Spending $50,000 (or more) on offshore developers only to end up with a half-built MVP is a nightmare scenario for any founder. It’s frustrating, disheartening, and financially draining. The good news? A half-built product isn’t necessarily a lost cause. With the right process, many MVPs can be salvaged, stabilized, and brought to launch.

Step 1: Get a Professional Code Audit

Before making any decisions, you need clarity. A code audit gives you a technical health report: what’s usable, what’s broken, and what’s missing. This step prevents you from throwing more money into a project that’s structurally unsound.

Step 2: Understand the Gaps

Often, offshore teams deliver partial builds—core functionality might be there, but it’s missing polish, testing, or proper documentation. An audit highlights:

• Areas where the code is solid

• Modules that are buggy or incomplete

• Missing documentation or tests

• Dependencies that could cause issues down the road

Step 3: Decide Whether to Salvage or Rebuild

Not every half-built MVP should be saved. If the architecture is fundamentally flawed, it may be cheaper and faster to start fresh. But if the foundation is decent, targeted fixes can turn it into a stable, usable MVP that can generate feedback, traction, or investor interest. That means prioritizing core flows—sign-up, onboarding, demo features—before polish.

Next Steps 

Don’t panic. A half-built MVP isn’t the end of your startup—it’s a crossroads. With expert help, you can turn your code into a launch-ready product.