Colada App

The challenge

Three engineers from Bilbao validated the Colada concept during the pandemic: a platform connecting users with verified Coladers to outsource washing, drying and ironing. Launching the service required a single native iOS app able to serve two profiles with opposing needs: the end user requesting the service and the Colader managing orders, rates, schedule and deliveries, with the possibility of the same person being both. Time-to-market was tight and technical quality was critical to support the brand from day one on the App Store.

The solution

AtalayaSoft assigned Francisco José García Navarro as the senior iOS engineer responsible for Colada's native development. Fran led the build-from-scratch of the app in Swift, to ensure performance, reliability and a consistent experience with iPhone conventions. The scope was structured as two complete flows within a single binary, each with its own onboarding, navigation and permissions.

1. End-user flow

Onboarding, navigation and features for the customer requesting the service:

• User location and map view of available Coladers in the area.
• Filtering by rate, delivery time (24/48/72 h) and services offered (wash, ironing, door-to-door pickup).
• Order configuration, Colader selection and payment.
• Order tracking with push notifications on each status change (pickup, washing, delivery).

2. Colader (provider) flow

Dedicated onboarding and features for the self-employed provider, including the platform-verified sign-up:

• Sign-up with identity verification: profile photo, ID document scanned on both sides and SMS validation, with manual review by the team before operating as a Colader.
• Colader profile management: rates, maximum accepted weight, surcharges for ironing and door-to-door service.
• Availability and pickup schedule configuration.
• Incoming order acceptance and communication with the end user.
• Push notifications for new orders and status changes.
• Order progress through the service state machine: pickup, washing, drying, ironing, ready and delivered, with a history both parties can consult.

Featured technical decisions

A single binary for two switchable roles

Colada was solved as a single app with two roles. Each profile has its own onboarding and its own navigation, and the same account can switch between ordering a Colada and providing one without logging out. The decision also made it possible to turn users into providers from inside the product itself, and it forced two things that are normally kept apart to be solved in the same binary: the provider's verified sign-up —with identity document and manual review— and a two-sided payments flow, with a wallet, transfers to a bank account and invoicing for the Colader.

100% native code for an early-stage startup

In a market where many startups choose cross-platform frameworks to accelerate launch, Colada chose native iOS from day one. The technical rationale was clear: a marketplace app with geolocation, push notifications critical to the operational flow, and two distinct user profiles benefits from native APIs in performance, stability and access to system features without intermediate layers.