From Idea to Funded MVP
How Noreaster acted as fractional CTO and development partner to take Profoundly from a marketplace concept to a product investors said yes to
About Profoundly
Profoundly is a specialized marketplace that connects businesses using HubSpot with certified professionals who can help with everything from simple configurations to complex integrations.
Every provider on the platform is pre-screened, giving companies access to top-tier HubSpot talent without the uncertainty of traditional freelance platforms. The idea was strong—but turning it into a real, working product required the right technical and strategic partner.
The Challenge
The Profoundly founders had a compelling vision for a HubSpot expert marketplace, but faced the challenge every early-stage startup knows: translating an abstract concept into a focused, buildable product plan without wasting time or capital on the wrong things.
- • No existing product architecture or technical foundation
- • No structured process for deciding what to build first—or what to skip entirely
- • Needed to move quickly enough to raise funding before runway ran out
- • Required a two-sided marketplace with expert matching, project postings, and secure communications
They needed more than a development shop. They needed a technical co-pilot who could help them think—and build.
Our Approach
From day one, Noreaster embedded as a fractional CTO and full development partner—not just building what was asked, but helping shape what was worth building in the first place.
Product Strategy & Prioritization
Conducted market research, developed user personas, and built a feature prioritization framework. Critically, Noreaster helped define what not to build—grounding every decision in user value and keeping the scope tight enough to ship.
Architecture & Technical Foundation
Designed the underlying data architecture and recommended key integrations and workflows tailored to the HubSpot ecosystem—decisions that would have been costly to get wrong early and hard to undo later.
MVP Development
Built the platform in Ruby on Rails with iterative testing and feedback sessions throughout. Core features included project postings, expert matching, and secure client-provider communications—everything needed to demonstrate the marketplace's value to users and investors.
Launch & Community Building
Executed a coordinated launch strategy including a social media campaign and a large-scale event bringing together the founding team and early service providers—building the community the two-sided marketplace needed to get off the ground.
Post-Launch Iteration
Continued supporting the platform after launch—monitoring performance, gathering user feedback from real projects, and shipping iterative improvements that expanded capabilities and improved experience for both clients and providers.
The Results
Noreaster's involvement helped turn Profoundly from an idea into a fundable, working business:
Noreaster Group built Profoundly's MVP from the ground up. They didn't just build what we asked for. They acted like true fractional CTOs, providing insights and recommendations about our product architecture and long-term business goals. The product worked, investors could see the vision, and we got the yes we needed.
Jason Azocar
Co-Founder & COO, Profoundly
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