Nodabl was a performance management platform designed to help companies and teams streamline employee feedback, performance reviews, goal tracking, and professional development. By offering tools that enabled real-time, meaningful feedback, Nodabl sought to replace the outdated, once-a-year review process with ongoing, constructive dialogue, making it easier for teams to grow and achieve their goals.
When Nodabl’s CEO approached GrowthEngine, the platform was still an idea with significant potential but no tangible product. The CEO had successfully closed a seed funding round based solely on his pitch deck, a testament to his vision and ability to attract early-stage investors. However, as is common for non-technical founders, he lacked the technical expertise required to build the product from the ground up. This is where GrowthEngine’s expertise in startup development became invaluable.
At GrowthEngine, we understand that the early stages of a startup are critical, and one of the most important decisions is building the right leadership team to guide the technical execution of the product. Whenever we engage with companies at the idea stage, we always recommend starting with hiring a full-time or fractional Chief Technology Officer (CTO). A CTO provides the technical leadership needed to develop the initial roadmap, make key architectural decisions, and assemble a talented core team. For Nodabl, we helped the CEO hire a fractional CTO, a more cost-effective solution that provided the company with senior technical leadership without the burden of a full-time salary.
The fractional CTO quickly developed an initial technical roadmap and chose the React and Node.js stack for the product, recognizing that this combination would provide the flexibility, scalability, and speed needed for Nodabl’s development. With the core technical direction in place, the next step was to build a team capable of executing the product vision. GrowthEngine worked closely with the CTO to hire two experienced full-stack developers from Latin America, where a combination of top-tier talent and cost-effective pricing allowed Nodabl to maximize its budget.
One of the developers was also given the role of team lead, a decision made to ensure smooth day-to-day operations and communication between the CEO, CTO, and the development team. This team lead was instrumental in helping groom the product roadmap, ensuring that the CEO’s vision was translated into actionable development tasks. He also played a key role in refining features and providing feedback to adjust priorities based on real-time progress.
To expedite development and iterate quickly, the team adopted the Kanban methodology. Kanban’s focus on visualizing workflows and managing work in progress was ideal for the fast-paced nature of Nodabl’s early development. It allowed the team to stay agile, respond to challenges, and make necessary adjustments on the fly. The flexibility of Kanban helped the team launch the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in just six months, an impressive turnaround time for a product built from scratch.
Once the product began to mature, the team transitioned to weekly sprints, which provided a more structured approach to development as Nodabl moved into its next phase. Weekly sprints allowed the team to plan features more carefully, track progress, and make iterative improvements based on user feedback and testing. This shift in methodology reflected the platform's growth from an MVP to a more refined product.
Unfortunately, despite the strong technical foundation and team effort, Nodabl struggled to gain sufficient market traction. After a thorough evaluation of the product’s performance and market conditions, the CEO made the difficult decision to shut down operations. This decision, though tough, is a reality many startups face when they are unable to secure a foothold in a competitive landscape.
While Nodabl’s journey came to an end, GrowthEngine’s relationship with the CEO did not. We continued to support him as he embarked on a new venture, helping him expand his team and providing guidance based on the lessons learned from Nodabl’s development.
In the end,
Nodabl’s story is one of innovation, rapid execution, and adaptability, even if it didn’t result in long-term success. The collaborative efforts between GrowthEngine, the CTO, and the development team demonstrated how a startup can move from idea to product with the right strategy, and while Nodabl may not have achieved its ultimate goal, it laid the groundwork for future successes.
Comments