How Ruby on Rails Can Accelerate MVP Development?

In the race to outshine competitors, B2B companies constantly seek innovative ways to gain an edge. But how can you swiftly validate ideas, attract investors, and gather early market feedback?

The answer lies in developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). An MVP is a product version with just enough features to be usable and provide value to its users. The main purpose of an MVP is to gather feedback and learn from real users before investing a lot of time and resources into building a fully-featured product.

Therefore, by creating an MVP, you can launch a streamlined version of your product, complete with essential features, allowing you to quickly test the market and adapt based on valuable user feedback.

Read our blog, Building a Successful MVP from Scratch: A Guide

Now, the question is: What to look for when choosing MVP technology? With numerous options available, one stands out as a popular and reliable choice: Ruby on Rails.

In this article, we'll talk about how Ruby on Rails can accelerate MVP development for B2B companies and share insights into the companies that trust Ruby on Rails for MVP development.

What is Ruby on Rails?

Ruby on Rails, also known as Rails, is a powerful tool for building websites and web applications. Think of it as a framework that provides a structure and guidelines for organizing the code. Rails is written in Ruby, a programming language known for its simplicity and readability.

It follows a design pattern called Model-View-Controller (MVC), which helps developers keep their code organized and separate different parts of the application. This separation makes it easier to understand and maintain the code in the long run. Additionally, Rails focuses on convention over configuration, making it highly productive and developer-friendly.

As of right now, there are over 5,90,000 live websites on Ruby on Rails, out of which 3,60,000 are in the United States alone.

Introduction to MVP Development with Ruby on Rails: Benefits & What to Look For

A well-executed MVP demonstrates your product's potential, making it more appealing to investors and potential partners. Also, did you know that out of the 30,000 products launched annually, about 95% of them fail?

Therefore, knowing what to look for when choosing MVP technology before you start is vital, for example:

Rapid development

One of the primary benefits of MVP development is that it can help you quickly bring your product to market by focusing on essential features and avoiding unnecessary delays. Ruby on Rails can do that for you with its convention-over-configuration principle, which simplifies the development process by providing a clear and intuitive structure. This allows you to bring your MVP to market quickly.

Rails is often known as “the startup technology” because it allows start-ups to build their MVPs 30% – 40% faster. Shopify is one company that trusts Ruby on Rails for MVP development. They leveraged Ruby on Rails to build a solid foundation for its platform.

With the support and expertise offered by the Rails community, Shopify rapidly launched its MVP and continued to enhance its platform, becoming a prominent player in the e-commerce industry. As of 2023, there are over 2.1 million daily active users on Shopify.

Cost-effectiveness

MVP can also minimize your costs as you only develop the core functionalities, reducing expenses and risks. But why build an MVP with Ruby on Rails? Here's why: MVP development often requires resource constraints, making cost-effectiveness a top priority.

In this case, Ruby on Rails comes to the rescue with its wealth of open-source libraries and tools. By leveraging these pre-built solutions, you can reduce the need for custom software development from scratch, significantly reducing development costs.

Scalability

With an MVP, you can gather feedback from users early on. This can help you to understand their needs and improve your product. Therefore, your MVP needs to be able to handle increasing user demands and evolving business requirements, and Ruby on Rails can help you achieve just that.

Its modular architecture and support for agile development methodologies make it easier to introduce new features, make changes, and scale your product as your user base expands. This scalability ensures that your MVP can grow alongside your business.

The backend of Calendly was built on Rails, using Postgres and Redis for database management, while the front end used HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. This robust tech stack, powered by Rails, has proven to be flexible and reliable for Calendly, accommodating countless changes based on user feedback and new requirements.

As of 2022, Calendly boasts over 10 million active users and has made over $140 million in revenue.

Community support

Ruby on Rails boasts a vibrant community of passionate developers who actively contribute to the framework's improvement. In fact, there are over 5000 people on GitHub contributing to Ruby on Rails. This strong community support adds to the many reasons to choose Ruby on Rails for MVP development.

Compatibility & Integration

In the B2B space, compatibility and integration with other systems and technologies are often essential. Ruby on Rails offers seamless integration capabilities, allowing you to connect your MVP with external services, APIs, and databases.

It supports various data formats, protocols, and third-party libraries, making integrating your product with existing systems or other software components easier.

How Ruby on Rails Can Accelerate MVP Development for B2B Companies

Here's how Ruby on Rails drives MVP development in the B2B ecosystem:

Define your MVP goals

Identify the key features and functionalities that will address the pain points of your target audience and provide them with value. By focusing on the core aspects of your product, you can streamline development efforts and accelerate the time-to-market for your MVP.

Hire experienced Rails developers

Engage with a reputable software development company or hire experienced Rails developers with a deep understanding of the framework. Their expertise will ensure efficient development and adherence to best practices.

Use agile methodologies

Use an iterative approach that allows for frequent feedback loops and continuous improvement. Breaking down the development process into smaller sprints allows you to validate ideas and make necessary adjustments quickly.

For example, Fiverr began its journey with a Ruby on Rails MVP. Co-founders Micha Kaufman and Shai Wininger quickly built a basic web app using Rails, allowing freelancers to offer their services for a fixed fee of $5. As Fiverr gained traction and received user feedback, it expanded its offerings beyond $5 services.

Ensure scalability and performance

While MVP development prioritizes speed, it's crucial to consider scalability and performance from the start. By planning for scalability, you can save time and resources in the long run, ensuring a seamless user experience as your B2B product gains traction.

Integrate testing and quality assurance

Integrate comprehensive testing and quality assurance processes into your development cycle to ensure a stable and reliable MVP. Ruby on Rails provides robust testing frameworks, such as RSpec and Capybara, facilitating automated testing and behavior-driven development.

There are many reasons to choose Ruby on Rails for MVP development. Ruby on Rails offers you a winning combination of speed, flexibility, scalability, security, stability, and more.

By building an MVP with Ruby on Rails, you can swiftly bring your ideas to life, optimize costs, adapt to changing market dynamics, and leverage the power of a strong developer community.

So, why wait? Start building your innovative product today with Rails and witness its impact on the market.