Learn, build, scale – the path to your own product

Phase 1: Learning – Start broadly, listen carefully

The classic agency model often starts out that way: a small team takes on various projects for different industries. This is not a mistake – on the contrary. It is a necessary phase in which experience is gained, processes are honed and customer needs are understood.

The key skill in this phase is: curious listening.

Instead of just working through the requirements from a briefing, it's worth talking to customers about their everyday lives:

Where do they lose time? Which tools are annoying? Where do avoidable mistakes occur?

The best product ideas arise from precisely these kinds of conversations. The more industries and projects you know, the higher the chance of discovering a real, unsolved niche problem. And that is worth its weight in gold.

Phase 2: Build – From project to prototype

As soon as a promising problem arises, the next step is to develop a functioning prototype. This usually still happens within a customer project – the solution is not yet universal, but it works.

Now the real work begins: expanding the prototype, adapting it for other customers, gathering feedback, discarding or adding functions.

This phase decides whether the solution can become a product. This is where an understanding of the market emerges: What does the target group really need? Which functions are central, which are optional? What does a sustainable pricing model look like?

This phase can take quite a while. And it is intensive. But those who persevere here win: know-how, reputation – and a solid product.

Phase 3: Scaling – from project to platform

If the solution works for several customers, it is time to change the business model. No more “project work against time” – but “product against recurring revenue”.

The code base is refactored, processes are streamlined, and onboarding is standardized. The goal is to build the product in such a way that it can be delivered without individual customization – or that individual adaptations can be mapped modularly and efficiently.

This is when the real growth begins. Marketing, sales, support – everything is geared towards the product. The service provider becomes a product company.

And this is precisely where the big leverage comes into play: a good product with a high utility value for a clearly defined target group scales – without your team having to double in size.

Whether you are currently in phase 1, 2 or 3, Leadtime is designed to help you transition from a service provider to a product provider. With structured processes, reusable project templates, automated proposal generation and scalable project management, you can move step by step from an individual project to a scalable solution.