Creating an MVP for a data integration project posed the challenge of balancing a quick release with a product compelling enough to attract users or investors. The team initially considered using Singer as a core component to quickly bootstrap the MVP, but ultimately aimed to make Singer peripheral in the long-term. They explored various strategies, including wrapping a UI around Singer, creating their own configuration abstraction, Dockerizing integrations, and transitioning to the Airbyte protocol due to limitations with Singer. Despite the challenges and the tempting hindsight of starting with Singer at the periphery, the early integration allowed for valuable learning experiences and insights into Singer's problem-solving approaches, such as its use of a breadcrumb system for metadata mapping. This informed their decision-making and helped avoid potential mistakes, affirming their choice to iterate quickly while learning from existing solutions.