Counterweight Scales Health Platform and Cuts Costs with epicX
Resources aligned
Healthcare Technology
United Kingdom
Counterweight is a digital health company that delivers evidence-based weight loss and type 2 diabetes remission programs. Their clinically-backed approach combines nutritional meal replacements with expert behavioral support to help users sustainably reverse chronic health conditions.
As user demand grew, Counterweight’s digital platform began to break down. With a microservices-heavy setup, excessive AWS costs, and bloated custom features, the infrastructure became expensive, fragile, and unable to scale. To fulfill their mission, they needed a leaner, more reliable digital foundation.
Counterweight’s platform had several challenges stalling its ability to scale and serve more patients effectively
A microservices setup inflated AWS costs to over $1,000/month for just 70 users.
Poor AWS configuration drained resources and added operational overhead.
Too many bespoke tools created technical debt and slowed delivery.
Development priorities weren’t aligned with real business goals.
GraphQL-based chat features added unnecessary complexity.
Unstructured code and a lack of documentation made onboarding and scaling difficult.
"We were working with a fragile and expensive platform. The dedicated developers from epicX came in, understood the root issues quickly, and rebuilt the system in a way that just worked. Costs dropped, performance improved, and the product became something we could finally scale."
- CEO, Counterweight
Counterweight brought in epicX to overhaul their platform based on three clear priorities: cost reduction, stability, and scalability. epicX delivered across the board.
We replaced the complex microservices architecture with a lean monolithic setup, cutting engineering overhead and simplifying updates.
Integrated proven tools like Stream for chat and Sanity CMS to speed up development while reducing code bloat.
Redesigned AWS usage and eliminated redundant services to dramatically lower monthly spend.
We deployed 3 full-stack engineers with deep experience in AWS, backend scalability, and system architecture, fully aligned with Counterweight’s goals.
epicX worked directly with their product and leadership team to ensure every sprint delivered real business value.
"They brought deep technical thinking and were great at communicating solutions that worked for our users and the business. It was clear they cared about the outcomes, not just the code."
By simplifying Counterweight’s architecture and optimizing AWS usage, we helped cut infrastructure costs by 70 percent while enabling the platform to support 35,000 users without downtime.
Our technical restructuring allowed the team to launch faster, onboard developers with ease, and maintain compliance as the company prepared to scale even further.
Monthly infrastructure spend dropped from $1,000 to $100 while improving speed and stability.
The new platform now serves tens of thousands without added cost or performance issues.
From code audit to launch, the entire transformation was delivered in half a year.
New system passed ISO, DTAC, Cyber Essentials, and ISO/IEC 27001 audits with zero blockers.
"epicX really felt like an extension of our internal team. They helped us cut through the complexity and brought structure to our tech stack. Working with them gave us confidence to scale while keeping everything stable and compliant."
CEO, Counterweight
Every founder knows the struggle of scaling fast with limited time, money, and talent. Hiring locally burns runway quickly, while offshore development promises savings but often feels like a gamble.
Stories of buggy code, missed deadlines, and disengaged offshore developers can make even the most resilient founders question if it’s worth it.
But here’s the truth: offshore software development isn’t broken, it’s just been approached the wrong way. The right team, integrated the right way, can unlock scale and speed without draining your budget.
At epicX, we see offshore development as a strategic growth lever, where your offshore software development partner becomes a seamless extension of your startup, delivering speed, quality, and ownership.
So what does it take to build that dream offshore team, one that feels like your own and drives real growth?
Let’s unpack the common struggles founders face, why they happen, and how epicX offers a better way.
Offshore development has a reputation problem, but this often stems from how teams are sourced and managed more than the talent itself.
Global software engineers bring incredible skills, but legacy outsourcing models, filled with layers of middlemen and a lack of accountability, result in buggy code, missed deadlines, and teams that deliver just tasks, not outcomes.
Many founders have shared stories about endless debugging cycles, code so fragile it creates technical debt, and developers who seem to disappear when things get tricky.
But this isn’t the fault of offshore developers in general. When startups get direct access to pre-vetted engineers who are aligned on startup culture and work in overlapping time zones, the quality skyrockets.
epicX’s model is crafted to tear down these barriers: no layers between founders and developers, rigorous vetting focused not just on skills but on startup readiness, and transparent engagement from day one.
This creates offshore teams that deliver reliable, high-quality software and feel like an extension of your in-house engineering.
Low standards and “vibe coding” lead to fragile software full of bugs, causing more time spent on patching than on innovation.
Without clear ownership, delivery schedules slip repeatedly. Founders end up firefighting instead of focusing on growth.
Offshore teams sometimes treat tasks as checklists rather than understanding product goals, resulting in siloed execution without initiative.
This feeds the dreaded sentiment, “It’s just faster if I do it myself.” The real problem lies in sourcing and managing the talent correctly, not with the talent pool itself.
Wrong vendor models block direct founder-to-engineer collaboration and create distance from day-to-day progress.
Lack of proper vetting means agencies push candidates with inflated resumes or juniors ill-equipped for startup speed and complexity.
Mismatched incentives reward billable hours rather than successful product outcomes, encouraging quantity over quality.
This sets up a “black box” dynamic where founders lose visibility, become reactive, and miss the chance to truly scale.
epicX flips traditional outsourcing on its head by putting founders directly in the driver’s seat:
Founders work directly with vetted engineers who understand the startup grind—no account managers or middlemen slowing down communication.
Developers undergo rigorous testing not only for technical excellence, but for startup culture fit and ownership mindset.
Teams are matched for overlapping time zones and compatible communication styles, making collaboration fluid and real-time.
With full transparency and active performance tracking from day one, there are no surprises or ghosting.
This is a genuine partnership. It’s not outsourcing as you know it. It’s built to speed startups past the hurdles of quality, communication, and accountability.
“Startups don’t just need coders, they need partners who think like founders. At epicX, we build teams that grow with your vision.”
Hassan Azhar, CEO & Founder at epicX
Even the most talented offshore developers can’t overcome structural problems alone. Startups face unique hurdles:
Despite these challenges, epicX has designed its platform to eliminate bottlenecks by offering pre-vetted developers ready to start within 48 hours, with a 94% first-match success rate.
We ensure guaranteed time zone overlap so founders get real-time collaboration during core hours.
Plus, our 14-day risk-free trial lets startups test the fit firsthand before committing. Our ongoing performance tracking and direct support keep accountability tight and visible.
This approach relieves founders from vetting exhaustion, micromanagement, and ghosting, freeing them to focus on product growth.
Successful offshore partnerships feel like your in-house team, not a faceless ticket factory. This requires conscious effort and respect.
Treat offshore engineers as teammates, not contractors. Startups that share their vision openly and invite offshore teams into planning and demos see higher engagement and ownership.
Clear documentation in shared wikis and established availability windows avoid misunderstandings and keep everyone aligned despite distance.
Assign features and outcomes, run demos together, and celebrate milestones. This builds true accountability and a product mindset.
Daily standups, sprint retrospectives, and live demos keep momentum and cohesion. Shared tools like Slack, GitHub, JIRA, and Notion unify workflows.
We facilitate direct kickoff sessions between founders and developers, ensuring immediate clarity and rapport.
With defined co-working hours for real-time sync, and culture-fit matching aligned with startup urgency, offshore developers feel and act like part of your core team.
This intentional approach turns remote developer teams into powerful engines for scaling startups with offshore talent.
Timing your offshore scale-up is crucial. Too early, and you burn through resources before product-market fit. Too late, and your core team is overwhelmed, blocking growth.
Too early: If your product specs are incomplete or unvalidated, overhiring offshore developers creates wasted costs and confusion.
Too late: If your founding engineers are burning out or repeatedly missing deadlines, delaying offshore hiring stalls your roadmap and causes missed market opportunities.
Your development pipeline jams because engineering velocity can’t keep up with ideas.
Your product specs and processes have enough clarity to onboard external engineers efficiently.
You need flexible talent scaling without the burden of full-time hires dropping your runway.
With epicX, startups can add vetted developers in days, not months.
You get the freedom to scale up or down without rigid contracts or penalties, perfectly adjusting to evolving needs. Plus, the risk-free trial lets you test collaborators before fully committing.
Scaling with epicX isn’t a gamble; it’s a deliberate, controlled growth strategy.
epicX stands apart because we’re purpose-built for startup realities, not just volume staffing.
We deliver proven startup alignment with quality developers who save you up to 65% compared to local hiring, without compromising standards.
Our teams are culture and time-zone matched, so communication flows naturally and agility is baked in.
Unlike freelancer marketplaces, we provide dedicated engineers focused solely on your product, ensuring continuity, deep product knowledge, and faster iteration cycles.
Our staff augmentation services and transparent pricing mean no hidden fees or markups, and we don’t require deposits or long-term lock-ins. Founders can trust us to help them scale fast, stay lean, and focus sharply on building winning products.
epicX isn’t about filling seats, but about delivering a real offshore software development partnership tailored for startups.
The competition to ship faster and smarter is heating up globally. Startups that can tap global tech talent, build flexible teams, and avoid bottlenecks will lead their markets.
epicX is more than just a talent provider—we build resilient development engines that scale with you through every phase: from MVP to Series A to expansion.
If it’s time to skip painful hiring cycles and build an offshore team that moves your startup forward, connect with epicX’s founder to start your journey today.
Watch for recurring bugs, patch-heavy releases, or poor documentation. Regular code reviews and clear performance metrics help catch issues early. At epicX, ongoing performance tracking gives founders full transparency.
Freelancers suit short, isolated tasks. For core product work, you need dedicated developers who care about outcomes and continuity. epicX offers full-time engineers embedded in your team.
Designate overlap hours for live collaboration while complementing with asynchronous documentation. epicX guarantees time-zone aligned teams for real-time communication.
Treat developers as you would in-house talent: provide growth opportunities, regular feedback, and ownership. epicX prioritizes culture fit and engagement to foster long-term retention.
Choosing the cheapest provider or outsourcing without integration plans. Treat offshore teams as partners, not vendors. epicX builds teams focused on partnership and shared success.
Skip the job boards, candidate ghosting, and weeks of screening.
Get top-tier engineers matched to your stack, ready to deliver.
No proxies, No middlemen. Just velocity.
2-Week No-risk trial. Pay only if satisfied.
✓ 50+ tech stacks
✓ 94% success on first match
✓ Talent matched in under 48 hours
