Case study · Application
PublicLink case study: from public-sector network to EU RoC bidding platform
Europe's public-sector professional network - shipped as an MVP, then expanded into AI matching, CV parsing, and a full Reopening of Competition (RoC) bidding system for framework contracts.
Client
PublicLink
Solution
Full-app development
Time to launch
MVP + ongoing product
- Professionals in 60 days
- 0+
- Match records
- 0.0k+
- App / company / admin
- 0 roles
Overview
From matching to bidding
We shipped PublicLink as Europe's public-sector professional network in eight weeks, then kept building: AI at intake and matching, a full RoC bidding module, SendGrid transactionals, and a split architecture for consultants, companies, and admins.
Challenge
Networking alone wasn't enough for EU framework work
Public-sector contractors and companies needed more than a niche LinkedIn. Framework competitions (Reopening of Competition) demanded anonymous bidding, scored matching, CV intake, and role-separated workflows - without leaking identity mid-competition.
- Scattered jobs across institutional sites and informal networks
- No dedicated RoC / framework bidding flow for matched consultants
- Manual CV and job intake slowing competition setup
- Privacy risk if identities leaked before a competition closed
We owned
- Product
- Design
- Bubble build
- AI integrations
- RoC bidding module
- Transactional email
- Analytics
Client owned
- EU framework domain expertise
- Institution relationships
- Go-to-market
- Competition operations
Homepage
Solution
Network + procurement tooling on Bubble
One product spanning community, jobs, and EU framework competitions: Affinda + OpenAI for CV and job parsing, scored AI matching with mandatory vs nice-to-have criteria, anonymous company bidding with profile unlock for winners, Thaleria job ingestion, and digests rebuilt to handle 1,600+ match records.
Features
RoC bidding system
Admin-created competitions with AI-assisted job parsing, anonymous company bids, minimum bid rules, competing-bid logic, and automatic winner selection with profile unlock.
AI matching engine
Consultants scored 0–100 across skills, sector, language, and availability - with visible score breakdowns and mandatory vs nice-to-have criteria.
CV parsing & experience summaries
Affinda extracts structured profile data from uploaded CVs; OpenAI fills availability gaps and generates professional summaries from experience entries.
Three-role architecture
Dedicated /app, /company, and /admin surfaces so consultants, companies, and operators each get the right workflow without leaking competition data.
Transactional email & digests
Six SendGrid templates for RoC alerts, bids, win/loss, plus a rebuilt daily match digest that scales past 1,600 match records without recursion blow-ups.
Privacy & third-party intake
Full anonymisation during active competitions, role-based visibility, duplicate job detection at 70% similarity, and Thaleria webhook ingestion for external job postings.
Before → after
Before
A niche professional network for public-sector contractors and companies - strong early traction, but still a matching and community product.
After
A multi-role platform: consultant, company, and admin experiences; AI matching and CV parsing; anonymous RoC bidding for EU framework competitions; and transactional email at competition scale.
“Overall, the team has performed better than any other project I've worked on in the IT industry.”
Free tool
Have an idea in mind? Try our product cost calculator
Instant results · 100% free · Takes ~3 minutes
Impact
What changed after launch
0+
Professionals in 60 days
0.0k+
Match records
0 roles
App / company / admin
- 150+ verified professionals in the first 60 days after MVP launch
- Platform scaled to 1,600+ match records across consultants and jobs
- Three distinct roles with separate page architecture
- AI at three touchpoints: job parsing, CV parsing, and match scoring
- RoC module turned the network into procurement tooling for EU framework contracts
Results
PublicLink launched as a niche network - 150+ professionals in 60 days - then matured into a procurement-ready platform: AI matching and CV intake, anonymous RoC bidding, multi-role architecture, and email workflows that hold up at 1,600+ match records.
Technologies
Bubble
OpenAI
- AF
Affinda
- SE
SendGrid
- GT
Google Tag Manager
- ZA
Zapier
Notion
Also built for PublicLink
Website case study
Launch site that positions PublicLink for contractors and companies in public international institutions - then converts both into the live product.
Building for a regulated niche that outgrows matching?
PublicLink shows how a specialized network can become real procurement infrastructure - AI intake, anonymous bidding, and role-safe workflows. If your category needs more than a feed, we'll help you ship the version that earns trust.
Book a strategy call“An amazing job done by Marko and the team, the quality and timeliness of delivery being absolutely spot-on. More than just delivery itself, I had a great time working with Marko, debating ideas and shaping the product.”
Ready to build?
Book a strategy call. We'll map the fastest path from where you are to a product that compounds.
Book a strategy call