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How I Built ShipDauRoi and Reached Top 50 on the App Store

February 28, 202415 min read

The Idea

In 2017, I was an iOS developer at Savvycom, building apps for international clients. On the side, I noticed a gap in Vietnam's logistics market: small shop owners on Facebook and Instagram needed affordable shipping, but existing services were either too expensive or too slow.

The idea was simple: build an app that connects small shops with freelance shippers in their area. Think of it as an Uber for package delivery.

I called it ShipDauRoi — a Vietnamese phrase that roughly translates to "Ship Anywhere."

Building the MVP

I had no co-founder, no funding, and a full-time job. Here's how I built the first version:

Tech Stack

  • iOS (Swift) — I built the iOS app first since that was my expertise
  • Firebase — Realtime Database for orders, Authentication for login, Cloud Functions for business logic
  • Google Maps SDK — For real-time tracking and route visualization
  • APNS — Push notifications for order updates

Timeline

  • Weeks 1 to 2: — Core architecture and Firebase setup
  • Weeks 3 to 4: — Shop owner flow (create order, track delivery)
  • Weeks 5 to 6: — Shipper flow (browse orders, accept, navigate, confirm delivery)
  • Weeks 7 to 8: — Testing with real users, bug fixes, App Store submission

I worked every evening after my day job and full weekends. It was exhausting but exhilarating.

Key Technical Decisions

Firebase over custom backend: As a solo iOS developer with no backend experience, Firebase was the right choice. Real-time order updates, authentication, and hosting — all without writing server code. The trade-off was vendor lock-in, but for an MVP, speed mattered more.

Real-time tracking with Firebase Realtime Database: Shippers' locations were written to Firebase every 5 seconds. Shop owners saw live movement on the map. This was the feature that impressed early users the most.

Offline support: I designed the app to work with spotty internet. Orders were cached locally and synced when connectivity returned. In Vietnam, especially in smaller cities, this was essential.

Launch and Growth

Getting the First 100 Users

No marketing budget meant I had to hustle:

  • Facebook groups — I posted in local business groups in Ho Chi Minh City. Shop owners were my target audience, and they lived on Facebook.
  • Direct outreach — I visited shops in person, showed them the app on my phone, and helped them install it.
  • Shipper recruitment — I partnered with motorbike driver communities. The pitch was simple: earn extra money during your free time.

The Traction

Within 3 months:

  • 500+ active shop owners
  • 200+ registered shippers
  • 1,000+ deliveries completed
  • Average rating: 4.6 stars

Word of mouth was the primary growth driver. Shop owners recommended the app to other shop owners. Shippers told their friends.

Reaching Top 50

In early 2018, ShipDauRoi reached Top 50 in the Business category on Vietnam's App Store. This was surreal for a solo developer side project.

The factors that drove this:

  • Consistent 5-star reviews — from satisfied shop owners
  • Daily active user growth — of about 5% week over week
  • Low competition — in the niche delivery space at the time

The Hard Lessons

Lesson 1: Technology is the Easy Part

Building the app was straightforward. Running the business was not. I had to handle:

  • Customer support (via Zalo and Facebook Messenger, at all hours)
  • Shipper disputes (damaged packages, late deliveries, payment arguments)
  • Fraud prevention (fake orders, identity verification)
  • Cash flow (collecting fees from shippers, paying out to shop owners)

As a developer, I was unprepared for the operational complexity of a marketplace business.

Lesson 2: You Can't Scale Alone

At peak, I was:

  • Working full-time at Savvycom
  • Fixing bugs and shipping features for ShipDauRoi
  • Handling customer support
  • Managing shipper relations
  • Doing accounting

Something had to give. I couldn't hire because I had no funding. I couldn't raise funding because I didn't have a co-founder or a business plan beyond "it's growing."

Lesson 3: Timing Matters

In late 2018, major players entered the market. GrabExpress, Ahamove, and other well-funded companies launched competing services. They had:

  • Marketing budgets I couldn't match
  • Android apps (I only had iOS)
  • Dedicated operations teams
  • Investor backing

Within months, my growth stalled and then declined.

Lesson 4: An Android App Was Critical

By only building for iOS, I was missing roughly 70% of Vietnam's smartphone market. Many shop owners used Android phones. Many shippers used Android. This was my biggest strategic mistake.

If I could do it over, I would have used Flutter from the start to ship on both platforms simultaneously.

The Outcome

I shut down ShipDauRoi in late 2018. It wasn't a failure — it was an incredible learning experience:

  • I proved I could build and launch a product independently
  • I learned how marketplace businesses work
  • I understood the gap between building software and running a business
  • The Top 50 ranking became a highlight on my resume that opened doors

Shortly after, I was hired by Pizza Hut Digital Ventures to lead their mobile team, partly because of the entrepreneurial experience ShipDauRoi demonstrated.

What I'd Do Differently

  • Find a co-founder — with business/operations expertise from day one
  • Build cross-platform — from the start (Flutter would have been ideal)
  • Validate with a no-code MVP — before building a full app
  • Focus on a smaller niche — (e.g., only food delivery in one district) before expanding
  • Seek funding earlier — a small seed round could have funded an Android app and a part-time operations person

Advice for Developer Founders

If you're a developer thinking about building your own product:

  • Ship fast, learn fast. — Don't over-engineer the MVP.
  • Talk to users before writing code. — I got lucky that my assumption was right. Don't rely on luck.
  • The product is not the app. — The product is the entire experience — support, reliability, trust.
  • Know your limits. — If you can't handle operations and development simultaneously, find someone who can handle the other side.
  • It's always worth trying. — Even if ShipDauRoi didn't become a unicorn, the experience made me a significantly better developer and leader.