Web Development for Montreal Startups: Building Your MVP on a Budget

Before writing a single line of code or spending money on development, validate that people actually want what you're building. Cheap validation methods: Landing page test: - Build a simple landing page explaining your product ($0-500) - Run Google/Facebook ads to drive traffic ($500-2,000) - Measure conversion rate on "Sign up for early access" - If 5-10%+ of visitors sign up, you have genuine interest Manual service version: - Deliver your service manually before building software - Example: A Montreal food delivery startup delivered orders themselves before building the app - Proves people will pay and reveals what features actually matter Concierge MVP: - Provide the service with human effort behind the scenes - Appear automated to users, but you're doing it manually - Learn exactly what the software needs to do Customer interviews: - Talk to 20-50 potential customers before building - Ask about their current solution and pain points - "Would you pay $X for this?" is less useful than "How are you solving this today?" - Montreal has accessible communities for most markets Smoke test: - Create a waitlist or pre-order campaign - See if people will commit (email, credit card) before the product exists - Cheaper than building the wrong thing Real Montreal example: A B2B SaaS founder spent $1,200 on a landing page and Google Ads, got 200 email signups in 2 weeks, interviewed 30 of them, and validated the problem was real before spending $40,000 on development. The alternative: Build first, then discover no one wants it. Rule of thumb: Spend 5-10% of your development budget on validation. It will save you from building the wrong product.

Minimum Viable Product doesn't mean cheap or broken: What MVP means: - Core value proposition only - Enough to test your hypothesis - Good enough to charge money - Foundation you can build on What MVP doesn't mean: - Buggy, unprofessional software - Missing essential features - Poor user experience - Technical debt disaster For Montreal startups: - Focus on one problem solved well - Polish what you ship - Plan for iteration - Don't over-engineer for scale you don't have Airbnb's first MVP was a simple website with photos of their apartment. It wasn't feature-complete, but it worked.

Your funding situation affects development strategy: Bootstrapping: - Limited budget ($10,000-$50,000) - Need to launch quickly - Revenue-focused from day one - Strategic about every feature Strategy: - No-code/low-code when possible - Template-based initially - Freelancers over agencies - Sweat equity (if technical founder) Fundraised: - More capital ($100,000-$500,000+) - Can invest in foundation - Time to build properly - Still need to ship fast Strategy: - Custom development - Professional agencies - Better architecture upfront - Plan for scale Montreal's funding landscape: - Pre-seed: $50,000-$250,000 (Angel, PME MTL) - Seed: $500,000-$2M (VC firms like Real Ventures) - Series A: $2M-$10M+

Choose technologies that let you move fast: For web applications: - Next.js + Vercel: Fast, scalable, free tier - Ruby on Rails: Rapid development, mature ecosystem - Firebase: Quick backend, authentication included - Supabase: Open-source Firebase alternative For no-code MVPs: - Webflow: Beautiful websites without code - Bubble: Web applications without code - Airtable: Database and interface - Zapier: Connect tools and automate Montreal startup ecosystem: - Strong Node.js/React community - Active Python community (AI/ML startups) - Less Ruby on Rails than previously - Growing Go/Rust for backend Don't choose technology because it's trendy. Choose based on: - Team expertise - Time to market - Cost - Community support in Montreal

Montreal has produced several billion-dollar companies. Learn from their early days: Lightspeed (POS/Commerce - $3B+ valuation): - Started in Montreal 2005 - Built for local retailers initially - Focused on one vertical (retail) before expanding - Lesson: Solve a real problem for a specific market first - Early MVP was basic but solved a critical need Sonder (Hospitality tech - $2B+ at peak): - Montreal-founded 2014 - Started by manually managing properties before building software - Validated unit economics before scaling technology - Lesson: Prove the business model before over-investing in tech AppDirect (Cloud commerce - $1B+ valuation): - Montreal/San Francisco 2009 - Built marketplace platform for cloud services - Started with a few large partners, not thousands - Lesson: Launch with limited scope, expand based on learning Busbud (Travel tech): - Montreal 2011, $50M+ raised - Started aggregating bus tickets in one region - Proved model before going global - Lesson: Regional success before international expansion Common patterns from Montreal unicorns: 1. Started with specific, solvable problem 2. Built MVP quickly (3-6 months) 3. Got paying customers before raising big funding 4. Iterated based on real user feedback 5. Scaled technology after proving business model 6. Leveraged Montreal's lower costs and strong talent These companies didn't start with $100K+ MVPs. They started lean, validated, then invested in scaling. Montreal advantages these companies leveraged: - Lower cost of living (talent willing to work for less equity) - Government R&D tax credits (SR&ED) - Bilingual talent (easier international expansion) - Strong university talent pipeline - Cheaper office space than Toronto/Vancouver/US cities

Options for Montreal startups: Technical co-founder: - Best case: 50/50 equity split - Someone fully invested - Hard to find, harder to choose - Montreal has talent (universities, tech companies) Freelancers: - $75-$150/hour in Montreal - Good for defined projects - Risk of availability issues - Check portfolios carefully Agencies: - $100-$175/hour blended - Professional process - More expensive but lower risk - Some offer startup packages Dev shops: - Fixed-price MVP packages - $30,000-$80,000 typical - 3-4 months delivery - Quality varies widely Offshore teams: - Cheapest option - Communication challenges - Time zone coordination - Quality control difficult - Consider Montreal nearshore (Latin America) as compromise Montreal resources: - FounderFuel: Accelerator program - NEXT Canada: AI-focused - University co-op programs (McGill, Concordia) - Startup weekends for finding co-founders

What MVPs actually cost in Montreal: Minimal MVP ($10,000-$25,000): - No-code tools or template-based - Core features only - Bootstrap design - Freelancer or self-built - 1-2 months - Example: Landing page + Airtable backend + Zapier automation - Suitable for: Validating demand, simple workflows, non-technical founders Solid MVP ($25,000-$60,000): - Custom development - Essential features well-executed - Professional design - Agency or senior freelancer - 3-4 months - Example: Custom React app + Node.js backend + PostgreSQL database - Suitable for: Proven concept, ready to scale, investor-backed Comprehensive MVP ($60,000-$150,000): - Full custom development - Multiple user types (e.g., buyers and sellers) - Payments, authentication, admin dashboard - Mobile responsive or native apps - Professional agency - 4-6 months - Example: Two-sided marketplace with payments, ratings, messaging - Suitable for: Well-funded startups, complex B2B products, marketplaces What's included at each tier: $25K tier includes: - User authentication and accounts - Core workflow (1-2 main features) - Basic design (clean but not custom illustrations) - Responsive web (works on mobile) - Basic admin panel - Email notifications - Hosting setup $60K tier adds: - Payment processing integration - Advanced features (search, filters, recommendations) - Custom design and branding - More user types and permissions - API development - Third-party integrations - More robust admin tools $150K tier adds: - Native mobile apps (iOS + Android) - Complex matching/algorithms - Real-time features (chat, notifications) - Advanced analytics and reporting - Scalable architecture for growth - Comprehensive testing Ongoing costs: - Hosting: $50-$500/month (scales with traffic) - Tools: $100-$500/month (email, analytics, customer support, etc.) - Maintenance: 15-20% of development cost annually ($5K-$30K/year) - Iteration budget: $2,000-$10,000/month for improvements Total first-year cost for $50K MVP: ~$50K (build) + $6K (hosting/tools) + $10K (maintenance) + $30K (iterations) = ~$96K Funding sources: - Personal savings - Friends and family - Angels (Montreal has active angel community - AngelList Montreal) - PME MTL: Up to $150K for Montreal startups (loans + grants) - BDC: Loans for Canadian startups - Government grants (IRAP for R&D, CanExport for international expansion) - Futurpreneur: Up to $60K for entrepreneurs under 40 - Quebec tax credits (SR&ED - get 30-50% of development costs back)

Take advantage of local support: Incubators and accelerators: - FounderFuel: 4-month program, $50K investment, great mentorship - NEXT Canada: For AI/tech startups, $50K grant - Centech: ÉTS-affiliated tech incubator, office space + support - District 3: Concordia's innovation hub, workshops and networking - Notman House: Tech community hub, events and coworking - DMZ Montreal: Ryerson's accelerator expansion to Montreal Funding sources: - PME MTL: Loans up to $150K for Montreal entrepreneurs - Investissement Québec: Provincial support, loans and equity - Real Ventures: Montreal-based VC (seed stage $500K-$2M) - iNovia Capital: Another major Montreal VC - Inovia Capital: Early and growth stage - BDC (Business Development Bank of Canada): Venture capital arm - Anges Québec: Angel investor network - SOQUIJ, Fonds de solidarité FTQ: Quebec-focused funds Government support: - SR&ED tax credits: Get 30-50% of R&D costs back (including salaries) - IRAP (National Research Council): Grants for R&D projects - CanExport: Funding for international expansion - Mitacs: Funding for hiring students/researchers Networking and community: - Startup Fest: Annual conference (July), 5,000+ attendees - Montreal Startup community on Slack (2,000+ members) - FoundersBeta events: Monthly startup founder gatherings - Startup Grind Montreal: Monthly speaker events - Product Hunt Montreal: Product launch events - Various industry-specific meetups (FinTech, AI, SaaS) Talent sources: - McGill, Concordia, UdeM, Polytechnique, ÉTS grads (strong CS programs) - Co-op programs for part-time help ($20-30/hour) - Intern programs (cheaper, motivated talent, government subsidies available) - Shuttered startups (experienced people looking for next thing) - Large tech companies in Montreal (Google, Microsoft, Facebook - experienced talent) Office and coworking: - WeWork: Flexible coworking, multiple Montreal locations - Crew Collective: Beautiful space in Old Montreal (more expensive) - Station Ho.st: Startup-focused, good community - SOHO Coworking: Affordable, multiple locations - Notman House: Tech community focused - Most accelerators include office space Professional services: - Fasken, Osler: Law firms with startup programs - KPMG, Deloitte: Accounting firms with startup packages - Many freelance developers, designers available locally Montreal advantages: - 30-40% cheaper than Toronto/Vancouver - 50-60% cheaper than US cities (SF, NYC, Boston) - Bilingual talent (French/English) for international expansion - Strong AI/ML talent (Yoshua Bengio, MILA) - Government support for tech startups - Multicultural city with international mindset - Quality of life attracts talent at lower salaries Take advantage: A startup in Montreal can achieve 50% more runway than the same startup in SF with the same funding.

Your MVP is live and getting traction. Now what? Signs you're ready to scale: - Consistent user growth (10%+ monthly) - Product-market fit validated (users would be "very disappointed" without your product) - Revenue growing or clear path to monetization - Current architecture can't handle growth - Raised funding or revenue supports investment Don't scale prematurely: - Scaling a product people don't love is expensive failure - Fix retention before adding features - Understand unit economics before spending on growth Scaling strategies: 1. Technical scaling: - Migrate from no-code to custom code when needed - Invest in performance optimization (page speed, API response times) - Implement proper monitoring and alerting - Move from shared hosting to scalable infrastructure - Add caching, CDN, database optimization - Build for reliability (99.9% uptime minimum) 2. Team scaling: - First hire: Full-time developer if you don't have technical co-founder - Second hire: Product-focused role (PM or designer) - Third hire: Fill biggest gap (sales, marketing, or technical) - Montreal hiring: Post on local job boards, tap university programs - Remote: Consider remote developers for specific skills 3. Feature scaling: - Build based on user requests, not assumptions - Focus on features that drive retention or monetization - Say no to most feature requests - Build analytics to understand what users actually do 4. Go-to-market scaling: - Identify your best acquisition channels (organic, paid, partnerships) - Double down on what works, cut what doesn't - For B2B: Sales team becomes essential around $1M ARR - For B2C: Performance marketing and viral growth Montreal scaling resources: - Sales talent: Cheaper than US, good quality - Marketing talent: Strong bilingual marketers - Developer talent: Excellent universities, lower salaries than US - Scale-up funding: Real Ventures, iNovia for Series A+ - Expansion to Toronto: Many Montreal startups expand there for sales - US expansion: Keep engineering in Montreal, open US sales office Common mistake: Scaling infrastructure too early - Your MVP doesn't need to handle 1 million users - Premature optimization wastes time and money - Scale infrastructure when you have the problem (slow app, downtime) Budget for scaling: - Year 1: $50K MVP + $100K operations = $150K total - Year 2: $200K product development + $300K operations + $200K marketing = $700K total - Year 3: $500K product + $800K operations + $500K sales/marketing = $1.8M total Montreal allows you to scale efficiently. A $2M Series A in Montreal goes as far as $3-4M in San Francisco.