Notes from the studio
What we're learning about building products with small teams and new tools. 11 articles since we opened in June 2023.
Vibe coding vs. AI-assisted engineering: what founders should know
Both use AI to write code. Only one leaves you with something you can maintain a year later.
A PDPA checklist for launching your SaaS in Singapore
Consent, retention and breach notification: the parts founders tend to forget until a client asks.
How we cut an MVP from 12 weeks to 5
A week-by-week breakdown of a booking platform build, and where the time really went.
Five AI features small businesses actually pay for
Receipt reading, smart search and reply drafting beat chatbots almost every time.
Designing for hawker speed: checkout flows under 10 seconds
Lessons from a payments prototype for hawker stalls that never shipped, and why we still use them.
Fixed price or retainer? How to choose for your first product
A simple framework based on how sure you are about what you’re building.
Our review checklist for AI-generated pull requests
Twelve questions every change answers before it’s merged, whoever or whatever wrote it.
Grants for Singapore startups building digital products
Where to start, what each kind of scheme is for, and what to prepare before you apply.
Why we start every project with a one-page brief
The fastest way to align founders, designers and engineers before the first sketch.
Why we named the studio after a sampan
Small boats, crowded rivers and the case for staying nimble.
Hello, Singapore: Sampan Labs is open
Two founders, one shared desk and a plan to help small teams ship real software.