale
- 100%
Within 2 weeks, the first 8 trial companies were onboarded. Two weeks after that, all 170 companies with 5-50 users each were successfully using the platform.
Nossa Data became the official reporting platform for Thomson Reuters Foundation's WDI, gaining a strong foothold in the ESG reporting space. The MVP launch demonstrated clear value, converting trial users to paid customers who could leverage the WDI data for other ESG reports.
Why It Worked
- High-Velocity Development: I've built MVPs before. I know which corners you can cut and which you can't.
- Agile Process from Day One: Introduced Scrum ceremonies to ensure the team stayed aligned and shipped fast.
- Smooth Migration: Zero downtime during the AWS switchover because I planned for it upfront.
- ISO27001 Ready: Architected the platform with compliance in mind from the start, making the refactor straightforward instead of a full rebuild.
Lessons Learned
Most agencies would've spent week 1 arguing about tech stack. I spent week 1 shipping.
The key to delivering a 2-week MVP isn't cutting quality. It's knowing exactly what to build first. Having been the first engineer three times, I know what "MVP" actually means:
- Build the core workflow (WDI questionnaire submission)
- Skip the admin panel (manually SQL it for now)
- Don't build auth v1 (SSO can wait)
- Do build the data migration script (you'll need it day 1)
This isn't cowboy coding. It's strategic shortcuts backed by 15 years of experience.
Elephant and Rope enabled us to roll out a product that delighted thousands of users, on schedule. They were responsible for various key aspects of our platform, from our core back-end infrastructure to providing technical insight and implementation as we rolled out v1 of dozens of features. While professionally an engineering firm, Elephant and Rope has an eye for design and strength in product, which is key for any early-stage tech start-up.
Want a similar result? If you need to ship an MVP fast or scale an existing platform, book a call to discuss your timeline.