Stamp Free

Shipped an AI-powered postal MVP in five months, helping Stamp Free secure £425,000 of investment at a £2M pre-money valuation.

Client: Stamp Free
Sector: Data & AI
Engagement: Accelerator
Duration: five months

The brief

Stamp Free set out to replace physical postage with unique codes (Digicodes) that carriers could scan from anywhere on the parcel. The build needed to handle code generation at scale, computer-vision recognition of handwritten codes, and a partner-facing dashboard, all within the runway window.

What we did

Stamp Free wanted to replace stamps and printed labels with unique codes, called Digicodes, that could be scanned by carriers from anywhere on a parcel. We designed and delivered the MVP across four connected surfaces: a sender app, a carrier-facing scanning app, a web dashboard, and the backend services needed to keep Digicodes unique, traceable, and secure.

We delivered the MVP as four coordinated surfaces, all sharing one backend:

  • A mobile sender app to generate Digicodes and post a parcel
  • A carrier-facing app with computer-vision recognition of handwritten codes
  • A web dashboard for tracking, partner visibility, and operations
  • The backend services to make all of it work concurrently without code collisions

How we approached it

The hardest engineering challenge was the computer vision pipeline. Handwritten Digicodes vary by ink density, handwriting style, parcel surface, lighting, and partial obscuration, so the system had to be tested against realistic depot conditions rather than ideal lab examples. Alongside recognition accuracy, we designed anti-duplication and fraud-prevention logic so each Digicode could be generated, validated, and tracked without being reused or spoofed across the system.

Transforming the experience

The work that mattered most for Stamp Free was proving that the concept could become a real postal product. The MVP showed the full journey in action: a sender generating a Digicode, writing it onto a parcel or letter, and a carrier scanning and validating that same code as part of the delivery workflow. That turned a disruptive idea into something postal partners, early customers, and investors could see, test, and evaluate. The working product helped support Stamp Free's investment traction, with the company later raising £425,000 at a £2M pre-money valuation.

Outcomes

The MVP gave Stamp Free a working product foundation for commercial conversations with postal partners, early customers, and investors.

Key outcomes included:

  • Launchable MVP delivered in five months
  • Sender app for generating unique Digicodes
  • Carrier-facing app for scanning and validating handwritten codes
  • Web dashboard for tracking, partner visibility, and operations
  • Backend services for secure code generation, validation, and anti-duplication logic
  • Technical proof point for AI-powered handwritten code recognition
  • £425,000 investment raised post-MVP at a £2M pre-money valuation

Tech & team

Technology

  • React Native
  • TypeScript
  • Firebase
  • AWS

Services involved