Savings Circle: an investor-ready MVP for group savings, live in 11 days.

An early-stage US fintech startup building a group savings platform. Members pay a fixed amount each week, and one member takes the whole pot each week, in turns. The founder runs it with no in-house tech team and was preparing a city pilot.

Savings circles run on trust. Usually that means a notebook, a spreadsheet or a group chat. Nobody can see at a glance who has paid, whose turn it is, or who is late. One missed payment or one wrong turn and the whole group argues.

The founder had the full workflow planned on paper. What they didn't have was something real groups could use, and something investors could click through. They needed an MVP: a real, working first version that proves the idea to the people who will fund it, without the cost of a full product.

They also had one hard rule: the app must never hold or move money. It only records, tracks and confirms.

We understood the problem, then picked the platform that fits: a mobile-friendly app that opens from a link on any phone or computer, with no app store wait. The app never touches money, so there was no banking setup to slow the pilot down. Money moves the way each group already pays. The app keeps the record.

It was built as an MVP to show investors, so it covers the whole story from three seats: the member, the group leader and the founder.

• Groups with guardrails. Pick a plan, seats and rotations. The app works out the length and blocks anything over 52 weeks.
• Admin approval. Every new group is reviewed by the founder before anyone is invited.
• Invite and join in a minute. Members get an email, sign up with a code and see their group straight away.
• Automatic payout schedule. The leader sets the order once and every week is planned, with the exact amount each person receives.
• "I've paid" in one tap. Members pay outside the app, enter their reference code and the leader approves. The payout unlocks only when everyone is approved.
• Reminders and late payments handled. Weekly reminder emails go out on their own. A late payment goes to the founder with one tap.

• An MVP investors can click through. Admin, leader and member views the founder can demo end to end, with every rule working: the 52-week limit, admin approval and payouts that stay locked until everyone has paid.
• Ready to pilot with real groups. Real people can join, pay, get approved and be paid out in turn, from a link on their phone.
• Live in 11 days. From signed scope to a working app on its own web address.
• 24 days early. Delivered on 6 October against a 30 October deadline, which gave the founder weeks to prepare the pilot and investor conversations.
• Zero money held. The app only records and confirms payments, so the pilot launched with no banking setup.
• 5 automatic emails. Group review, approval, invites, weekly reminders and late payments go out with nobody sending them.

11 days. Delivered: the phone and web app, admin dashboard and automatic emails.