Taking a digital legacy platform from idea to a working MVP in two months
About the Client.
Miigen, Library of Life, is a digital legacy platform for preserving and sharing life stories in text, images, and audio, so that milestones and reflections can be passed down across generations. Alongside the storytelling, the platform carries an advertising layer that lets individuals and businesses reach location-specific audiences. Craig came to us at the idea stage, with no existing product to build on.
02
Months from idea to working MVP04
User groups served in one platform65
Screens builtThe decisions that shaped the product
01
Three audiences with opposing needs
Memory creators, people browsing stories, and advertisers all wanted different things from the same platform. Each group got a clearly defined space built around what it came to do.
02
Advertising that does not interrupt the story
The platform needed advertising revenue without cheapening the experience of reading someone's life story. Ad placements, filters, and content layouts went through several rounds of refinement.
03
Built for users of any technical ability
People documenting a lifetime are frequently not the people most comfortable with software. The editor, upload flows, and navigation were designed to be legible on first encounter.
04
Multimedia without clutter
Text, images, and audio in one place usually produces a crowded interface. Category-based organisation and location tagging carry the structure, so the screen stays calm while the content underneath is rich.
Our process that built a scalable solution
Structure before surface
We started with low-fidelity wireframes mapping the structure and the flows for each of the three user groups. With an idea-stage product there is nothing to audit, so this is where the product actually gets decided.
A custom design system
A bespoke design system was built for the platform rather than assembled from components, covering typography, colour, and layout across every section.
Feedback cycles where they mattered
We ran multiple feedback rounds on the parts carrying the most risk: ad placements, content filters, and feed layouts.
Tech stack
What we did
We designed and built the MVP from the idea stage. Memory creators write and publish life stories through a straightforward editor, upload photos and audio, organise memories into categories such as family or travel, and tag them by country, state, and city, with everything stored securely in the cloud. Public users browse a global feed, filter by category and location, and search for specific topics or experiences. Advertisers create image and text campaigns, target them geographically, and manage them from their own dashboard.
Underneath, the platform was built to grow rather than to demonstrate. Laravel carries the backend, MySQL holds the structured data, and Amazon S3 handles media, so photo and audio libraries scale without the platform slowing down.
Result & Impact
Miigen went from an idea with no product behind it to a working MVP in two months, covering all three user groups and the advertising layer in one build. It is currently in beta with a group of testers, and memories are being published through it as intended.
The MVP exists to answer one question, which is whether the concept is worth funding, and Craig is now taking it to investors on that basis. What he has to show them is a secure, scalable platform with the architecture already in place for the features that come next.
Idea-stage MVP frequently asked questions
We only have an idea. Is that enough to start?
Yes. Miigen came to us at the idea stage with nothing built. We start with structure and flows rather than features, because on a product that does not exist yet, agreeing what it is comes before building it.
How do you build one product for several different types of user?
By giving each group its own space rather than one interface with permissions over the top. Miigen serves memory creators, people browsing stories, and advertisers, and each has an interface shaped around what they came to do.
Will the MVP handle growth, or will it need rebuilding?
It is built to grow. Miigen's media sits in Amazon S3 and its structured data in MySQL, so a growing library of photos and audio does not slow the platform down.
Can you build a revenue model into an MVP?
Yes, and it usually needs the most design attention. Miigen's advertising layer had to generate revenue without interrupting people reading life stories.
What do we have at the end that we can take to investors?
A working product rather than a prototype, plus the design system and files behind it.
Do you build mobile apps after the web MVP?
Frequently, and we plan for it during the web build. Miigen's API authentication was put in place specifically so the mobile phase would not start with a rebuild.
We only have an idea. Is that enough to start?
Yes. Miigen came to us at the idea stage with nothing built. We start with structure and flows rather than features, because on a product that does not exist yet, agreeing what it is comes before building it.
Will the MVP handle growth, or will it need rebuilding?
It is built to grow. Miigen's media sits in Amazon S3 and its structured data in MySQL, so a growing library of photos and audio does not slow the platform down.
What do we have at the end that we can take to investors?
A working product rather than a prototype, plus the design system and files behind it.
How do you build one product for several different types of user?
By giving each group its own space rather than one interface with permissions over the top. Miigen serves memory creators, people browsing stories, and advertisers, and each has an interface shaped around what they came to do.
Can you build a revenue model into an MVP?
Yes, and it usually needs the most design attention. Miigen's advertising layer had to generate revenue without interrupting people reading life stories.
Do you build mobile apps after the web MVP?
Frequently, and we plan for it during the web build. Miigen's API authentication was put in place specifically so the mobile phase would not start with a rebuild.
Got an idea that needs building properly?
Tell us what you are building. We will scope it and give you an honest view of the right approach and what it will cost.