Case study · Airblack
From pandemic pivot to Series A, scaling through rapid iteration.
When the world shut down in 2020, most travel-tech startups faced an existential crisis. Airblack chose to pivot, completely. Here's how we became their engineering partner through one of the most critical phases of their journey.
At a glance
Industry
EdTech / Creator Economy
Engagement
On-demand dedicated developers
Technologies
React Native, Android Native, React (Web)
Duration
8-9 months
Speed to hire
First developer onboarded in under 1 week
Outcome
Successful pivot, Series A funding
About the client
Empowering the creator economy.
Airblack is on a mission to help people convert their passions into livelihoods. They do this by providing specialized courses taught by top industry experts, starting with makeup artistry, with plans to diversify into other creator-focused verticals.
Co-founders Videt Jaiswal and Vaibhav Raj Gupta believe that the next decade belongs to internet-first creators and entrepreneurs. Their vision attracted backing from Info Edge and Elevation Capital, who led Airblack's Series A in July 2021. But before the funding headlines came a much harder story, one of survival, reinvention, and relentless speed.
The challenge
When COVID-19 forced a complete pivot.
In its earliest days, Airblack was focused on the travel industry. Then the pandemic hit. As borders closed and the future of travel became uncertain, the founding team faced a brutal truth: their current business model had no runway. They chose to pivot.
A pivot is not just a strategy change on a whiteboard. For Airblack, it meant:
- Completely restructuring their product suite for a new business model.
- Rebuilding core features of their mobile applications.
- Moving at extreme speed to test new hypotheses before runway ran out.
- Doing all of this while the world was in lockdown and hiring was harder than ever.
For a young startup that had not yet reached product-market fit, speed was not just important. It was existential.
The solution
On-demand engineering talent, zero friction.
Airblack's internal team had strong engineering capabilities, but they needed to augment capacity quickly without the burden of traditional hiring cycles. They needed developers who could plug in immediately, contribute from day one, and scale up or down as the product evolved.
Phase 1 · React Native
The initial pivot
Airblack chose React Native for its speed advantage when racing to validate a new business hypothesis. Within less than a week, we provided a developer with 3+ years of experience who integrated seamlessly with their existing team and contributed from day one.
Phase 2 · Android Native
Post-pivot scaling
The pivot worked. With validation in hand, the team decided to rewrite their apps in native platforms for a more performant user experience. Within 2 weeks, we provided a senior Android Native developer to help rebuild the Android app from the ground up.
Phase 3 · React (Web)
Platform expansion
As Airblack continued to grow, they expanded their product surface to include web-based experiences. We provided a React (Web) developer to support their frontend web development needs.
The result of the pivot
Real users. Real revenue. A real business.
Airblack launched their new product line, specialized courses for makeup artists, and gained significant traction almost immediately. The pivot did not just attract users. It generated real revenue, validating the new business model and setting the stage for fundraising.
In July 2021, Airblack closed a Series A round led by Info Edge and Elevation Capital, a testament to the strength of their execution and market opportunity.
How we worked
Empathy, transparency, and speed.
Rapid talent deployment
First developer onboarded in under 1 week, second in under 2 weeks. No long hiring cycles, no lost momentum.
Multi-technology expertise
Developers across React Native, Android Native, and React (Web), all matched to Airblack's specific stack and culture.
Flexible engagement model
Scaled engineering capacity up and down based on Airblack's evolving needs, without long-term commitments or overhead.
Remote-first collaboration
Seamless integration with Airblack's distributed team during a global pandemic, with the right setup to work effectively remote.
Startup-first mindset
We treated their urgency as our own. Every week mattered. Every feature mattered.
Long-term partnership
8-9 months of continuous collaboration, with deepening trust and shared context across phases.
The results
Pivot executed. Series A closed.
<1 wk
Time to onboard first developer
A React Native developer with 3+ years of experience was productive in under one week.
3
Technologies supported
React Native, Android Native, and React (Web) developers, scaled up and down based on need.
Series A
Closed in July 2021
Led by Info Edge and Elevation Capital, validating the post-pivot product and execution.
In their words
"Bowstring Studio helped us onboard quality developers across technologies: React Native, Android, ReactJS. They were always supportive in resolving the challenges we were facing in the shortest time possible. Over time, our partnership has really matured in understanding team and project requirements and finding the right resources."
Vaibhav Raj Gupta
CTO and Co-founder, Airblack
Why this matters
Your pivot partner, when it matters most.
Every startup faces inflection points. Moments where the old plan stops working and a new direction becomes necessary. The question is not whether you'll face a pivot. The question is: will you have the engineering capacity to execute it fast enough? Airblack did not just survive their pivot. They turned it into a Series A. We're proud to have been part of that journey.
Scale your engineering team without the hiring headache.
We can have the right people working on your product within days, not months.
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