Transforming Online Fortune-Telling: The Minden Project’s Digital Evolution

Introduction

The Minden project focuses on providing online fortune-telling services, connecting fortune tellers with users who seek guidance or emotional support. The platform primarily serves individuals facing challenges in life, looking for advice, or simply needing someone to listen to.

Users can connect with tellers through three main channels: phone, email, and chat. Each teller’s expertise and hourly consultation fees are displayed on the website, allowing users to select the most suitable service. Currently, the platform has over 420,000 registered users, with more than 150,000 customer reviews, reflecting the strong engagement and trust in the service.

Project Overview

1. A Growing Market:

   The project targets Japan’s online fortune-telling market, which is estimated to be worth ¥1.5 trillion, accounting for 1.5% of the overall fortune-telling industry. Minden has significantly contributed to this sector, generating billions of yen in monthly revenue.

2. Value for Users:

   Beyond just providing spiritual guidance, the platform creates a safe space for users to express their concerns and feel heard. Many users have found emotional relief through consultations, making this more than just a commercial service—it plays a crucial role in mental well-being.

3. Technical Growth and Scalability:

Initially built on an outdated system without a structured framework, Minden has undergone a major technological transformation. The platform now leverages Laravel, MariaDB, and ReactNative, with integrations such as Twilio for voice services and Metataps for payments, ensuring a more stable and scalable system.

Challenges in the Project

1. Outdated Technical Infrastructure:

   When the team first took over, the system was built using basic PHP without a framework and lacked fundamental features such as online payments and a mobile application. This required a complete system overhaul to modernize the infrastructure.

2. Synchronizing New Technologies:

   Transitioning from an old, rigid system to a modern tech stack was not just a matter of updating code—it required extensive collaboration among team members. This process was particularly challenging due to the lack of original technical documentation, which made onboarding and development more difficult.

3. Balancing Performance and Cost Efficiency:

   Maintaining system stability while managing operational costs was a critical issue. Expanding the platform to support live chat services and a growing user base without significantly increasing costs required careful optimization of infrastructure and resources.

4. Frequent Team Transitions:

   As a long-term project, frequent changes in team members posed challenges to knowledge retention and workflow consistency. Ensuring smooth transitions and maintaining technical expertise became essential for project continuity.

Solutions Implemented

1. Full System Rebuild:
   • The outdated system was rebuilt using Laravel and MariaDB, allowing for better scalability and long-term maintainability.
   • A ReactNative mobile app was developed, ensuring a seamless experience across iOS and Android.
2. Modern Technology Integration:
   • Twilio was implemented for voice consultations, ensuring a secure and reliable communication experience. Metataps was integrated for secure and smooth payment processing, reducing potential transactional issues.
   • A custom-built live chat system, similar to Skype, was introduced to facilitate real-time interactions between users and tellers.
3. Workflow Optimization:
   • The team documented technical processes comprehensively, ensuring easier onboarding for new developers and reducing knowledge loss due to staff turnover.
   • Regular team meetings and retrospectives allowed for early issue detection and rapid solutions, improving overall efficiency.
4. Cost & Performance Optimization:
   • Leveraged third-party tools to improve system performance while keeping infrastructure costs under control.
   • Implemented strategic feature rollouts based on user feedback, ensuring that all development efforts directly contributed to enhancing user experience.

Key Results Achieved

The Minden project has delivered outstanding improvements, significantly enhancing user experience and system stability. The modernized infrastructure now supports seamless operations even during high-traffic periods, ensuring a smooth consultation process for all users.

Key outcomes include:

• Enhanced system performance, allowing for more efficient data processing and improved platform responsiveness.
• High customer satisfaction, with positive feedback on new features such as real-time chat and mobile accessibility.
• Optimized operational efficiency, reducing system downtime and improving the overall reliability of the platform.

Additionally, the team's structured workflow has fostered a stronger, more collaborative work culture, making it easier to implement new features and handle future expansions.

Lessons Learned

1. The Importance of User Feedback:

   Direct insights from customers played a crucial role in shaping platform improvements, ensuring that each update genuinely enhanced their experience.

2. Investment in Modern Technologies Yields Long-Term Benefits:

   Transitioning from outdated frameworks to modern development tools provided a significant competitive advantage, ensuring long-term scalability.

3. Agile and Adaptive Workflows Enhance Productivity:

   • A flexible and well-documented development process enabled the team to overcome major challenges, reduce deployment risks, and achieve higher efficiency.

The Minden project stands as a testament to how thoughtful technical investment and strategic development decisions can transform a traditional industry into a highly scalable, user-friendly digital experience.