Skip to main content
Dark gradient background blending black into warm orange and pink hues.

11 Days to Build.
Seconds to Connect.

AI

Quality Assurance

Frontend

Backend

Project Management

Projects
Snapshot

A rapid prototyping engagement to validate a new video-based dating experience.

Client

Early-stage startup (social/dating)

Engagement

Rapid Prototyping Project (RPP)

Product

Web-based video speed-dating app

Timeline

11 days (kick-off → demo)

Outcome

A fully functional PoC covering onboarding, events, matching, timed video sessions, messaging, and admin. All delivered in just 11 days and ready for live testing.

What Defined the Delivery

We focused on delivering a real, end-to-end product within a fixed timeline, using AI-assisted development to move fast while keeping the system stable enough for real users.

Tech & Tooling

Povio monorepo • Product prototype tool connected to our Povio React Template • Povio Admin Template • Robodev (in-house backend AI code generator) • Daily.co for video

Client Briefing

Can we test this idea without spending months on it? Yes — if we focus on building something real. The idea is video-first speed dating. That's a strong fit for Rapid Prototyping. We don't have a PRD or validated UX. Then we'll define the flows as we build. We have 11 days. Let's build end to end.

Challenges
Solved

Tight timelines. Evolving requirements. High expectations. We approached each challenge with a clear focus. Build fast, stay lean, and keep everything testable and scalable.

Designing a Product With No Requirements

Challenge

The client had only a rough concept and an unvalidated prototype.

Solution

We reframed the goal: build just enough real product to run a true experiment. We defined flows around onboarding → events → matching → calls → connections, keeping everything lean and testable.

AI-Accelerated Backend Without Losing Control

Challenge

Generate backend services quickly without creating unmaintainable code.

Solution

We defined OpenAPI contracts for users, events, matches, sessions, and messaging. These contracts powered Robodev, producing the initial services that engineers refined and validated.

QA at Startup Speed

Challenge

Traditional QA cycles wouldn’t fit the timeline.

Solution

QA joined mid-sprint as a collaborative partner. Testing onboarding, event logic, reconnections, permissions, and call transitions in tight feedback loops.

Building End-to-End in Just 11 Days

Challenge

Deliver a functional system: auth → video → messaging → admin—under extreme time constraints.

Solution

We leaned heavily on Povio’s internal tooling:
-Product prototype tool connected to our Povio React Template for instant scaffolding
-Povio monorepo conventions
-Admin template for operational control

These eliminated boilerplate so engineers could focus on logic and polish.

Delivering a Smooth Video Experience

Challenge

Video calls needed to feel effortless, paced, and intuitive.

Solution

-Integrated Daily.co for video
-Added our own timing + session logic
-Surfaced shared interests + icebreakers
-Built a clear transition system (‘extend & end’)

By Day 9, the core matching + calling experience was fully functional.

Our Process
11 Working Days

Day 1

From Prototype to Frontend Foundation (In Parallel With Architecture Setup)

Starting from a rough Figma Make prototype, the team scaffolded the web app using the Povio React Template while frontend and AI engineers built the UI foundation and, in parallel, the backend engineer and project team designed the system architecture to support upcoming product flows.

Day 2

Early Flows Take Shape & Contract Design Begins

The frontend team generated the initial structure: screens, routing, navigation, and shared components, giving the app its first recognizable shape.
In parallel, the backend team drafted the OpenAPI specifications for users, events, matches, sessions, and messaging. These definitions would soon become the source of truth for backend generation.

Day 3-4

From Solidified Contracts to Generated Backend Services

By this stage, the frontend already resembled the emerging product, while the backend team finalized robust OpenAPI contracts to drive large-scale code generation, and our AI tooling engineer used Povio’s in-house generator to produce the first backend services and endpoints, giving the team a runnable foundation aligned with the intended architecture.

Day 4-5

Engineering Review, Integration Points & Refinement

Engineers reviewed and cleaned up the generated code, wired integrations, validated behavior, and ensured all services matched the contract-defined expectations.

Day 6-7

Frontend + Backend Integration & Operational Tooling

With both sides evolving in parallel, the team connected the frontend and backend to get real data flowing through the app.
 We also introduced an admin dashboard using Povio’s internal template, enabling the client to create events, monitor activity, and adjust parameters without developer involvement.

Day 8-9

Bringing Video Speed-Dating to Life

To deliver the core 1:1 video dating experience, we integrated Daily.co across frontend and backend with room creation, permissions, session logic, timed rounds, in-call icebreakers, and clear transitions, enabling by Day 9 a complete end-to-end flow from joining an event to matching, dating, and connecting.

Day 10

QA as a Partner

With the core paths in place, QA joined the loop:
validating onboarding, event joins, matching, and calls
stressing reconnections, permissions, and transitions
collaborating in rapid cycles with frontend and backend for fast fixes.

Day 11

Polish & Demo Readiness

To deliver short, meaningful 1:1 conversations, we integrated Daily.co across frontend and backend with rooms, tokens, permissions, session logic, timed rounds, in-call icebreakers, and clear transitions, enabling by Day 9 a complete end-to-end flow from joining an event to matching, dating, and connecting.

What We
Delivered

The result was a fully functional product, not a demo. Within 11 working days, Povio delivered all the core building blocks required to launch, operate, and evaluate a video speed-dating experience.

Auth & Onboarding

Google sign-in, 18+ gate, profile details, predefined interests.

Post-Call Logic

Feedback, connection opt-ins, simple 1:1 messaging with link blocking.

Events & Matching

Upcoming/live events, waiting room, AV checks, auto-matching into 1:1 sessions.

Admin Dashboard

Client-side operational control of events, users, and system activity.

Timed Video Dates

Daily.co video calls with timers, optional extensions, shared interests, icebreakers, and clear controls.

What We
Learned

Ideas that would normally die in discovery can be tested in weeks, not months.

AI tools don’t replace engineers—they remove the boilerplate, freeing engineers to focus on architecture, UX, and quality.

Our internal monorepo, templates, and backend code generator provide real leverage when timelines and budgets are tight.

In 11 days a fuzzy idea became a real product ready for real users.

“AI-assisted tools like Bolt and Robodev allowed us to move incredibly fast while maintaining strong code quality. What would normally take weeks was delivered in a fraction of the time.

Tadej Rebernjak

Tadej Rebernjak

Product Prototyping Team @ Povio

David RajhLuka HorvatAltin HysaDaša RavterButrint KrasniqiMiloš Jovanov
Black and white photo of a Arnold Schwarzenegger posing shirtless in a gym with weightlifting equipment in the background.

Next Case Study
Pump Club

UI

Backend

UX

DevOps

Quality Assurance

Frontend

Project Management