Gearheart.io

As a development partner, we're especially proud to share this news! Congratulations to the entire SmartSuite team, and a special shoutout to Jon Darbyshire, Tara Darbyshire and Peter Novosel. We truly value our years of collaboration. 🚀

AI will disrupt SaaS businesses like the internet and smartphones disrupted media. Earlier, we had big media holdings. TV, radio, newspapers. We consumed news from those sources only. Different sources for different audiences: sports journals, political TV shows, educational channels, etc. Making good content was very expensive and reaching people cost even more. Now we have social media. Phones with 48-megapixel cameras. As a result, millions of micro-influencers. It’s not enough to have a “sports channel” now. No, you have to have a channel focused on one specific team of F1. AI makes development cheaper, lowering the barrier to entry. I predict it won’t be enough to have, for example, a “CRM for agencies.” There will be a CRM for a “10-people Instagram marketing agency from overseas who work with US customers.” A great time for product creators. Rising time for micro and even nano SaaS.

One of the biggest challenges startups face when transitioning from MVP to a market-ready product is poor planning.

Can you build the best B2B SaaS with just any stack? Here's what matters. When developers ask on forums what stack to use for their project, the common advice is, "Go with what you know best." While this is generally true, there are a few important considerations. 1. Some tools are great for the early stages but can become a burden when it’s time to scale. It’s not uncommon for teams to launch an MVP and, after securing investments, discard the first version to rebuild with a more scalable stack that can handle increased load and team growth. This isn’t a failure; it’s part of the process, and it confirms that it’s okay to start with what you know. But as the project grows, you might need to consider migrating. 2 . Not every tool fits every architecture. For example, Strapi can be slow to launch, making it a less-than-ideal choice for serverless environments. Django is better suited for monolithic applications than for microservices. This doesn’t mean Django can’t handle high-load, scalable projects, but it’s important to understand its best use cases and build accordingly. No one can predict exactly where the project will go, so don’t be afraid or embarrassed if you need to pivot along the way. I prefer working with open-source tools that provide transparency into how they work and don’t hide the architecture behind complex abstractions. Sometimes, this means doing more things manually, but the control it gives me is worth it. - Django has an open codebase that I can read and modify. When Django is running in production, I can trace exactly how a request is processed. It doesn’t hide the database or the file system from me; instead, it simplifies working with them. I’ve had numerous moments where, under heavy load, something went wrong, and being able to trace and fix the issue was a huge advantage. - Next.js works well but can be a bit intimidating. It takes my code and does some "magic" with it. While it works well when it works, understanding why something breaks is much harder when it doesn’t behave as expected. - We've done a lot of MVPs with Keystone, but it hides the work with the database from us a bit and strongly imposes its project structure. When the code base grows, it quickly starts to put pressure. - We also work extensively with Node.js. While there isn’t yet a full-stack framework like Django or Rails, it offers many separate tools that allow for the creation of scalable systems. In the end, the right stack is about understanding your project’s long-term needs and selecting tools that can evolve with it. It’s important to stay flexible and ready to adapt as the project progresses.

I have a special pleasure to share this podcast episode and proudly mention it’s powered by Gearheart.io. Thank you, Omer Khan, for another great episode!

Here’s to a merry, bright, and prosperous holiday season for all. Cheers! 🎄

At Gearheart.io, our primary role is to act as a technical co-founder for our clients. But there's more to it. Each engagement is led by a dedicated Project Manager/Business Analyst - this isn't just about task management. It's about understanding our client’s business, providing invaluable insights and owning the client's product roadmap. What i think is the most important? The speed and depth of the team onboarding process when we start the engagement. Across 70+ projects, no two have been the same. Yet, our PM/BA team dedicates dozens of hours to market research for each. They dive into competitor analysis. They review customer interviews. They identify pain points. This preparation allows them to offer strategic business guidance. They shine at answering critical questions like: "We need to launch an MVP in 4 weeks — what can we realistically deliver, and what can wait?" "This feature is important, but how can we simplify it?" "Which part of this scope should we prioritize to start generating revenue quickly?" Here's a latest example: We usually recommend starting with an extensive discovery and project planning phase. But sometimes, we need to dive in immediately. In one recent case, we went from the initial discussion to project kick-off in just two weeks. How? By reallocating part of our team from another project. By conducting discovery and preparing a three-month roadmap during the first two weeks. We worked in a truly agile mode, adjusting the sprints as we progressed. Being a great technical partner isn’t just about coding. It’s about understanding the client’s business, knowing their customers, identifying their real needs. I'm proud of our 13+ years of experience and 70+ successfully delivered projects. These have equipped us with refined frameworks and cross-domain expertise. This enables us to quickly immerse ourselves in our clients’ businesses. This allows us to deliver actionable advice that drives value as fast as possible. Have questions? Shoot!

“You’re the first company trying to save my budget.” I’ve heard this phrase three times in the past month from potential customers — and it got me thinking. Why would someone be surprised that we prioritize their budget? Isn’t that what every software development company should do? Well, not exactly. On the surface, it may seem like every software development company offers the same thing: the ability to build whatever you need at varying price points. But after hearing the same feedback three times in a row, I realized that we are different. One of our key differentiators is our entrepreneurial experience. As serial entrepreneurs ourselves, we understand one crucial fact: development is expensive. And not just expensive — it can burn through your budget faster than you expect. That’s why we don’t just push development. Instead, we focus on giving you every opportunity to avoid it, or at least minimize it: • Use no-code platforms. • Sell your idea first, validate your customer base. • Prioritize customer development before diving into software development. We’re not just selling you a service; we’re invested in your success. Whether that means encouraging no-code solutions for your MVP, or finding cost-effective ways to validate your idea, our goal is simple: help you bring your product to market in the fastest, most efficient way possible. I believe the real win is seeing your startup succeed. Whether it’s through tech we’ve built or the support we’ve provided to get you there — that’s what truly matters. Gearheart.io is not just another development company. We care about your success and understand that spending less can sometimes mean achieving more. If you’re looking for a team that will treat your startup like their own, reach out! We’re always here to chat and help you grow smart, not fast.

Once, during a panel discussion at an event in Silicon Valley, someone asked me, "Where can I meet investors?" I had to laugh a little. I’m from Ukraine, and while there, I managed to raise investments targeting the U.S. market. Let me tell you, that was no small feat! In San Francisco and the Bay Area, the conditions for finding and connecting with investors are ideal. There are countless events where you can meet them - the trick is choosing the right ones from the huge number available. Over the past year, I’ve attended more than 50 events in SF, and I can confidently say that Unicorn Events always stands out for its investor involvement. They consistently have a balanced mix of startups and investors, which is rare. At most events, you’re lucky to find one investor for every 20 startups. So, Viktoriia Stepanenko and Alexander Soroka, thank you for the opportunity for Gearheart.io to sponsor such great events. As I’ve mentioned before, these guys are currently running an amazing series of Unicorn Cup events, where startup founders from around the world compete. The European, Asian, Middle Eastern & African, and California rounds have already happened (as Alexander likes to say, when it comes to startups, California is practically its own continent!). There are two more rounds coming up for Latin and North America, leading to the final, where the top startups from each region will compete. October 25, Unicorn Cup Grand Finale in San Francisco. I’ll drop links to all the upcoming events in the comments. If you’re interested in joining, feel free to reach out to me or register through the links. See you there!

And that’s not all the investors I met at the Unicorn Cup series from Unicorn Events. Each of them is an outstanding expert with an impressive background. Now you know who to reach out 👇 Ari Qayumi - Founder, General & Managing Partner at Mindful Venture Capital. Focus on early-stage B2B and B2B2C tech startups (Pre-Seed, Seed, and select Series A) in infrastructure, healthcare, and financial services. By the way, Ari is one of the most energetic people I've met, with a super clear communication style and a genuine desire to help. Jordan Wahbeh - Managing Partner at SV Venture Group. Investment profile: Late Seed/Series A, Tech sectors, B2B, B2B2C, Post Revenue or at the edge of revenue generation, Improves the Human Condition. I’ve known Jordan for a long time, and he’s honestly the kindest and most supportive person I’ve met in San Francisco. I really admire how he helps startups refine their ideas and his dedication to improving the human condition. Stratos Davlos - Partner at Project Voice Capital Partners, Founder & CEO at AIByte. Focus on AI startups and platforms. Murray Newlands - General Partner Y+ Ventures and Founder at Open Future Forum. Murray invests in early-stage disruptive startups with innovative tech or market-shaping visions. Eugene Malobrodsky - Managing Partner at One Way Ventures. Focus on top founders in B2B SaaS, Cybersecurity, Consumer SaaS, and AI/ML. Valerie Bertele 🚀 - VC | CEO, GP at Yellow Rocks Capital. Focus on early-stage startups, including seed and pre-stages with follow-ons on Series A, in the Future of Work, FinTech, and EdTech. Mitchell Weinstock - Venture Partner at HP Tech Ventures. Focus on Cybersecurity, Edge Computing, Sensors, Robotics, and core computing technologies. Gaurav Manglik - General Partner at WestWave Capital. Investments in market-defining pre-seed, seed, and Series A enterprise startups (Analytics, Cloud, IoT, SaaS, Security). Justin Nam - Co-Founder & General Partner at Story Capital, ex-Investment Director at SoftBank Investment Advisers. Invests in niche categories with innovation potential. Story Capital team has expertise in product development, engineering, GTM, capital allocation and M&A. Serephina Ha - Partner at Global Millennial Capital Ltd., Mentor at MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund Program, Host & Contributing. Investing and partnering with innovative founders in the global technology sector at early and growth stages with access to $100 million of capital. Jon Soberg - Managing Partner at MS&AD Ventures. Focus on financial inclusion, health, risk analysis, security, and climate-related startups. Jules Walker - Managing Director KPMG’s Emerging Technology Practice. Jules leads a team offering Audit, Tax and Advisory services to VC & PE-backed private companies primarily in technology and life sciences. Asher Bond - VC Investor at VU Venture Partners. Focus on Consumer, Enterprise, Fintech, Healthcare, PropTech, and Frontier startups.