How did we go from a hackathon to working in applied research and then to building a product studio? We often get this question in our LinkedIn DMs, so we decided to answer it through this blog.
What is Foam On Latte?
Foam On Latte is a Toronto-based product studio dedicated to developing and designing high-quality mobile and web applications for companies worldwide. Founded by Samina Rahman and Batuhan Ipci following a successful hackathon win in 2023, Foam On Latte brings a blend of innovation, technical expertise, and strategic thinking to every project.
Since launching Foam On Latte, we have helped over 10 startups worldwide bring their products to life. From simple landing pages to building out inventory management systems, we have experience in projects of all sizes and scopes. We've helped companies build their online presence for greater conversion and developed customized applications that make a real difference.
It all started with a hackathon
The Seneca hackathon win in 2023 was a huge milestone for us—it gave us significant visibility and credibility as innovators and strong software developers. Hackathons are an excellent way to show what you can do under pressure, how well you solve problems, and how you work as a team. We highly recommend everyone join at least one hackathon in their lives to experience just how great they are.
You do not have to be a software engineer or have coding knowledge to join most hackathons—you can pick a hackathon happening online or in-person near you and showcase your problem-solving abilities through a well-rounded presentation. The quality, uniqueness, and practicality of your solution are all key components of a winning presentation.
Then we got into Seneca Applied Research
We attribute much of our success to the incredible professors we met at Seneca Polytechnic and our experience working at Seneca Applied Research. Seneca Applied Research is a goldmine of learning opportunities. Through our long-term involvement there, we have mastered building projects from scratch, learned proper project management tools and techniques, and developed into seasoned programmers.
Here are five important takeaways from working in Seneca Applied Research that we apply in our work daily:
- Stakeholder communication can make or break a project. Applied research often involves multiple parties - funders, industry partners, end users, and other researchers. Learning to translate complex technical concepts into language that resonates with each audience is essential. We learned to explain complex topics in simple terms to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Documentation is just as important as the discovery. During the development stage, we came across different challenges and edge cases. Documenting these issues and forming plans to address them is key to a project's success.
- Teamwork really does make the dream work. Working in class group projects does not simulate the same experience as working in a real-world environment such as applied research does. A well-rounded team consists of people with different strengths. Our team of developers had a group chat where we shared ideas, debugged until midnight to solve problems, and then to balance it all out, we went outside and touched grass - literally.
- Iteration cycles need to be fast and frequent. Applied research benefits from quick feedback loops with end users or industry partners. We presented our progress through daily stand ups, making it a very efficient way of perfecting our prototype.
- Quality assurance and testing cannot be ignored. There were unexpected bugs and edge cases that always came up during the testing phase that would have gone undetected without multiple testers. This is one of the most crucial lessons we learned through applied research and now implement while building projects for our clients. We test each and every product we build thoroughly in different platforms and environments.
Learning and growing as founders
With each new project at Foam On Latte, we are growing as founders. Entrepreneurship involves figuring out many different things: drafting agreements, sending proposals, selecting the right tech stack, developing marketing strategies, and building projects effectively. We're learning something new all the time!
What's ahead?
As we look ahead to 2025, we're excited to continue building on the lessons we've learned and tackle new, amazing projects. Here's to making this year our best yet!
We share a lot of behind-the-scenes of our work on the @foamonlatte Instagram page! Follow us there to see what the founders are up to.
