MVP to Production in 10 Days: Complete DevOps Setup for Early-Stage SaaS

☁️ Complete AWS Infrastructure Setup

We set up a complete, production-ready AWS infrastructure from scratch, including VPC networking, compute resources (EC2/ECS/EKS), managed databases (RDS), and object storage (S3). The infrastructure was designed to be cost-effective for early-stage startups while being scalable for future growth.

• VPC Network Architecture
  Designed and implemented a secure VPC with public and private subnets, proper network ACLs, and security groups. This provided a secure foundation for all services while keeping costs minimal.
• Compute Resources (EC2/ECS/EKS)
  Set up containerized compute resources using ECS (Elastic Container Service) for simplicity and cost-effectiveness. The architecture can easily scale to EKS (Kubernetes) as the application grows, but ECS provided the right balance of simplicity and capability for an early-stage startup.
• Managed Database (RDS)
  Provisioned Amazon RDS for managed database hosting, eliminating the need for database administration. Automated backups, point-in-time recovery, and automatic patching were configured out of the box.
• Object Storage (S3)
  Set up S3 buckets for file storage, static assets, and backups. Implemented proper access controls and lifecycle policies to manage costs.

🚀 CI/CD Pipelines with GitHub Actions

Built comprehensive CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions that automate testing, building, and deployment. This eliminated manual deployment processes and enabled the founders to ship features with confidence.

• Automated Testing & Building
  Set up automated test execution and container image building on every push to the repository. This ensures code quality and catches issues before they reach production.
• Staging → Production Workflow
  Implemented a clear staging → production workflow where code is automatically deployed to staging first, validated, and then promoted to production. This enables safe testing before production deployment.
• Zero-Downtime Deployments
  Configured blue-green deployment strategies that enable zero-downtime deployments. New versions are deployed alongside existing versions, validated, and then traffic is switched, with instant rollback capability if issues are detected.

🔒 Auto SSL & Reverse Proxy Configuration

Set up automatic SSL certificate management and reverse proxy configuration, eliminating the manual SSL certificate renewal that founders typically struggle with. This ensures secure, HTTPS-enabled applications without operational overhead.

• Automatic SSL Certificate Management
  Configured AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) with automatic certificate provisioning and renewal. SSL certificates are automatically managed, eliminating the need for manual certificate updates.
• Reverse Proxy Setup
  Set up Application Load Balancer (ALB) as a reverse proxy, handling SSL termination, routing, and load balancing. This provides a single entry point for the application with automatic SSL handling.

📊 Basic Monitoring: Logs, Uptime & Alerts

Implemented essential monitoring capabilities including log aggregation, uptime monitoring, and alerting. This provides visibility into application health and enables proactive issue detection.

• Centralized Logging
  Set up CloudWatch Logs for centralized log aggregation from all services. Logs are automatically collected, indexed, and searchable, providing visibility into application behavior.
• Uptime Monitoring
  Configured CloudWatch alarms and uptime monitoring to track application availability. Automated alerts notify the team immediately if the application becomes unavailable.
• Performance Metrics & Alerts
  Set up basic performance monitoring for CPU, memory, and response times. Alerts are configured for thresholds that indicate potential issues, enabling proactive response.

🏗️ Infrastructure-as-Code with Terraform

All infrastructure is defined as code using Terraform, providing full reproducibility and version control. This enables the infrastructure to be recreated exactly in any environment and provides an audit trail for all changes.

• Complete Infrastructure Definition
  All AWS resources - VPC, compute, databases, storage, networking - are defined in Terraform. This provides a single source of truth for infrastructure and enables reproducible deployments.
• Version Control & Collaboration
  Infrastructure code is stored in Git, providing version control, change history, and collaboration capabilities. All infrastructure changes are tracked and reviewable.
• Environment Reproducibility
  The same Terraform code can be used to create identical environments for staging, production, or development. This eliminates environment drift and ensures consistency.

✨ "Deploy in One Click" Experience

We gave the founders a "deploy in one click" experience. With automated CI/CD pipelines, deploying to staging or production is as simple as pushing code to GitHub. No manual steps, no SSH into servers, no complex deployment procedures - just push and deploy.

📈 Startup-Ready Infrastructure That Scales

The infrastructure is designed to be startup-ready - cost-effective for early stages but scalable for growth. As the application grows, the infrastructure can scale automatically without requiring architectural changes.

📚 Clear Documentation

Provided comprehensive documentation covering infrastructure architecture, deployment procedures, monitoring setup, and troubleshooting guides. This enables the founders to understand and maintain the infrastructure independently.

🚀 MVP Launched 2-4 Weeks Earlier

The founder was able to launch their MVP 2-4 weeks earlier than if they had attempted to set up infrastructure themselves. The 10-day setup eliminated weeks of learning, trial-and-error, and infrastructure configuration that would have delayed the launch.

⚡ Could Ship Features Daily

With automated CI/CD and zero-downtime deployments, the founders could ship features daily without fear of breaking production. The staging environment enabled safe testing, and automated deployments eliminated the time-consuming manual processes that previously prevented rapid iteration.

🛡️ No Outages During Launch

The infrastructure was production-ready from day one, with proper monitoring, alerting, and zero-downtime deployment capabilities. The launch was smooth with no outages, providing a professional experience for early users.

💰 AWS Bill Stayed Under $100/Month

The infrastructure was designed to be cost-effective for early-stage startups. AWS costs stayed under $100/month, providing production-ready infrastructure at a price point that early-stage founders can afford.

💼 Investors Impressed with Infrastructure Maturity

The professional infrastructure setup impressed investors during fundraising. The automated deployments, monitoring, and production-ready architecture demonstrated technical maturity and operational excellence, strengthening the startup's position in investor conversations.

💬 Founder Testimonial

"This would have taken me 6-8 weeks alone." - The founder recognized that setting up this infrastructure independently would have required weeks of learning Kubernetes, AWS services, CI/CD tools, and monitoring systems. The 10-day setup provided immediate value and enabled them to focus on building features instead of infrastructure.