Product Roadmap: From MVP to Market Leadership
Strategic product roadmap for building a core banking platform in three phases over 36 months, from MVP to competitive features to market leadership.
The 36-Month Journey
Building a competitive core banking platform is a multi-year journey. This chapter presents a strategic roadmap organized into three phases, each with specific deliverables, target customers, and success criteria.
The roadmap follows "land and expand" principles: start with the underserved segment (neobanks, SME lenders), establish reference customers, then expand upmarket to regional and enterprise banks. Each phase builds capabilities that unlock the next customer tier.
Phase 1: MVP Launch (Months 1-12)
Objective
Build a minimum viable platform that can win first customers in the neobank and SME lender segments. Focus on core functionality, not features.
Deliverables
| Component | Scope | Completion Target |
|---|---|---|
| Ledger Engine | Event-sourced, ACID-compliant, 10K+ TPS | Month 6 |
| Multi-Tenant Architecture | Row-level security, 100+ tenants | Month 5 |
| API Layer | Core endpoints, OAuth 2.0, rate limiting | Month 7 |
| Product Configuration | Basic templates (10+), visual designer MVP | Month 8 |
| Security and Compliance | PSD2 SCA, GDPR basics, SOC 2 Type II | Month 12 |
| Admin Console | Tenant management, basic monitoring | Month 9 |
Success Criteria
- Ledger engine production-ready by Month 6
- SOC 2 Type II certification by Month 12
- First paying customer signed by Month 10
- 3 customers live by Month 14
Estimated budget: EUR 1.2-1.5M. Team: 12-15 engineers, 2 product managers, 1 designer. Key hires: Lead architect, senior backend engineers, DevOps lead, compliance officer.
Phase 2: Competitive Features (Months 13-24)
Objective
Build differentiated features that establish competitive advantage against Mambu and Skaleet. Expand to growth-stage fintechs and early-adopter regional banks.
Deliverables
| Component | Scope | Completion Target |
|---|---|---|
| Real-Time Analytics | 50+ pre-built dashboards, custom queries | Month 16 |
| AI/ML Credit Decisioning | Credit scoring, fraud detection, explainability | Month 18 |
| Integration Marketplace | 100+ pre-certified connectors | Month 20 |
| Compliance Engine | Automated reporting, jurisdiction-aware rules | Month 22 |
| Developer Experience | SDKs (5 languages), sandbox, CLI | Month 20 |
| Scale Enhancement | 100K+ TPS, multi-region deployment | Month 24 |
Success Criteria
- 15+ paying customers by Month 24
- EUR 1.5M+ ARR by Month 24
- NPS score over 50
- AI/ML features in production with 3+ customers
Phase 3: Market Leadership (Months 25-36)
Objective
Establish market leadership position with enterprise-grade capabilities that compete with Thought Machine at a fraction of the price. Target regional banks and enterprise customers.
Deliverables
| Component | Scope | Completion Target |
|---|---|---|
| Data Monetization Layer | Anonymization engine, data marketplace APIs | Month 28 |
| Progressive Modernization | Legacy adapters, shadow mode, gradual migration | Month 30 |
| Advanced ML | Churn prediction, pricing optimization, NLP | Month 32 |
| Enterprise Features | SSO, advanced audit, custom SLAs | Month 30 |
| Global Expansion | UK FCA compliance, additional regions | Month 36 |
| Performance at Scale | 1M+ TPS, global deployment | Month 36 |
Success Criteria
- 50+ paying customers by Month 36
- EUR 5M+ ARR by Month 36
- At least 3 regional bank customers
- Recognition in analyst reports (Gartner, Forrester)
- Path to profitability visible
Estimated budget: EUR 4.0-5.0M. Team expansion to 40-50 total headcount including sales, marketing, and customer success. Key hires: Enterprise sales team, solutions architects, regional compliance experts.
Dependency Map
Key dependencies between roadmap components:
| Component | Depends On | Enables |
|---|---|---|
| Ledger Engine | - | All other components |
| Multi-Tenancy | Ledger Engine | SaaS pricing model |
| API Layer | Ledger, Multi-Tenancy | Integrations, SDKs |
| AI/ML Engine | Ledger, Analytics | Credit decisioning, fraud |
| Integration Marketplace | API Layer | Ecosystem partnerships |
| Progressive Modernization | All Phase 1-2 | Enterprise market entry |
Build vs. Buy Decisions
Not everything should be built in-house. Strategic build vs. buy decisions:
| Component | Recommendation | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Ledger Engine | Build | Core differentiator, must own IP |
| KYC/Identity | Buy/Integrate | Commoditized, regulations change frequently |
| Payment Rails | Integrate | SEPA/SWIFT gateways are standardized |
| Card Processing | Partner | Requires processor relationships (Marqeta, etc.) |
| Fraud Detection | Build + Buy | Core ML in-house, augment with third-party data |
| Reporting/BI | Build on OSS | Use open source (Metabase, Superset) with customization |
Technical Debt Management
Rapid development creates technical debt. Plan for it:
- 20% Rule: Allocate 20% of each sprint to debt reduction
- Debt Register: Track all shortcuts and their planned resolution
- Refactoring Sprints: Dedicated sprints every quarter for major refactoring
- Architecture Reviews: Monthly reviews to catch drift early
Three phases over 36 months. MVP (months 1-12) establishes viability; Competitive Features (months 13-24) creates differentiation; Market Leadership (months 25-36) enables enterprise expansion.
Land and expand strategy. Start with neobanks and SME lenders (lower barriers), build references, then expand upmarket to regional banks where deal sizes are 3-5x larger.
Dependencies drive sequencing. Ledger engine is the foundation—everything else depends on it. AI/ML requires analytics foundation. Enterprise features require scale and compliance maturity.