The problem
The founder had built a convincing prototype in Lovable. It showed the idea well, but it could not take real payments, create real servers or keep customer credentials safe.
Every order would have needed a person to set up a server by hand, which is slow, error-prone and impossible to scale.
What I built
Checkout that triggers real work
Stripe subscriptions are wired to the platform with webhooks that handle the whole payment lifecycle: new orders, renewals, failures and cancellations.
Automatic server provisioning
A paid order creates a server through the cloud provider’s API in the background, then hands the customer their login details when it is ready.
Safety by default
Server credentials are encrypted before they are stored, customers can turn on two-factor login, and if provisioning fails the order is refunded automatically.
A customer portal and support desk
Customers manage their servers, billing and support tickets in one portal, with live status updates.
A marketing site the team can edit
The public site runs on a headless CMS, so pages and plans can change without a developer.
How it runs
The core loop, from the moment something happens to the moment it is handled.
How it runs: Checkout, then Provisioning, then Server live.
What changed
- PropVPS is live. An order goes from checkout to a running server with no manual step.
- The prototype’s look and ideas survived. The parts that handle money, servers and secrets were rebuilt to production standards.
Under the hood
- React customer portal
- Next.js marketing site on a headless CMS (Strapi)
- Node.js (Fastify) API with PostgreSQL and Prisma
- Background jobs for provisioning
- WebSockets for live status
- Stripe subscriptions and webhooks
- AES-256-GCM encryption for stored credentials
- Docker deployment
Want something like this?
SaaS products
AI-native products built to take paying customers from the first release.
Prototype to production
Apps started in Lovable, Bolt, Replit or Cursor, rebuilt where it matters so they are secure and ready to scale.
Related guides
Guide5 min read
How to export a Lovable project and run it without Lovable
Two ways to get your code out of Lovable, what the download does not include, and the steps to run, host and keep building the app on accounts you own.
Guide5 min read
Is your Lovable app secure? What to check before real users arrive
Lovable the platform is secure. The app it generates for you may not be. What to check before launch: data rules, secret keys, login and payments.
Guide4 min read
From Lovable prototype to production: what actually has to change
What to fix before real users and payments hit a Lovable, Bolt or Replit app: database rules, secrets, Stripe webhooks, background jobs and deployment.
Questions about PropVPS
Straight answers. If yours is not here, ask me.
Ask me directlyI read and answer every message.Did the Lovable prototype get thrown away?
No. The design and the product thinking carried over. What changed was everything underneath that touches payments, servers and credentials, which a prototype builder is not designed to handle.
What happens if a server fails to provision after payment?
If the server cannot be created, the customer is refunded automatically, so nobody pays for something they did not get.