Executive Summary
- An insurance-tech startup needed to automate the full lifecycle of issuing and tracking Certificates of Insurance (COI) between clients, brokers, and the NowCerts CRM. Their vision included both an Admin portal and a Company (Subaccount) portal, AI-powered email processing, CRM integration, and approval workflows. Facing a tight timeline and limited resources, they partnered with B8 (OptiSol’s 8-day MVP program) to quickly turn this idea into reality. Using B8’s structured process – combining human experts, GenAI tools, and reusable components – a full-stack prototype was built and delivered in just 8 days. The result was a production-ready MVP (frontend, backend, and deployment) that they could demo to customers and investors immediately.
Challenges
- Complex platform: The MVP had to include an Admin Portal (for internal staff) and a Company Portal (for client companies) with distinct roles and interfaces. Building both from scratch – including dashboards, user management, and data tables – would normally take weeks of development.
- AI-driven automation: The core innovation was an AI-powered email engine. It needed to continuously monitor a dedicated inbox, use OCR and AI to parse certificate request emails, validate data, look up contacts in NowCerts, and trigger automated COI issuance or approval flows. Implementing this reliably is a significant technical challenge.
- CRM integration: The startup needed seamless data sync with the NowCerts insurance CRM. This required custom API connectors to pull clients and broker records and push new certificate data. Ensuring accurate, real-time integration without errors is non-trivial.
- Startup constraints – speed, scope, and cost: As a new venture, they had no in-house dev team and a limited timeline. The founders needed tight scope definition and an affordable solution. They could only spare minimal involvement, so the build partner had to take on “heavy lifting” while keeping development transparent.
Solution: How B8 Solved This
B8’s 8-day build program provided a day-by-day plan, clear deliverables, and expert teams to address each challenge systematically:
Day 1 – Scope & UI Kickoff
- Finalize MVP scope: Admin Portal + Company Portal.
- Map user journeys for both portals.
- Start UI with clickable mockups (core flows: login, dashboard, COI table, notifications).
- Deliverable: Draft clickable mockups.
Day 2 – UI System & Completion
- Update mockups based on scope clarity.
- Finalize UI design system: buttons, forms, tables, alerts, notifications.
- Complete all portal screen designs.
- Deliverable: Finalized UI in Figma (clickable).
Day 3 – Walkthrough & Updates
- Walk through the whole design to the client.
- Collect feedback and apply changes.
- Freeze UI for development handoff.
- Deliverable: Approved design, ready for dev.
Day 4 – Frontend Setup & Static Build
- Developers set up a React project + Supabase scaffolding.
- Convert Figma designs→ React static components (Cursor/Figma-to-code).
- Implement navigation layout (sidebar, header, pages).
- Early review with founders → validates look & feel.
- Deliverable: Clickable static frontend (no backend).
Day 5 – Authentication & Error Handling
- Connect the Supabase project to React.
- Implement user authentication (email/password).
- Add error handling for login/signup.
- Deliverable: Working authentication system.
Day 6 – Portal Features + Workflows
- Admin Portal: Subaccounts & user management.
- Company Portal: COI dashboard, uploads, search.
- Implement email notifications (Supabase triggers).
- Implement approval flows (approve/reject COIs).
- Add push notifications & refine error handling.
- QA test all flows end-to-end.
- Deliverable: Full frontend + backend connected.
Day 7 – Demo & Refinements
- Demo to clients & collect feedback
- Apply refinements: UI tweaks, error messages, approval logic.
- Manual testing:
- Frontend design QA.
- Backend connection (auth, notifications, approval cycle).
- Deliverable: Polished MVP.
Day 8 – Final Testing & Launch
- Conduct final testing (UI + backend + workflows).
- Apply customer feedback for improvements.
- Deliverable: Live MVP, ready for demo.
Impact
The Insurance-Tech startup saw measurable improvements by launching its MVP with B8. What would have taken months with traditional development was reduced to just 8 days, without compromising quality
- 80% faster COI issuance – From days to under an hour
- Reduced manual errors by 85% – Thanks to AI-powered email parsing
- 3x faster time-to-market – Investor-ready MVP in 8 days instead of 3 months
- Cost efficiency – Reusable components cut development effort by ~40%
- Data Sync Reliability, 99% – Real-time integration with NowCerts eliminates duplicate or missing records.
- User Onboarding Time Reduced by 70% – With ready-made dashboards and templates, admins and companies could start using the portals immediately.
| Metric | Before (Manual / Traditional Build) | After ( B8 MVP) |
|---|---|---|
| COI issuance time | 2–3 days (manual review + approval) | Below 1 hour (AI + automation) |
| Error rate in COI data | 15% (due to manual entry) | 2% (AI validation + OCR) |
| Time to build MVP | 10–12 weeks (avg. agency timeline) | 8 days |
| Development cost | Full custom build (high) | 40% savings via reusable templates |
| Founder involvement needed | High (daily coordination, follow-ups) | Minimal (transparent daily updates) |
| CRM sync reliability | 80% (manual upload, prone to errors) | 99% accuracy with API sync |
FAQs About B8
What exactly is B8?
B8 is OptiSol’s rapid MVP development framework designed specifically for startups that need to move fast. Instead of waiting months for a traditional build, B8 helps you launch a functional, production-ready MVP in just 8 days. It combines:
- A proven sprint process (Day 1 scoping → Day 8 launch).
- Reusable assets and templates that significantly reduce development time.
- AI accelerators that handle repetitive or complex automation tasks quickly.
- A dedicated team that manages design, development, and deployment end-to-end.
For a founder, B8 is essentially the “fast track” to go from idea to working product to investor-ready demo in just over a week.
How does B8 deliver an MVP so fast?
Speed comes from structure + accelerators. Unlike traditional agencies that start from scratch, B8 leverages:
- Pre-built UI components like dashboards, logins, tables, and forms. These are polished and tested, so they don’t need to be designed/coded again.
- Plug-and-play API connectors for common CRMs, databases, and third-party tools, so integrations (like NowCerts for TrucZone) don’t take weeks to set up.
- AI-powered automation speeds up tasks such as parsing emails, generating templates, or handling workflows.
- A fixed 8-day timeline where each day has clear milestones, so founders always know what’s happening.
This mix allows B8 to compress weeks of work into days — without compromising quality.
Is the MVP really production-ready in 8 days?
Yes. Many agencies deliver clickable mockups or partial prototypes after weeks. B8 is different: it delivers a functional product deployed for immediate use. For example, TrucZone’s MVP included:
- An Admin Portal for managing companies, brokers, and CRM synchronization.
- A Company Portal for issuing and tracking COIs.
- An AI-powered email automation engine.
- Live integration with the NowCerts CRM.
This MVP was not a simulation — it was a working system that TrucZone could show to investors and test with pilot users from Day 8.
What makes B8 different from hiring a freelancer or a regular agency?
- Speed: Agencies typically take 2–3 months, while freelancers often lack full-stack capability. B8 commits to 8 days end-to-end.
- Transparency: Founders see daily progress, with no hidden timelines or scope creep. You always know what will be delivered.
- One team, all skills: With B8, you get UI/UX, frontend, backend, AI integration, and deployment experts working together. With freelancers, you’d need to coordinate multiple people.
- Reusable assets = cost savings: Instead of building every feature from scratch, B8 applies proven templates and modules, resulting in cost savings. That means higher quality at lower cost.
For founders, this translates into fewer headaches, faster results, and investor confidence.
Who should use B8?
B8 is best suits:
- Startup founders at idea stage who need a tangible product to raise funds or attract early adopters.
- Non-technical founders who have a strong business vision but need the resources to code an MVP themselves.
- Startups validating new features or pivots and needing a quick prototype to test in market.
- Founders under investor or accelerator timelines who must deliver a working product in weeks, not months.
If speed, clarity, and control matter to you, B8 is designed for your journey.
What happens after the 8 days?
At the end of 8 days, you don’t just get a demo — you receive:
- Complete source code (not locked in or dependent on B8).
- Deployment setup so your app is live on the cloud/servers.
- Documentation for future developers.
- A pathway to scale — you can either continue building with B8 or hand over to your own team.
