A scalable mobile app for a $6.4M startup

Beam is a company of scooter-sharing enthusiasts who want to change the way people moving around the city. How? By creating a varied range of vehicles to rent. In this way, they are improving air quality, making people happier and reducing traffic jams in cities. For the Beam guys, electric scooters are just the beginning. As Brainhub, we are proud of working on enhancing the existing ecosystem of apps and adding new features.

We have been hired to support the crew of Beam with our React Native and Node.js developers.
The main goals presented by the client were:

• Increasing security of logging and payments
• Speeding up the functioning of the application
• Improving the stability of the system
• Preparing applications for expansion (for adding new features)

As JavaScript experts, we proposed auditing the existing code according to best practices. Then, based on what we found out, implementing the relevant changes to prepare the application for development.

1. We are experts: The main reason was our expertise in React/Node.js/React Native. Based on long-standing experience in JS, we delivered to Beam the best practices and the knowledge on the highest global level in this area.
2. We build scalable products: Beam hired us on the stage of scaling the company. The key value was our to verify and prepare the technology behind the application to be robust while scaling around the globe.
3. We are entrepreneurs: Their decision was also influenced by our experience as serial entrepreneurs. We've built many digital products ourselves.

Process

At the start, we cooperated with the Beam team based on small and specific tasks. When we finished the first, they asked us to work on the next one. At each stage we had to prove our quality and fulfill their expectations. After this, they decided on long-term cooperation with us. The methodology we used in this project was Kanban. We received prioritized to-do lists from Product Managers, reviewed them, and subsequently proposed relevant solutions. Then we implemented fixes and features in the right order. In this way, we fulfilled the business needs of the client and continued to satisfy throughout the project.

Solution

• Code review: The first stage was the code audit, which contained improvements in security, stability, and troubleshooting areas.
• Estimate key improvements/Estimate improvements with Beam: We elaborated on our suggestions with PMs, CTO, and Director of Engineering, and after that, they asked us to realize these changes.
• Write automatic tests: We started from the critical issue – writing automated tests to make the app testable.
• Refactoring of features: When we wrote automated tests, we spent time on refactoring a few features to improve the quality of the app.
• Add key features: After that, we focused on building the next features, which were key to the scale of the product.

Technology Stack

The mobile app was built using React and React Native framework, so we harnessed our background to fix bugs and implement new features. We also used Typescript framework to build the API which provides data to city governments and to improve the desktop version of the admin panel.