Compliance
GDPR built into the MVP, not bolted on later
- 01
Compliant from version one
Consent, data-subject rights, and data-minimisation built into the first version, so your MVP does not need a costly compliance retrofit the moment it gets real users.
- 02
EU data residency from day one
EU-region hosting and EU-based sub-processors from your first user, so you can answer a European customer's data-residency question honestly on day one.
- 03
A foundation, not a demo
Real architecture decisions under the MVP, so version two is the same codebase rather than a rewrite once you have traction.
- 04
Investor-ready from the start
A first version solid enough to put in front of European users and investors without apologising for what is under the hood.
Speed only helps if the fast version does not become a liability the moment it works. Here is how we ship one.
We start with a short discovery week. We find the one thing the MVP has to prove and cut the rest. Then we build that slice with GDPR and EU data residency already designed in. You review working software every two weeks. We put it in front of real European users and watch what they do. Their behaviour decides version two, not a roadmap written before launch.
We have shipped this way for founders across Ireland, our deepest market and a hub for EU-headquartered and US-into-EU startups.
Proof
- 35%
- of failed startups cite building something with no market need
- CB Insights, top-cited startup failure reason
- Since 2015
- shipping production software for founders across Ireland and the EU
- RaftLabs delivery record
- 4.9/5
- average client rating across delivered projects
- Clutch, verified reviews
Why us
What working with us actually looks like
A tight, focused first version delivered fast, with working software reviewed live in your time zone every two weeks.
Scope and cost agreed before we start, quoted and invoiced in euros, so your runway is predictable.
GDPR and EU residency designed in, so early traction does not trigger an expensive compliance rebuild.
04Built to scale, not to bin
Architecture decisions that carry into version two, rather than a throwaway demo you rebuild after launch.
Full source code and IP on delivery, so you are never dependent on us to keep building.
The people who scope your MVP build it. No junior bench, no handover to a team you never met.
Before and after
The MVP most founders get versus the one you can build on
The throwaway build- A demo that blocks you laterIt looks good in a pitch. The moment real users arrive, the shortcuts show and progress stalls.
- GDPR bolted on after launchConsent and deletion get retrofitted once an enterprise buyer asks, at real cost and disruption.
- A rewrite for version twoThe quick build cannot carry the next feature, so you pay to build the product twice.
- Data sitting outside the EUYou cannot answer a European customer's data-residency question honestly.
The RaftLabs v1- A v1 that proves demand and survives itThin on scope, real under the hood. It holds up when the first users actually turn up.
- GDPR designed in from version oneConsent, data-subject rights, and data-minimisation ship with the MVP, not after it.
- Version two on the same codebaseArchitecture decisions that carry forward, so the next version extends rather than replaces.
- EU data residency from your first userHosted in Frankfurt, Dublin, or Amsterdam with EU-based sub-processors.
What we build
MVPs we build for European founders
The process
How we build your MVP
01Scope the smallest version that proves the idea
We spend a discovery week pinning down the single thing the MVP has to prove, plus the GDPR and residency requirements around it. Then we quote a fixed price in euros. You approve scope before any code is written, and we say no to features that do not serve the one question.
02Build in two-week milestones
Senior engineers ship working software every two weeks, reviewed live in your time zone. You see the real product, not a status deck, so scope drift gets caught while it is still cheap to fix.
03Get it in front of real users
A first version solid enough for European users and investors, hosted on EU infrastructure. This is where you learn whether the demand is real, before you spend the next round building it out.
04Plan version two from the same codebase
What users actually did decides what comes next. Version two extends the MVP rather than replacing it, and you own the full source code and IP from day one.
We have shipped enough first versions to know how they go wrong. These are the four we scope against from day one.
- Scope creep before launch
- The MVP quietly grows into the full product and never ships. We fix the scope in euros up front and cut anything the first version does not need to prove.
- The compliance retrofit
- GDPR added after real users arrive is expensive and disruptive. We build consent, data-subject access, deletion, and data-minimisation into version one.
- The throwaway prototype
- A demo that cannot carry version two forces a full rewrite. We make real architecture decisions under the MVP so the next version is the same codebase.
- Data-residency surprises
- An EU buyer asks where personal data lives and the honest answer is the US. We default to EU-region hosting and EU sub-processors from your first user.
We have shipped first versions for European users and kept building them. In Dublin, we built branded booking and keyless-entry software for City Break Apartments, where weekly self check-ins grew from fewer than 10 to more than 70. In Ireland, we shipped a receipts-and-rewards platform for Musgrave's SuperValu and Centra that reached 1,062 users in four weeks at 99.9% uptime. We also rebuilt the rewards platform for the utility Energia, which took over 1,100 logins in its first 24 hours. Each shipped to a fixed scope, in the client's time zone, with EU data handling built in.
