Product discovery services to build your digital product from scratch
We turn an idea into a product that's ready to build: business model, functional scope, a clickable prototype and a phased development quote with time estimates. You decide with evidence before spending on code, and what you pay for discovery is credited toward development.
12 startups in a 100-day challenge · DataLab + Boostart alliance
Quick answer
What do DataLab's product discovery services include?
Product discovery services turn a product idea into a buildable plan before any code is written. DataLab runs four stages (Brief, Discover, Build and Design) and delivers a business model, functional scope, a backlog of user stories, an entity-relationship diagram, a clickable Figma prototype and a phased development quote, from a nearshore team in Bogotá.
The problem
Problems we solve
✕ 01
An idea without a scope
You know the problem you want to solve, but not what to build first, for whom or with which features. Without a scope, every quote is a guess.
✕ 02
Quotes you can't compare
Three vendors send three prices for three different products, because each one imagined a different version of your idea.
✕ 03
Discovering the product by coding it
When business questions get answered in development, every change of direction is paid for in code, weeks and rework.
✕ 04
A pitch with nothing to show
Partners and investors want to understand the problem, the market and the product. A slide deck full of adjectives won't do it.
What's included
What you get with product discovery
Kickoff brief workshop
A 1.5-hour session where you walk us through the opportunity, the idea, its background, competitors and what you know about your users.
Business model document
Problem, business idea, value proposition and vision, plus a review of the industry, a benchmark, global references and a category map.
User research and validation
Market segments, target audience, buyer personas and user interviews to confirm the pain your product solves.
Functional product definition
Features, constraints and priorities: what goes into version one and what can wait for the next release.
Initial user story backlog
Every feature described from the point of view of the person who uses it, ready to estimate and prioritize in development.
Entity-relationship diagram
The product's data model: what information it stores, how it connects and which roles can view or change it.
Wireframes, mockups and a clickable prototype
Figma screens turned into a clickable prototype so you can walk through the flow before development, plus UX/UI evaluation interviews.
Product deck and phased quote
A product presentation you can use in a pitch and a development quote split into phases, with time estimates.
How we work
How we work: product discovery, step by step
1.5-hour session
Brief
Kickoff workshop: you tell us the idea in your head, from the opportunity to what you know about your users and competitors.
Session 1
Discover
A workshop using Design Thinking, Lean Startup and Growth Wheel to pin down three fronts: the idea (problem, value proposition, vision), the market (industry, benchmark, category map) and the users (segments, buyer personas, interviews).
Session 2
Build
We define the product: features, constraints, a user story backlog and an entity-relationship diagram, filtered through five principles: feasibility, scalability, security, cost optimization and flexibility.
Design phase
Design
Wireframes and mockups become a clickable Figma prototype to test usability and navigation before final development.
Wrap-up
Phased quote
We close with a clear development quote, split into phases with time estimates. What you're billed for discovery is credited toward development.
Stage timings are estimates: your project's schedule is set in the proposal.
Case studies
Products that started with discovery
USD 5M+in funding the platform helped raiseEducapitalIn 12 months, DataLab built the SaaS transaction core for Educapital, a Colombian edtech and fintech company that works with schools, covering issuance, payments and portfolio risk. The platform serves 50+ schools, processes 80,000+ successful transactions a month, and helped the company raise more than USD 5 million.600+shopkeepers served+TenderoIn 12 months, DataLab built the core banking system for +Tendero, a Colombian fintech that offers short-term loans to corner-store owners. The system runs weekly-cycle microloans designed around how neighborhood stores actually operate, and has served 600+ shopkeepers and issued more than COP 3 billion in loans.StarkapitalIn 10 months, DataLab built the SaaS core for Starkapital, a Colombian fintech that finances taxis and other public transport vehicles. The platform covers every loan from origination to portfolio management and now handles more than COP 1 billion a month in loan processing.
The team that runs discovery also builds the product: more than 200 technology projects, including fintech cores. Every feature is feasible from day one.
Discovery is your first installment
What you're billed for discovery is credited toward building the product with DataLab. You don't pay twice to explain your business.
A startup-building track record
DataLab and Boostart joined forces to create startups in 100 days: 12 startups, a COP 130 million average investment and COP 2.4 billion in total investment.
Nearshore, in your time zone
Bogotá stays on UTC−5 all year, the same clock as New York in winter, so discovery workshops run live during your business day, over video or in person in Bogotá.
Platforms and tools
Figma
Design Thinking
Lean Startup
Growth Wheel
Scrum
Engagement models
Ways to engage and how pricing works
Short discovery: 2 sessions
Discover and Build in two 1.5- to 2-hour workshops, in person or online, led by a DataLab project lead. You get the business model and the functional definition with an initial backlog.
Full discovery with design
Brief, Discover, Build and Design: adds wireframes, mockups, a clickable Figma prototype, UX/UI evaluation interviews, a product deck and the phased development quote.
Discovery plus development
When you decide to build, the same team develops the product in phases, as an AI MVP or as custom software, and what you paid for discovery is credited toward it.
What drives the cost?
Every proposal is built around your goals, scope and timeline. We send you a detailed quote at no cost.
Format: two Discover and Build sessions, or full discovery including the design phase.
Number of screens in wireframes and mockups, and the prototype's level of fidelity.
Number of user interviews and UX/UI evaluation sessions.
Product complexity: user types, roles, business rules and integrations to define.
Depth of the market analysis: industries, competitors and global references to review.
Whether you also need branding or a communication strategy, which are quoted separately from discovery.
Why start with product discovery instead of code
Building a digital product from scratch carries a risk that never shows up in the quote: building exactly what nobody defined well. When the problem, the user and the scope are discovered during development, every change of direction is paid for in code and in weeks. Product discovery flips that order: first you validate the business idea and define what to build; then you quote it and develop it.
At DataLab, discovery ends with a clear development quote, split into phases with time estimates, on top of a scope you have already approved. From there you can start with AI MVP development to reach the market fast, or with custom software when the product is bigger. And what you're billed for discovery is credited toward development, so it works as your first installment on the build.
Product discovery vs. the two other ways to start
Criterion
Product discovery (DataLab)
Going straight to development
Prototype without strategy
Starting point
Problem, market and users validated in workshops
An idea and a list of features
Screens based on assumptions
What you get
Business model, backlog, entity-relationship diagram, prototype and phased quote
Code from day one, with no documented scope
A clickable design with no business model or data model
Changes of direction
Made on paper and in Figma, while they're cheap
Paid for in code and rework
Found during development, because nobody defined rules or data
Development quote
Phased, with time estimates, and comparable
Open-ended: it grows with every discovery
Hard to estimate without user stories
Useful for a pitch
Yes: a product deck with problem, market and value proposition
Only once there's a product
Shows screens, not the business
Best fit
A new product or an idea that has no scope yet
A known process with a closed scope
Testing only the interface of something already defined
How our software product discovery services work: Discover, Build and Design
Everything starts with the brief, a 1.5-hour kickoff workshop where you walk us through the idea in your head: the opportunity, the background, the competitors and what you know about your users. In Discover we work on three fronts in a workshop format, using Design Thinking, Lean Startup and Growth Wheel: the idea (problem, business idea, value proposition and vision), the market (industry, benchmark, global references and category map) and the users (segments, target audience, buyer personas, interviews and user testing).
In Build we define the product: features, constraints, a user story backlog and an entity-relationship diagram, with five principles filtering every decision: feasibility, scalability, security, cost optimization and flexibility. In Design the scope takes shape in wireframes and mockups that become a clickable Figma prototype, with the same rigor as our UX/UI design work. You may also see it sold as product ideation services; either way, the goal is to learn as much as possible before spending on development.
Nearshore product discovery with products in production to show for it
Educapital started with discovery support before building its platform. DataLab then developed its SaaS transaction core for issuing, payments and portfolio risk, which reached 50+ schools and 80,000+ successful transactions a month, and helped the company raise more than USD 5 million. With +Tendero we ran discovery for the platform and the business model; its weekly-cycle microlending core later reached 600+ shopkeepers and more than COP 3 billion in loans issued.
Starkapital also started with discovery; the platform we built went on to handle more than COP 1 billion a month in loan processing. Our team works from Bogotá on UTC−5 all year, so workshops with US and Latin American companies run live, over video or in person. The method also scales to startup building: DataLab and Boostart joined forces to create startups in 100 days, covering ideation, branding, MVP development, strategy and digital marketing, for a total of 12 startups. It works just as well for a company launching a new service as for a founder with a first idea.
Frequently asked questions
Product discovery: frequently asked questions
01
What is product discovery?
Product discovery is the process of turning an idea into a plan you can build: which problem it solves, for whom, with which features and what it would cost to develop. At DataLab it includes Discover, Build and Design workshops and ends with a clickable prototype and a phased development quote, so you decide with evidence before writing code.
02
What deliverables do I get?
Depending on the format, you receive a business model document, a functional product definition with features and an initial user story backlog, an entity-relationship diagram, wireframes and mockups, a clickable Figma prototype, UX/UI evaluation interviews and a product deck you can use in a pitch. Everything closes with a phased development quote and time estimates.
03
How long does product discovery take?
The short format is two working sessions, Discover and Build, of 1.5 to 2 hours each, in person or online. Full discovery adds the brief and the design phase; for reference, one project with wireframes and mockups of up to 20 screens was planned at 35 business days. These are estimates that depend on the work plan and on how quickly each side responds.
04
Is the discovery fee credited toward development?
Yes. What you're billed for discovery is credited toward developing the product with DataLab, as the first installment of the next phase. Discovery isn't a separate expense but the start of the project, and you reach development with an approved scope, a prioritized backlog and a phased quote you can compare.
05
Can product discovery help me raise investment?
It can help you prepare, but it doesn't guarantee funding. The Discover workshop documents the problem, the market, the value proposition and the vision, and the design phase produces a clickable prototype and a product deck: material you can use in a pitch or a partner presentation. Whether someone invests depends on the business, the team and market timing.
06
What's the difference between product discovery and an MVP?
Discovery defines what to build; the MVP is the first version actually built. In discovery you validate the business model, prioritize features and see the product in a clickable prototype without writing code. The MVP is working software with the minimum features needed to reach the market and learn from real users. You can do both with DataLab, in that order.
07
Why hire a nearshore team for product discovery?
Discovery is conversation-heavy: workshops, interviews and quick decisions. DataLab's team in Bogotá stays on UTC−5 all year, so sessions run live during the US business day instead of overnight. The same team can then design and build the product, with Scrum and an ISO 9001:2015-certified quality system, so nothing gets lost between discovery and development.
08
What do I need to get started?
A clear problem is enough; you don't need a defined product. To kick off we ask for four things: an initial meeting, the project brief, your brand guidelines if you have them and a project lead on your side who can make decisions. DataLab, in turn, assigns a project lead who guides every session.
Tell us which problem you want to solve. We'll schedule the brief, review your idea and propose the discovery format you need, with deliverables and timing.
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