In a very conservative industry with soaring digital disruption and highly demanding customers, we helped launch the first instant digitization platform for physical luxury items. 

A joint Markup Camp and client team began defining what the new company should do, and be. Within the first six months the team had landed on a customer segment to serve, a solution proof-of-concept for the platform, had onboarded key staff; and launched the first version of the platform in several stores in major US cities.  

Our engineers, designers, and business teams worked hand in hand with the client to build the product from the ground up. 

Business challenge 

The client, a freshly-funded startup company, has the vision to create a world in which humans appreciate the items they buy. The future they imagine is that every physical product we own will have a standardized, convenient, and straightforward integration protocol where post-purchase ownership experiences and services can be easily rendered and enjoyed on a mobile device or desktop.  

After their first round of investment, the client needed to quickly scale-up its engineering capabilities while working on refining their solution and laying out the foundation of a successful and sustainable organisation. 

Our solution to strategize, design and build 

After a first 360 discovery, we had a clear vision of the client’s ambition and the market they wanted to serve. We also identified the strengths and weaknesses of the founding team and could align on a high-level plan. 

For an engagement of this nature, we needed a cross-functional team of experts from Markup Camp and the client’s talent to work as one unit towards a common goal. All the while allowing for the founders to focus on their next funding round by optimising the communication and collaboration of the small team. 

In only 6 months the team: 

1. defined the strategy and value proposition for the new platform 

1. designed a new visual identity to differentiate itself, including new colour scheme, typeface, logos, and marketing collateral 

1. built a new product to test product-market fit 

1. built new software and IT systems, using the latest DevOps and agile practices 

1. hired and trained a top-notch team to build and run the new platform after launch 

This use case is proof that with a combination of talent, focus and discipline, even the smallest teams can beat the largest incumbents and disrupt conservative businesses. It pays off when an organization commits to transformation even at its inception every level to build performance inside its DNA. This digital journey has changed the way the whole organisation thinks about product strategy and agile management.