The Client Wanted Uber in Two Weeks: Stories from the Trenches

Anyone who has done custom IT work for at least a few years has a favorite story about a client with unrealistic expectations. We have a whole collection. Some are funny, some are sad, and some taught us more than any project management course ever could.

"I Want Exactly Uber, but Better"

Let's start with a classic. A charming entrepreneur came to us with a vision. "I need an app like Uber. But for dogs. It'll be really simple — just Uber, but instead of people, you're transporting dogs." It sounded adorable. Then came the sentence we hear about twice a month:

"How much will it cost? I've got about two thousand euros for it. And I'd need it in two weeks because there's an investor pitch in a month."

For context: Uber has hundreds of engineers, development took years, and cost billions of dollars. But let's be fair — the client obviously doesn't need the entire Uber. He needs "just" the basic functionality. Which includes: user registration and verification, real-time GPS tracking, driver-rider matching (sorry, driver-dog matching), a payment system, ratings, push notifications, an admin panel, and of course versions for both iOS and Android.

"Simple" suddenly looks a bit more complicated.

The "Simple Facebook" Syndrome

Another beloved genre: social networks. A client came to us wanting "a simple Facebook, but for fishermen." When we asked what exactly he had in mind, he said: "Well, just like Facebook. Profiles, posts, photos, groups, chat, marketplace, events... but simple."

When we showed him that Facebook employs over 60,000 people and its development cost tens of billions of dollars, there was silence for a moment. Then he said: "But I don't need the ads."

Fair enough. But even without ads, it's still a massive project. The problem is that social network users compare every new platform to what they're used to from Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. And if your app doesn't reach the same quality, they simply won't use it.

"Look at This App, I Want the Same Thing"

This situation is trickier because it seems reasonable on the surface. A client shows us an existing competitor's app and says: "I want exactly this. How much and how long?"

But that app has existed for five years. It's gone through hundreds of iterations. It has thousands of hours of user testing behind it. A design team polished it for months. And the client sees the result of five years of work and wants to replicate it in a month.

Once, a client showed us an e-commerce site with a sophisticated configuration tool, personalized recommendations, a loyalty program, and a logistics system. "I want this. You have a month." That e-shop was built by a team of twenty developers over four years.

How We Actually Handle It

Now, it might seem like we're mocking our clients. Absolutely not. An ambitious vision is a great thing — without one, no interesting product would ever be created. The problem isn't WHAT they want, but the assumption of HOW quickly and cheaply it can be done.

Our first question is always: "What problem are you solving?" Not what app you want, but what problem you're solving. Because the answer to that question determines what you actually need in your first version.

Then comes our favorite word: MVP — Minimum Viable Product. The smallest possible version of a product that validates your hypothesis in the market.

That "Uber for dogs"? The MVP could be a simple app where dog owners see available transporters nearby and can contact them. No real-time tracking, no automatic matching, no payment system. Just validation of whether anyone actually wants such a service.

The simple Facebook for fishermen? The MVP could be a discussion forum with catch galleries and a map of favorite fishing spots. No sophisticated social features — just a place where fishermen can connect.

What Does It Actually Cost

When clients ask about pricing, we always say: it depends on what you want in the first version. A full-featured Uber-like app costs hundreds of thousands of euros and takes months to develop. But a reasonable MVP that validates your idea can cost tens of thousands and be done in a few weeks.

The key is prioritization. Out of those twenty features you want, pick three without which the product doesn't make sense. Add the rest gradually as you see how users respond to the basic version. You might discover that half of those features aren't needed at all. And you'll save a lot of money.

Red Flags We Watch For

Over the years, we've learned to recognize warning signs:

• "It's a simple app" — The more someone emphasizes how simple it is, the more complex it usually turns out to be.
• "Just copy X" — Copying a finished product is paradoxically harder than creating a custom solution from scratch.
• "I don't need a specification, it's all in my head" — You always need a specification. Always.
• "You can have it done in two weeks, right?" — When you hear a specific unrealistic deadline, there's usually investor pressure or a competition behind it. And that's a bad reason to rush a project.

The Lesson

Ambitious is good. Having a big vision is great. But successful products don't appear overnight. They emerge through iteration — small steps, testing, learning from users.

Moral of the story: If you want to build a skyscraper, you don't start with the roof. You start with the foundation. And if someone promises you Uber for two thousand euros in two weeks, run. That person is either lying or doesn't know what they're doing. Both are dangerous.

By the way, the entrepreneur with the dog Uber? We ended up building a simple MVP together within a reasonable budget. He found out that dog owners in his city actually wanted the service, secured an investor, and is now gradually expanding the app. That's exactly how it's supposed to work.