When developing a SaaS product, choosing between a proof of concept (PoC) and a prototype is a critical decision. Making the right choice at the right stage of development can save you a lot of time and money. So, you need to be very clear about what's what to avoid costly mistakes and delays. At Eleken, we work with both, so we can explain use cases for them – and show you the examples from our practices. By the end of this post, you'll know better how to validate a SaaS idea. Ready? Let's get into it!
What is Proof of Concept?
A PoC (proof of concept) is a small-scale experiment designed to test whether an idea, technology, or process can be implemented successfully in a real-world scenario. Essentially, a PoC allows businesses to verify the feasibility of an idea before investing significant time, money, and resources into developing the actual product. It focuses on proving that a certain concept is viable and works as intended from a technical or business perspective, without diving into detailed design or user experience elements.
In product development, especially in the SaaS world, PoCs play an important role in demonstrating to stakeholders and decision-makers that a particular solution is worth pursuing. Instead of building a fully functional version of the product, teams focus on testing the core components and assumptions to see if the idea can succeed.
Key features of a PoC
- Minimal investment of resources. The PoC phase usually requires less time, effort, and cost compared to full development. Teams aim to achieve the minimum viable demonstration of the concept, keeping development lean and efficient.
- Focused on feasibility. The core goal of a PoC is to determine whether the proposed solution can be executed technically. This step ensures that your idea is not just theoretically sound but also practically possible.
- No Design or UX. A PoC doesn’t focus on how the product will look or feel to the user. Instead, it targets backend functionality and the solution’s fundamental capability to meet technical or business goals.
- Low-risk testing ground. PoCs help identify potential technical obstacles or challenges early on. This is crucial for reducing risks later in the product development lifecycle. For SaaS founders, this means discovering whether the essential components of your product can work without wasting money on full development.
Why PoCs matter for SaaS products
In the SaaS environment, where startups are typically bootstrapped and often operating under tight financial constraints, a PoC offers a low-risk and cost-effective way to assess if their software idea will hold up in practice. This approach is especially useful when trying to gain early-stage investments or impress potential stakeholders who need reassurance that the idea is technically viable.
Additionally, in competitive markets, PoCs can fast-track product validation by allowing you to experiment and gather data before committing to the full design and build process. If your proof of concept fails, it’s far easier to pivot or revise your idea at this stage than after a full product launch.
Successful proof of concept examples
- Before launching its file storage and sharing service, Dropbox didn’t develop a working product. Instead, they created a simple video that explained how the service would work, essentially functioning as a PoC. The overwhelming positive feedback from users proved there was demand for their idea, giving them the confidence to move ahead with full development.
- Another great example is Zappos, the online shoe retailer. Founder Nick Swinmurn tested his idea with a PoC by photographing shoes from local stores and selling them online. When people bought the shoes, he would purchase them from the stores and ship them directly to customers. This simple PoC proved that people were willing to buy shoes online, which eventually led to the creation of Zappos as we know it today.
When to use a proof of concept
A PoC is typically used at the very early stages of a project. You should consider creating a PoC if:
- You are working with new technology that has not been widely tested.
- You need to demonstrate the feasibility of an idea to secure initial funding or buy-in from stakeholders.
- You are unsure if a particular technical solution will work in your specific use case.
- You want to identify any technical or operational challenges before proceeding with full-scale development.
For SaaS founders, PoCs offer a smart, resource-conscious way to validate a concept without committing to a full build, reducing both financial risks and time wasted on unfeasible ideas.
What's a Prototype?
A prototype is a working model or early version of a product that allows you to visualize and test how it will function in practice. Unlike a proof of concept, which focuses solely on feasibility, a prototype is meant to show both the technical capabilities and the design or user experience of a product. It is used to validate functionality, gather user feedback, and refine the concept before moving on to full-scale production.
A prototype is an essential step in product development because it allows you to explore different design choices, test interactions, and receive valuable feedback from users or stakeholders before committing to expensive, resource-heavy development.
Key features of a prototype
- Prototypes are often functional and interactive. Prototypes are functional and often come in the form of clickable or interactive models, allowing users to engage with the product’s functionality. This enables developers to test core features and assess how users might interact with the product in real life.
- Unlike PoCs, prototypes pay significant attention to the user experience (UX) and design. A prototype helps visualize the flow of the application and ensures that the product is intuitive, user-friendly, and aesthetically pleasing. This is particularly important for SaaS products, where user interaction is key to success.
- Prototypes are usually developed iteratively, with each version incorporating feedback from users, stakeholders, or investors. This iterative process allows teams to fine-tune the product, making adjustments to design and functionality before full development.
- A prototype allows you to experiment with new features and quickly iterate on them based on feedback. This helps in identifying which features work well and which need to be reworked or discarded altogether.
- Low to moderate investment: Though more involved than a PoC, creating a prototype still requires fewer resources than developing the full product. It strikes a balance between demonstrating functionality and keeping costs and development time manageable.
- A prototype helps founders and stakeholders make informed decisions about the product’s direction. By seeing how users interact with the prototype, teams can validate assumptions about user behavior, improve design elements, and determine if the product is ready for the next stage of development.
Types of prototypes
- Low-fidelity prototypes are basic representations of the product and often include hand-drawn sketches or wireframes. They provide a rough idea of the product layout but lack functionality or interaction. Low-fidelity prototypes are used in the early stages to communicate ideas and gather feedback on general concepts.
- High-fidelity prototypes closely resemble the final product in terms of design and functionality. They are interactive and clickable, allowing users to experience the product’s flow and features. High-fidelity prototypes are often used to gather detailed user feedback and to demonstrate the product to stakeholders or investors.
- Throwaway prototypes, also called disposable prototypes, are created with the intention of being discarded after use. They are typically used to explore a particular aspect of the product (e.g., a new feature or interaction) without the expectation of keeping any of the code or design elements.
- Evolutionary prototypes are developed and refined over time, with each iteration building on the previous version. Eventually, the evolutionary prototype may grow into the final product. This approach allows for continuous improvement based on user feedback and testing.
Why prototypes matter in SaaS development
In SaaS development, where user experience and functionality are critical to product success, prototypes provide a practical and visual way to test and refine ideas. Prototypes allow teams to:
- By creating a prototype, you can validate product concepts and check whether your product idea resonates with users and addresses their needs effectively.
- Prototyping allows you to test and refine key features before investing heavily in full-scale development. This prevents costly mistakes down the line and so reduces development costs.
- Prototypes improve communication as they provide a clear and tangible way to convey ideas to stakeholders, investors, and team members, ensuring everyone is aligned on the product vision.
- By testing the product’s flow and interaction, you can gather feedback and iterate on the design to enhance user experience and ensure that the final product offers a seamless and intuitive user experience.
Check out this article to learn more about UX prototypes and the value of iterative design.
What comes after a prototype?
Once a prototype has been successfully developed and tested, the next step is usually to gather feedback from users, stakeholders, or investors. This feedback helps identify any issues or areas for improvement in the design, functionality, or user experience. After refining the prototype based on this input, the product moves into the development phase, where the full version is built with all necessary features. During this phase, the team ensures scalability, security, and performance while incorporating additional features not included in the prototype. Finally, after development, the product enters beta testing or a soft launch, allowing for broader user testing and validation before the final launch to the market.
Prototype Examples from Eleken's Practice
What does the prototype look like? How to design a prototype to secure SaaS funding? We know the answers for both questions. So, let's take a closer look at the examples of Eleken's work created for our clients.
My Interview
Eleken partnered with myInterview to address a critical user churn issue—90% of candidates were dropping out mid-interview. To tackle this, Eleken created a prototype aimed at improving the user experience for both candidates and recruiters. The prototype was essential in testing new UI designs that streamlined the interview process and reduced friction points, such as confusing multi-selection input fields. By focusing on enhancing ease of use and ensuring desktop responsiveness, the prototype helped myInterview improve candidate retention and increase the platform's usability. This design iteration also played a crucial role in business goals, enabling myInterview to demonstrate their solution to enterprise clients like Volvo through compelling, tailored demos. The prototype directly contributed to long-term success by helping secure enterprise deals and providing a foundation for future feature development, such as AI-powered interview flows.
Process Enablement Platform
Eleken collaborated with a process enablement platform startup to turn their vision into an investor-ready prototype. The client, a B2B SaaS solution aimed at improving workflow automation for enterprises, needed a prototype to demonstrate how their platform could integrate process design, instructions, training, and discussions in one place. Initially, the client tried creating wireframes but lacked the design expertise to bring their concept to life. Eleken stepped in, refining the wireframes and designing intuitive features such as a streamlined Process Repository, collaborative Discussions section, and a Flowchart Maker. These features helped the client clearly convey the platform's functionality, making it easier for users to navigate and manage processes. The prototype was critical for demonstrating the platform’s value to potential investors and partners, positioning the startup to secure investment and onboard early users. By aligning the design with the client’s business goals, Eleken helped create a product that showcases innovation and addresses real enterprise pain points.
Populate
Eleken partnered with Populate, a healthcare startup focused on reducing clinician burnout by streamlining documentation processes. Populate’s goal was to create a customer-centric app that would help clinicians spend less time on documentation and more time with patients. Eleken’s role was to design a prototype that incorporated time-saving innovations like speech-to-text dictation, AI-powered templates, and auto-populate functions. The prototype addressed the app's core challenge: reducing the number of clicks and actions required to complete tasks. By iterating user flows and refining UI/UX, Eleken ensured the app met doctors' real-world needs while enhancing the user experience. The prototype was crucial for validating the app’s effectiveness in speeding up workflows, ultimately helping Populate attract investors and prepare for its launch in the competitive US healthcare market.
Proof of Concept vs Prototype
To understand the best use cases for a PoV vs PoC, it's helpful to compare them directly. While both are essential in product development, they serve different purposes, involve different levels of resource commitment, and come at different stages of the process.
This table helps differentiate when each is appropriate. A PoC is ideal for confirming the feasibility of an idea before diving deeper into design or feature development. On the other hand, a prototype is more suited for engaging users or investors with a tangible representation of your product, showcasing how it will function and appear.
PoC vs Prototype vs MVP
A PoC is used to determine whether a particular idea or technology is feasible, focusing on validating the core concept without attention to design or user experience.
A prototype goes a step further, creating an interactive model of the product that allows stakeholders to see how it functions and feels, emphasizing design and user interaction.
What's an MVP and how to define it? A very short version is: the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a fully functional version of the product with just enough features to solve the core problem and be launched to the market for real user feedback. If you think that's your option, check our article on how much does it cost to build an MVP. If you want to learn more, also read about the difference between MLP vs MVP.
So, while a PoC tests feasibility, a prototype demonstrates functionality, and an MVP is used to validate the product-market fit.
PoC vs Prototype – Which One to Choose?
Choosing between a proof of concept and a prototype depends on what stage of development your product is in and what your immediate goals are. Here are some guiding questions to help determine which approach is right for your project:
1. Are you trying to prove the technical feasibility of an idea?
If your main concern is whether the technology or solution can work, and you are looking to validate technical aspects with minimal resource investment, then a PoC is the better option. This will allow you to confirm whether your idea is viable before spending time on design, UI/UX, or user flows.
For example, a PoC would be ideal if you’re exploring a new technology, such as blockchain integration or AI capabilities, and need to demonstrate that it can technically perform as intended.
2. Do you need to secure initial funding or client buy-in?
If you are at a stage where you need to convince investors, stakeholders, or potential customers that your product is worth supporting, a prototype is your best bet. A prototype allows you to show how your product will work, how users will interact with it, and the value it will bring. Investors and clients prefer seeing a tangible product they can interact with rather than abstract ideas, making prototypes a great tool for securing funding or client approval.
3. Do you need early user feedback?
A prototype allows you to gather feedback from real users by demonstrating how they will interact with your product’s features and design. If you are refining user flows, improving functionality, or adjusting the UI/UX, creating a prototype and iterating based on feedback will provide valuable insights before you commit to full-scale development.
4. Are you in the very early stages of your project?
At the very start of your project, where the focus is on validating whether the concept is even possible, a PoC should be your go-to approach. It helps ensure you aren’t building something that technically can’t be done. Once you’ve proven feasibility, you can move on to developing a prototype.
5. Do you need to test user interaction and experience?
If your goal is to explore how users will navigate through your product, interact with its features, and experience its design, a prototype is essential. Prototypes allow you to visualize and refine how your product will work in practice, helping you identify any friction points or usability issues early on.
Conclusion: the right choice depends on your needs
Ultimately, the choice between a PoC and a prototype comes down to the specific goals and challenges you are facing. If you're still proving that your idea can work from a technical standpoint, start with a PoC. If you're ready to demonstrate the value and functionality of your product to investors, stakeholders, or users, then move on to building a prototype. Each has its place in the product development journey, and using them strategically can save you time and resources while ensuring a more successful final product.
Where Eleken Fits In
At Eleken, we specialize in creating both PoCs and prototypes that help SaaS companies move from idea to product. Whether you need a simple PoC to test an innovative idea or a clickable prototype to secure funding, we’ve done it all. Our expertise ensures that you choose the right approach and avoid costly mistakes. Ready to bring your project to the next level? Get in touch with us to book a 3-day trial!
