How to Turn Custom Work into a Scalable Startup Business
- Chris Burgess
- Feb 24
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 14
Delivering one-off solutions makes it hard to scale. Here’s how to build repeatable, scalable products that drive real growth.
Shifting from bespoke or custom solutions to a scalable product is hard because it changes how you generate revenue and how your team thinks about value. Yet it does not have to mean changing your core business overnight. In this post, I will show you how a product mindset makes it possible to build a scalable startup business, helping you transition from one-off projects to scalable success.
Why the Project Mindset Keeps Startups Stuck
Startups begin life by solving the needs of individual customers because it generates early cash flow. The problem is that this creates a project-centric mindset which encourages short-term thinking that can be difficult to escape. Each project starts from zero, with new requirements, new code, and new expectations.
Building custom solutions means few learnings carry forward because as soon as one project is finished, you move straight to the next. Teams end up rebuilding the same mechanics and solving similar design problems. The result is innovation that never builds into sustainable growth.
It can be hard to recognise when you are stuck in delivery mode, especially when projects keep coming in. But it is worth stepping back to understand the consequences, which often include:
Missed opportunities for innovation Starting from scratch every time prevents the creation of reusable components and hides valuable patterns that could evolve into products.
Internal inefficiency and knowledge loss Without shared frameworks, teams duplicate effort and lose insights from one project to the next.
Inconsistent customer experience When each delivery is designed in isolation, quality fluctuates and long-term relationships suffer. Clients may praise individual projects but have no reason to return.
Escaping this cycle does not start with new tools or processes, it starts with a shift in mindset. When you begin to think differently about what your company creates and why, the operational changes follow naturally. That shift begins with adopting a product mindset.
How to Build a Scalable Startup Business
The way out of the custom-work trap begins with adopting a product mindset. This does not mean turning your service business into a software company overnight. It means thinking in systems, patterns, and customer outcomes rather than deliverables.
At its heart, a product mindset focuses on creating lasting value for the user. Every decision, from how you design to how you price, comes back to whether you are solving a real problem for real people. It is about learning continuously from those users and letting their needs shape what you build next.
Four Habits That Build a Product Mindset
Look for patterns, not projects. Step back and analyse your past work. Which requests or features repeat across clients? Where do workflows overlap? These patterns are the raw material of scalable products.
Build for reuse and flexibility. When you design a component or process, imagine how it could serve the next three clients, not just the current one. This shift alone turns output into reusable capability.
Keep the customer front and centre. Projects often serve a single client’s immediate needs. A product mindset asks a bigger question: what value does this create for a broader audience? In XR, that might mean building reusable templates for onboarding, training, or collaboration environments rather than starting each from nothing.
Use data to learn, not just report. Instead of tracking hours or deliverables, measure outcomes that matter to users: adoption, retention, and satisfaction. Data then becomes the guide for iteration.
Once you begin seeing your work through this lens of patterns, reuse, and learning, you may realise that parts of your process already behave like products. The next step is to make that intentional.
Turning What You Already Do into a Product
Many startups already possess the ingredients of a scalable product without realising it. Internal tools built to speed up delivery or manage projects often have value beyond the organisation. The challenge is to identify what could stand alone and then shape it for external users.
Turning internal tools or repeatable processes into products is not about reinventing what you do. It is about recognising where your existing work already delivers value in a way that could scale. The five steps below outline how to surface those opportunities and test whether they have potential beyond individual projects.
Identify repeatable assets Look for tools, frameworks, or integrations that solve the same problem across multiple projects. Those are your best candidates for productisation.
Validate before you build Ask clients or peers whether they would pay for an independent version. Research whether similar products exist. Run a small pilot before committing resources.
Design for others, not just your team Internal tools rely on insider knowledge. External users need clear onboarding, documentation, and support. Simplify and test before launching.
Create a sustainable business model Decide how the product fits your broader business. Will it be subscription-based, licensed, or free with paid support? Ensure it complements rather than competes with your core services.
Iterate continuously A product mindset means ongoing learning. Gather feedback, refine, and measure how well the product solves the user’s problem.
Adopting a product mindset is not an overnight transformation. The best way to begin is small and deliberate. It is a series of conscious steps that change how you deliver value. Over time, those small changes add up to something much larger, a scalable business model built on learning and repeatability.
Are You Ready to Make the Shift? Building a Scalable Business One Step at a Time
If your startup or agency feels stuck in a cycle of custom projects, start small. Identify what repeats. Capture it as a template. Test it with customers. Each iteration teaches you more about what truly matters, and those lessons compound into scalable success.
I help founders and product leaders apply this way of thinking to their own companies, turning project-based work into repeatable, value-driven products that grow over time. If that is the change you want to make, reach out at info@crwburgess.com to start exploring how a product mindset could work for your business.
Why do I care?
My perspective on this challenge comes from years of working with companies building extended reality (XR) experiences. XR has the power to revolutionise how we live, work, and interact with the world around us. But to truly unlock its potential, the industry needs to embrace a product mindset by moving away from its focus on the technology and instead building accessible solutions that can reach a wider audience and foster lasting relationships with users.
XR still blows people away - whether they're consumers or enterprise users -but the industry needs to focus on creating repeatable experiences, not one-offs, where people want to come back again and again.
But, many XR companies are trapped in a cycle of custom projects, limiting their growth and profitability. They do not seek input or validation from end users; decisions are made internally and with their clients.
For XR companies, the first practical step toward this mindset is 'Templatising'. By documenting and standardising the work they do most often, it is possible to create the foundations of scalable delivery. By testing those templates with end users and learning from their experience, companies working with XR technology can create solutions that deliver both exceptional experiences and repeatable value.
I covered this topic in a live session hosted by XR4Europe - this can be found on YouTube here, or it can also be found on LinkedIn, if you'd prefer to watch or listen to this content.
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