Getting Unstuck: How a SaaS Founder Went from 3 Months per Feature to 3 Days
AppUnstuck Team
Your Partner in Progress
The Challenge
A SaaS founder, Alex, built a promising project management tool on Replit. He rapidly developed the MVP and early features using AI assistants, completing tasks that would normally take weeks in just a few days.
However, once the app grew beyond a few simple features, minor updates began breaking unrelated parts of the system. A small code change in one module would unexpectedly break the backend, causing downtime and lost productivity.
Alex tried relying on Replit’s AI agent and assistant, but issues persisted. Weeks turned into months of firefighting rather than building new features. Every feature release took 2–3 months instead of days. Alex was stuck — frustrated, frozen, and unable to scale.
The Partnership
Alex reached out to AppUnstuck after reading Reddit threads about Replit breakages. We started with an immediate audit of the app and its development workflow.
Our priorities were:
- Stabilize the existing codebase: Identify recurring breakages and refactor fragile modules.
- Separate environments: Set up distinct development and production environments with independent secrets, database connections, and configuration files.
- Implement monitoring: Ensure all deployments include logging, testing, and alerts for early detection of failures.
We worked with Alex over three weeks, implementing solutions that not only stabilized the app but also sped up feature delivery.
The Solution
Week 1: Diagnosis and Stabilization
- Conducted a thorough code review, identifying overlapping modules and duplicate functions created by AI assistants.
- Implemented a modular architecture, separating critical workflows into independent services.
- Configured unit tests for each module to detect unintended side effects early.
Week 2: Production Separation
- Moved the live app to an external VPS (DigitalOcean), keeping Replit only for development.
- Set up separate production database on Supabase with automated backups.
- Correctly configured secrets (API keys, tokens) in environment variables.
- Connected a custom domain for professional access and DNS consistency.
Week 3: Monitoring and Optimization
- Introduced logging via Papertrail and Sentry for real-time error monitoring.
- Tested feature releases using staged deployments to prevent production breakages.
- Implemented a rollback strategy with version control for safety.
The Results
Before AppUnstuck:
- Feature release cycle: 2–3 months
- Frequent breakages during minor updates
- Unstable production environment
After AppUnstuck:
- Feature release cycle: 3 days per feature (from 3 months)
- Zero production downtime over 2 months
- Clear development-to-production workflow
- Automated backup and monitoring in place
Business Impact:
- ✅ Reduced developer frustration, increased focus on new features
- ✅ Predictable deployment process
- ✅ Improved app stability and user experience
"I felt frozen every time I pushed a minor update. AppUnstuck not only stabilized my codebase but made me feel confident releasing new features daily instead of waiting months."
— Alex Turner, Founder
Key Takeaways
- Always separate development and production environments.
- Use automated testing and monitoring to prevent regressions.
- Modular code prevents minor updates from breaking unrelated areas.
- Backups and staging environments save weeks of troubleshooting.
Get Unstuck
Struggling with breakages and unpredictable deployments? AppUnstuck helps founders move from “frozen and frustrated” to shipping again, fast and safely.