Vladimir Goldobin

A mobile developer passionate about leveraging modern tools and techniques.

3 minute read

🚀 1520: Building a Food Delivery App Under Pressure

Fifteentwenty — 1520

In 2020, the rapid expansion of on-demand food delivery created a competitive race in major cities. 1520 was our startup’s attempt to enter this market before major players like Getir arrived in New York City.

As the sole Flutter developer, I was responsible for building a fully functional food delivery app from scratch within a strict timeframe. This meant balancing speed, performance, and usability, all while overcoming technical challenges like Stripe integration, polygonal geofencing, and complex UI interactions.

📌 The Challenge: Shipping an MVP in 2 Months

The goal was ambitious:

  • Develop a standalone food delivery app (not just an aggregator).
  • Provide a seamless user journey from ordering to delivery.
  • Implement a location-based warehouse detection system for optimized logistics.
  • Integrate Firebase for backend connectivity to move fast.
  • Support web & desktop versions for a wider reach.
  • Build and launch within 2 months to stay ahead of the competition.

🛠 The Tech Stack: Flutter + Firebase

To maximize development speed, we chose Flutter for its cross-platform support and fast UI iteration.

  • Frontend: Flutter
  • Backend: Firebase (Firestore, Authentication, Messaging, Crashlytics, Analytics)
  • Payments: Stripe (multiple plugin solutions)
  • Geolocation & Mapping: Custom polygonal geofencing system
  • Web/Desktop: Flutter Web

Firebase enabled agile backend development without needing a dedicated backend team, allowing me to focus on building the app experience.

💡 Solving Key Engineering Challenges

1️⃣ Stripe Integration in Flutter (2020)

Back in 2020, Stripe support for Flutter was far from perfect. I had to combine two of the most popular Stripe plugins and pick the best features from both to achieve a reliable payment flow.

Solution:

  • Researched Flutter Stripe plugin alternatives.
  • Integrated and tested multiple approaches.
  • Merged the most stable features from two libraries.

2️⃣ Scroll Synchronization for Category Navigation

One of the hardest UI challenges was syncing a vertically scrollable product list with a horizontally scrolling category selector—something no existing Flutter library handled well.

Solution:

  • Used two scroll controllers to track user interactions.
  • Listened for scroll events and adjusted animations accordingly.
  • Ensured smooth performance while maintaining pixel-perfect UI.

3️⃣ Optimized Warehouse & Delivery Area Detection

Since 1520 operated using local micro-warehouses, it was critical to ensure that users were matched with the nearest warehouse while staying within a defined coverage area.

To achieve this, I developed a custom geolocation-based address input and location picker with polygonal geofencing. The goal was to determine whether a user’s selected location fell within a delivery zone polygon.

Solution:

  • Implemented an address input field with location auto-completion.
  • Developed an interactive location picker, allowing users to manually adjust their pin.
  • Used a point-in-polygon (PIP) algorithm to determine whether the selected pin was inside a warehouse coverage zone.
  • Used Google Maps webservices for auto-completion and validation.

💡 This approach ensured precise warehouse assignment, reducing delivery errors and optimizing logistics.

4️⃣ Adapting the App for Web & Desktop

While Flutter Web was still maturing in 2020, I adapted the app to work on tablets, desktops, and browsers. This required fixing multiple plugin compatibility issues and implementing a responsive UI.

Solution:

  • Used Flutter Web directly for rapid adaptation.
  • Debugged and patched multiple plugins that weren’t web-compatible.
  • Designed responsive layouts for desktop & mobile.

🎯 The Outcome: Launch, Growth & Acquisition

The MVP was completed in just 2 months, with continuous improvements over the next 2 months while the business team prepared warehouse logistics and delivery operations.

After launch, 1520 operated successfully in NYC for a full year, gaining traction in a hyper-competitive market before eventually being acquired by Getir.

In 2021, I continued to support and maintain the app, including direct hotfixes to product data on the server, ensuring smooth operations post-launch.

🔥 Lessons Learned

  • Speed is key in startups, but technical debt must be balanced wisely.
  • Some technically difficult problems (like scroll sync) may not be necessary for MVP. Knowing when to cut complexity is crucial.
  • Geolocation & delivery logic are just as critical as UX. The polygonal geofencing system significantly reduced failed deliveries.
  • Product ownership goes beyond coding. I had to make decisions fast, solve problems beyond development, and take full responsibility for the product’s success.

🌟 Final Thoughts

Building 1520 was an intense but rewarding experience. It pushed my Flutter skills, refined my product vision, and gave me a firsthand look at the challenges of fast-growing startups.

If you’re building a high-speed MVP in Flutter, my advice is:
✅ Choose the simplest backend solution (Firebase worked great).
✅ Be flexible with UI challenges—some aren’t worth the effort.
✅ Keep an open mindset—things will break, but quick iterations win.
✅ Geofencing matters in delivery apps—a smart point-in-polygon algorithm makes all the difference.

Fifteentwenty — 1520 - Key facts

Would love to hear your thoughts—have you built a fast-paced startup app? 🚀 Drop a comment below!

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