Scaling Startups with Retool: From MVPs to Ready Products

Launching a startup is a challenge – we know. But at every step – from sketching out an MVP to scaling up for the big market launch – the right tools can make all the difference. Retool stands out as one of the best assistants for startups.

Why so? Because it has a special discount program and a strong set of features that can handle almost every hassle of the startup launching process. Well, check it yourself.

The path from a startup concept to a market-ready product is fraught with challenges. That's why the best (and most common) solution is to start development with an MVP. This approach helps companies wisely use limited resources, save money, and prove a business plan for testing products effectively.

What's a good tool for building MVPs and creating apps? Well, most of the time we choose Retool. This low-code platform is able to cut down the time and technical overhead required to get your MVP up and start building internal tools. What else is needed?

Why is Retool beneficial for MVPs?

• Retool's intuitive drag-and-drop interface allows even those with minimal coding expertise to build internal tools and functional interfaces quickly. In the MVP phase, speed is crucial, and using Retool will definitely be your win.
• A wide array of pre-built components helps development teams or business users deploy interactive elements like forms, charts, and tables without starting from scratch. This accelerates the development of powerful internal tools, helps startups minimize manual tasks, and reduces complexity.
• Retool supports integration with a lot of databases and APIs, like MySQL, Microsoft SQL, Rest API, Stripe, Salesforce, and others, which allows startups to ensure that MVPs can be as robust and interconnected as needed.
• Custom internal tools and apps built on Retool are optimized for mobile devices, which is critical for MVPs targeting a wide range of users.
• The tool offers real-time collaboration that allows startups' team members to work closely on the project, speed up internal operations, and make quick decisions.

How can you actually use it?

#1. For rapid prototyping

Startups can apply Retool to demonstrate functional MVPs to potential users and investors, facilitating early feedback and engagement.

#2. For validation of business concepts

It can help you gauge market interest and potential before committing extensive resources, which is especially valuable for early-stage startups.

#3. For cost-effective feature testing

With Retool, you can avoid using extensive developer resources.

#4. For backend simplification

Startups can focus solely on front-end user experience and core features of their internal tools.

#5. For UI/UX design experiments

Retool allows startups to test multiple layouts and designs without extensive re-coding.

Our case study

At Akveo, we tested Retool for one of our clients, a tour operator from Germany.

The company planned to build internal tools to automate the process of creating travel itineraries, but wasn't sure whether Retool would manage it.

We started with a Proof of Concept (PoC), and in just 40 hours, created a flexible and easy-to-use interface with user authentication and an access management system panel. That was exactly what the client needed.

The result was a success, and Retool was considered the main tool to replace the existing system.

After launching an MVP, the real work begins with stages of iteration and improvement. This is where you refine your product based on what your users actually need and want.

Retool could be a good assistant for startups to make the process smoother and faster. It becomes possible thanks to the tools that facilitate rapid adjustments and enhancements.

What can Retool offer for the improvement stage?

• Retool's ability to synchronize with live data ensures that any changes to the database are immediately reflected in the application. That helps early-stage startups maintain the accuracy and relevance of the product as it evolves.
• Retool has integrated version control. This feature facilitates iteration management. Programmers can roll back changes and compare versions when there is such a necessity.
• The platform offers built-in debugging tools that enable developers to identify and fix issues as quickly as possible.
• Retool can automate workflows, which allows repetitive and manual processes to be streamlined. By automating manual tasks, startups can reduce a lot of operational costs.
• Retool keeps detailed logs of events, providing a clear audit that helps teams track changes over time, understand the impact of modifications, and revert them if necessary.

How can you actually use it?

#1. To align your solution with user feedback

Startups can make improvements or resolve issues based on the feedback they receive from users.

#2. To enhance features

It's possible to implement scalable improvements that can grow with the product.

#3. To conduct A/B testing

With Retool, you can easily compare the performance of different versions of your features.

#4. To configure changes dynamically

Startups can adjust settings without deploying new code.

#5. To migrate databases

The platform ensures that database changes do not affect the stability of the app.

When everything is done and the app is well-packed to show it to the world, it's time for one of the most exciting stages of your journey: scaling up.

Here, you need to expand your product's features and reach out to more markets to accommodate your user base.

Retool offers a suite of powerful tools that can help you prepare your solutions for this growth.

In this case, it doesn't matter whether you are building an app for a wide audience or a custom internal tool to automate workflows at your startup. You can ensure that your product scales efficiently, handling increased demand without missing a beat.

What are the core Retool's features for scaling?

• Retool is built on a scalable architecture that can dynamically adjust to handle increasing loads.
• The tool supports integrations with a variety of systems, including modern databases, APIs, and third-party services.
• It provides enterprise-grade security features for your apps and custom internal tools, like role-based access control, audit logs, and compliance with data protection regulations.
• The platform offers a range of tools that help optimize application performance. This is critical in maintaining a smooth user experience during the scaling process.

How can you actually use it?

#1. For handling increased user load

Your apps and custom internal tools will continue to operate efficiently as the user base expands.

#2. For expanding product offerings

You can quickly add and test new features or services as the market demands evolve.

#3. For enhancing data analytics

Early-stage startups can rely on custom dashboards to better understand user behaviors, preferences, and pain points at scale.

#4. For load testing and performance tuning

You can make sure that your product can handle growth in user numbers and transaction volume.

Our case study

We even have a real showcase for you. Our client, a venture fund, implemented Retool to develop a tool integrated with Phantombuster and LinkedIn.

This platform aimed to automate and streamline their lead generation and client acquisition processes, which were previously manual and inefficient.

Our experts joined the project and began to work on the proof of concept. Soon enough, it evolved into a strong platform with more features and integrations, enhancing efficiency and scalability to manage a growing volume of leads.

If you want more details on this case study, check the link here.

But if you already have a project you want to scale alongside your business operations or you need to connect it to third-party services, we will help you find a perfect solution.

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Preparing for Full-Scale Market Entry

Now, it's time to introduce your product to a broader market. Retool is designed to support you in this crucial phase. It can help you prepare the product and manage the operational complexities.

How does Retool equip you for a major market expansion?

• Retool's infrastructure is designed to support large-scale applications reliably. Thanks to the provided features, your application can function without performance deterioration even during spikes in traffic and data volume.
• With Retool’s robust monitoring tools, software development teams can track application performance in real time. It allows them to proactively address issues before they can impact users.
• Retool provides advanced user management tools. They are intended for user segmentation and customization of user experiences. Moreover, they help ensure that data is kept and processed securely and in compliance with regulations.
• Automatic scaling features adjust your application's resources based on real-time demand.

How can you actually use it?

#1. Market expansion

With Retool, you will have a robust product infrastructure that will be able to deal with an expanded market presence.

#2. User experience optimization

You can implement features that enhance user experience, such as personalized dashboards, user analytics, and interactive elements.

#3. Operational automation

Companies can efficiently handle critical operations like billing, user notifications, and other backend processes with Retool.

Retool credits and other special offers for early-stage startups

Retool is committed to helping startups scale efficiently by offering a great support program. When you are ready to move from concept to scale, it will also provide valuable resources to facilitate this growth.

What's in here for you?

• Eligible startups can receive up to $60,000 in Retool credits (100% off coupon) for the first year, enabling them to use Retool's extensive features. Startups can use these free credits for a monthly Team or Business paid plan.
• Participants of the program gain access to powerful tools for building custom internal apps that connect to databases and APIs.
• Besides the Retool credits, eligible startups get access to over $200,000 in additional savings from partners like AWS, Brex, and Segment.
• The program is accessible without the need for a credit card, removing a barrier to entry for many startups that want to become Retool customers.

The offer is designed to be a support system for early-stage startups, offering financial, technical, and learning resources to help them grow.

What companies can participate in this program and get startup credits?

The program is targeted at startups at the earliest stages of their business journey that often have limited resources for organizing their internal processes, automating workflows, and launching their products.

These startups should be bootstrapped, backed by angel investors or debt financing, or have funds from pre-seed, seed, or Series A rounds. It's important that the total amount raised should be less than $10 million, and it should have been received within the last 10 years.

For more details, you can view the full benefits on Retool's website here.

Retool startup projects: Real-life examples

In our article, we've already shared some examples of our cooperation with companies and startups that chose Retool for building internal tools to automate workflows and optimize their processes.

Now, let's take a closer look at the case studies shared by the Retool team.

Avo: Self-serve customer data dashboard

One of the examples is Avo, a data analytics startup. Its goal is to help teams build reliable product metrics. As the company scaled, the team tried to keep engineers focused on core product development and let non-technical teams support a growing customer base.

However, according to the internal processes that were established from the very beginning of the startup journey, only engineers had access to customer data.

As a result, a lot of routine tasks like updating feature flags or configuring the product setups took their valuable time that could be used for performing high-impact work.

To solve this, Avo built an internal customer dashboard with the help of Retool. The tool provided non-technical teams with access to view, edit, and manage customer workspaces.

This allowed the startups' engineers to focus on the core product. According to the company's reports, the introduction of the convenient internal tools that were available to business users helped the team save hundreds of engineering hours.

DoorDash: Automating loyalty with Retool

Today, DoorDash is known as a successful multi-billion-dollar company, but once it was a young startup that was building its processes powered by complex operations from scratch.

To streamline and automate workflows, DoorDash turned to Retool. One key area was their Dasher loyalty program. It rewards delivery partners based on engagement. Previously, its maintenance required internal teams to populate massive spreadsheets, which engineers then used to run scripts.

The process was very slow and error-prone. Moreover, it required a lot of engineering resources.

With Retool, DoorDash created an internal tool that automated this process. The app runs scripts and populates spreadsheets with minimal manual input. All this dramatically reduces the time and effort required.

As a result, operations teams can focus on new projects, while Dashers continue to receive timely rewards for their efforts.

It's interesting that this solution is not the only one created by DoorDash with Retool. In total, they implemented 40+ internal tools to automate workflows with the help of this low-code development platform.

DoorDash shared with the Retool team that the use of the platform helped greatly optimize the time needed for software development. For example, earlier they needed 1-2 months to build internal tools. Now, such tasks can be performed in 30-60 minutes.

Descript: Giving power to non-technical users

Descript is a collaborative audio and video editor. It helps users transcribe, screen record, edit, and publish content with ease.

But as the company scaled, their early internal tools that were built quickly to support growth became bottlenecks. They were manual and inaccessible to the growing number of non-technical team members.

Meanwhile, engineers had a huge overload. Research showed that nearly 40% of engineering time was spent maintaining internal tools. And this was becoming unsustainable.

Non-technical teams needed better workflows, but engineers were too focused on shipping product features to stop and build internal tools that could address the existing needs.

To break the cycle, Descript turned to Retool. With it, the company empowered non-technical employees to build internal tools they needed without waiting for help from software engineers.

This shift removed the trade-off between internal efficiency and customer-facing innovation. Engineers stayed focused on the product, while teams across the company took control of their own workflows.

The bottom line: Why early-stage startups should opt for Retool

Let us briefly summarize why you should consider Retool as a platform to build apps and internal tools for your startup.

• Efficiency. In the startup world, efficiency isn't just nice to have. It's essential for the survival and success of your company. And Retool can help you with it. Offering a comprehensive toolkit, it can fast-track startups' development efforts.
• Optimized development time and costs. With Retool, your early-stage startup can avoid expensive custom builds and reduce technical debt from fragile internal tools.
• Learning resources. Access step-by-step tutorials, documentation, forums, and other helpful learning resources can help companies start their journey with Retool as quickly and seamlessly as possible.
• Retool credits for startups. Eligible startups get up to $60,000 in free Retool credits for using one of the paid plans within the first year.
• Seamless scaling. Retool can successfully grow together with your startup from MVP to Series A and beyond. The platform provides robust integrations and flexibility that are required for the expansion of your business operations.
• Democratization of software development. Non-technical teams can also build and manage tools. The majority of basic features are intuitively clear (moreover, there are quite a lot of learning resources available!). This allows engineers to stay concentrated on shipping core features.

Based on our practical experience of working with startups from different domains, we can recommend you consider Retool as a low-code development platform to address your tech needs.

And we are here to help. Let us know if you need any assistance.

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