d.labs

🎉 Congratulations to Jamboo App on a Successful Crowdcube Campaign! 🎉 We’re thrilled to celebrate with our partner, Jamboo, as they exceeded their target and successfully raised over £400,000 in their oversubscribed Crowdcube round! 🚀 This milestone marks a huge step forward in their mission to empower the African diaspora with innovative financial solutions. With a vision to bridge financial gaps and unlock opportunities, Jamboo is paving the way for a more inclusive financial ecosystem—one that resonates deeply with communities worldwide. 🌍💸 As their technical partner, d.labs is proud to have supported Jamboo on this journey, and we can’t wait to see how they turn this achievement into impactful progress. Here’s to breaking barriers and building futures together! 💪✨ #CrowdfundingSuccess #Jamboo #FinancialInclusion #AfricanDiaspora #FintechInnovation #DLabsProud

👏 Huge congratulations to CRESS for winning the Sustainability Entrepreneur of the Year Award for North West 2024 at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards! 🌱🎉 Cress is doing remarkable work in sustainability, and we’re thrilled to see their efforts recognized on such a prestigious stage. This award is a testament to their vision and commitment, and we’re grateful to play a part in supporting their journey. Here’s to many more celebrations in the future! 🚀💚

Recently, I read an article (link in comments) claiming that using AI will make you a lousy programmer. Surprisingly, many developers share this sentiment and aren’t trying to incorporate these emerging tools into their workflows. Some see AI as a scheme to replace programmers. But in my experience, companies are integrating AI to enhance productivity, not undermine us. Managing a company with over 100 employees is daunting and comes with huge responsibilities. The world is highly competitive, and running such businesses requires immense effort. Naturally, every optimization is welcomed. There’s a shift with AI happening now, transforming the way we work. Ignoring this won’t help you or your career. With 15+ years in software development and working on impressive projects, I value innovation and efficiency—as all developers should—so I’m puzzled by the pushback AI gets. I embraced AI tools as soon as I could and have been using them since. Now, to address some points from the article: BY USING AI YOU ROB YOURSELF OF LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES Not at all! To use AI tools efficiently, especially in complex environments, you must know what you’re doing. AI can be a learning tool. When I generate code snippets, I review and tweak them, reinforcing my understanding and sometimes learning new, efficient methods. AI can free up time, enabling you to learn more about the technologies you’re working with. SKILLS YOU HAVE MAY ATROPHY Possibly, but is writing a merge function that’s been perfected many times an efficient use of your skills? Letting AI handle repetitive tasks lets us focus on complex challenges requiring our expertise. By reviewing AI-generated code, we continually apply and reinforce our skills. YOU MAY BECOME DEPENDENT ON YOUR EVENTUAL REPLACEMENT I believe AI is here to augment us, not replace us. It’s a tool like any other we’ve adopted. When calculators became widespread, mathematicians focused on advanced problems. Similarly, AI handles mundane tasks, letting us tackle higher-level challenges. YOUR CODE WILL NOT BE RESPECTED Respect comes from delivering value, not from writing every line by hand. In my experience, teams respect developers who solve problems efficiently. Using AI to enhance productivity and ship products faster generates revenue and increases user engagement—undeniably good things. We should take pride in leveraging tools that make us better at our jobs. --- I don’t think AI will replace us, but it has huge potential to change how we work. Those who embrace it and redefine their workflows will thrive; others may be left behind. Embracing AI tools now can position us ahead of the curve, making us more valuable in an ever-evolving industry. In the end, that’s just my opinion; time will tell who’s right. But I wouldn’t ignore this AI shift if I were you. How are you integrating AI into your workflows? What’s your experience been like? #ArtificialIntelligence #SoftwareDevelopment #Innovation #AIInTech #FutureOfWork

I love a good, curated list of effective tools! Keeping the momentum from my last post, here are a few of the 3rd-party services we integrate at d.labs that have become essential for delivering products at scale. All of these are tried and tested in production environments, proving to be reliable and efficient solutions that let us deliver value quickly and consistently. Arc XP This has been one of the most impactful platforms we’ve integrated. It brings powerful editorial tools and a fast, server-side rendered frontend that’s optimized for performance. Arc XP covers the tech side of content needs, giving our clients strong SEO performance and speed, and lets our teams focus on higher-level strategies instead of worrying about publishing tech. Braze An incredible customer engagement platform that integrates smoothly with websites, email, and mobile app notifications. Braze lets us help clients communicate seamlessly across channels so their marketing feels more personal and targeted. Ory Corp A newer user identity and access management platform we’ve started moving clients to. ORY has a great support team and an intuitive feature set that both our developers and clients appreciate. Stripe This one probably needs no introduction. Stripe powers every transaction, reliably handling all payments. It’s a solid go-to for any transaction-heavy setup. Recurly We’ve been using Recurly for years as our main subscription management tool. It’s flexible, well-built, and has worked great for both B2C and B2B subscription products. Typesense Our go-to for building search engines. It’s flexible, customizable, and lightning fast, which means our clients’ users find what they need instantly. Retool Our favorite tool for building complex admin interfaces. Retool makes it easy to create powerful back-end tools quickly, which keeps us agile and responsive to client needs. SheetDB Sometimes, turning a Google Spreadsheet into an API is all you need for a quick, effective solution. SheetDB has let us get admin tools running fast, especially for projects needing quick iterations and flexibility. Hapio Perfect for building scheduling and booking applications quickly. It’s reliable and scales well, which has been a big win for clients who need dependable booking systems. PostHog For product analytics, especially with startups, PostHog has been a solid choice. It’s open-source and gives us the insights we need to understand how users are interacting with products, which helps our clients make informed decisions. Each of these tools has become part of our toolkit because they’re dependable and scalable. What 3rd-party services have become indispensable in your product development? And if you’d like to know more about these tools or discuss custom integrations, let’s connect! #TechTools #ProductDevelopment #CustomerEngagement #Subscriptions #SearchEngine #AdminTools #APIs #Scheduling #ProductAnalytics #SoftwareIntegration

Massive congratulations to Jamboo App for reaching it's target of 340.000 GBP and is now heading into overfunding! 🎉

🌍 Bridging Financial Gaps for the African Diaspora 🌍 Did you know? In 2023, the African diaspora sent over $90 billion back home—nearly double Africa’s foreign direct investment. Yet, many African expatriates still face challenges accessing investments that could transform their families’ futures. That’s where Jamboo App comes in. As their technical partner, d.labs is proud to support Jamboo’s vision of a digital financial platform that breaks down economic barriers. With seamless banking between the UK and Africa, Jamboo is here to offer secure, transparent, and accessible financial services tailored to the needs of African expats. 📈 Jamboo sees a $2 billion serviceable market ready for inclusive solutions that don’t just facilitate transactions but empower aspirations. With revenue from transaction fees, account management, and tailored investment offerings, Jamboo is paving the way for meaningful, lasting impact. Jamboo’s mission goes beyond banking—it's about enabling wealth, creating opportunity, and supporting millions who send money home every day. If you share this vision, check out their campaign on Crowdcube for more details and risk disclosures. Let’s help drive a more inclusive financial ecosystem. 🌍💸 👉 Link to campaign: https://lnkd.in/eQE9ZRzF #financialinclusion #AfricanDiaspora #fintech #Jamboo #innovation #investment *Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 minutes to learn more: bit.ly/3u8ZTH0

There's nothing more rewarding than hearing from clients who feel we’ve delivered above and beyond: “...this is the best partnership I’ve had in my couple of decades from a digital team…” “...you’ve exceeded my expectations. We have a great working relationship. The team is ahead on schedule, they get it, and they’re fantastic…” At d.labs, we aim to be more than just a vendor—we’re here to be true partners in every sense. It’s a privilege to work with clients who push us to excel, and it’s humbling to see this commitment resonate in the relationships we build. Here’s to more impactful partnerships and raising the bar on what’s possible together! 🏆 #DigitalInnovation #ClientSuccess #Partnerships #BeyondExpectations

Smart tech choices can be the difference between staying ahead of the competition or getting left behind. At d.labs, we’ve seen how the right technology not only reduces costs but enables teams to stay laser-focused on delivering maximum value to their customers. 🌍 SaaS solutions have revolutionized the playing field. Smaller companies and teams now have access to world-class services, enabling them to compete with far larger businesses. With tools that are ready to integrate, companies can go from concept to execution quickly and at a fraction of the cost that custom development would require. 🚀 We’ve seen this firsthand with clients where large competitors had significant resources at their disposal. But with the right product, team, and tech stack, our clients not only competed but outperformed those larger companies, staying leaders in their fields. 💡 However, it’s essential to be mindful of the potential traps of vendor lock-in. SaaS pricing models can change drastically over time, straining your business. That’s why it’s critical to build your systems in a modular way, allowing you to switch integrations without heavy disruption. Over the past two years, we’ve switched three major systems (newsletter services, user identity, and a search database), saving thousands of euros each month. 📊 According to recent research, SaaS adoption has grown by over 30% in startups, largely due to the reduced cost barriers and ease of integration. It’s proof that smart tech investments drive growth and agility. When selecting your tech stack, choose wisely, build modularly, and ensure you’re investing in flexibility and long-term sustainability. #TechInvestment #SaaS #StartupTips #Scalability #ModularTech #EconomyOfScale #TechStrategy

It was an absolute pleasure to be part of the Arc XP Connect event in London, surrounded by such a dynamic community of innovators. 🚀 We’re proud to collaborate with the Arc XP team, our partners, and clients, all of whom are pushing the boundaries of media innovation and technology. 🌍 A huge shoutout to everyone who contributed to this inspiring event — it’s a privilege to be in the room with those shaping the future of media. Here's to many more shared successes! #media #innovation #partners #tech #ArcXP #dlabs

Ever make a decision too fast and later think, “Why did we do that?” That was me a few years back, before we had a product-market fit. We launched a new feature, thinking it was essential. Guess what happened? Nothing. Nothing. Customers didn’t touch it. But it wasn’t a problem at the time —it was accounted for. We were a team with a healthy balance of working off of our instincts, evidence and data. It got me thinking: Were we discovering what customers really needed? As it turned out, we weren’t. See, I didn’t know at the time, but I started doing product discovery (never heard of the term before) and it seemed like a complicated thing to fold into our product process. Now, I realise it’s straightforward. You start with feedback—grab it from wherever you can (be scrappy, you’re a startup). Then, turn that feedback into insights. With your team, work through the opportunities (maybe have different buckets: what can be fixed, created, or improved). Assess your best opportunities—those that align with your business goals. Then, go do some DISCOVERING (stay scrappy): targeted interviews, surveys, open Q&A, product analytics, and even experiments like fake door tests. Whatever gets you the confidence you need on that opportunity. This will change everything. You go from “What should we build next?” to “What do they need* next?” Product discovery isn’t about perfect processes or frameworks—or the next shiny feature. It’s about getting it right by listening and understanding. Do that, and you’re halfway to winning. 👊 Startup founders: Products get built because people talk—so talk, god damn it! :) The world needs you. #startups #product #discovery