Four gates. You accept each one before the next starts.
Fixed price, billed by milestone, for all three things we do. You can stop after any milestone and keep what was built.
Diagnose
Paid discovery sprint. Read the code, meet the people, write the findings. You keep the document whatever you decide.
Prove
The measures and today’s numbers agreed in writing first, then the smallest working slice live on real work. Running costs published before we scale anything.
Build
Working software every fortnight. Same people throughout. Decisions and demo notes written down in your accounts, not ours.
Hand over
Your team runs it for two weeks while we are still on call. Guides to run it, a who-to-call list, and a written handover review.
Three ways to engage. No published prices.
A fixed itemised quote follows the discovery call. Fixed price for scoped work, billed by milestone.
| Term | Discovery sprint | Fixed-scope build | A founder on your team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Deciding whether and what to build | A defined outcome with a defined end | Ongoing senior capacity alongside your team |
| Who | Both founders | Both founders, for the whole engagement | One or both founders, part-time or full-time |
| Pricing | Fixed fee, quoted after the first call | Fixed price, milestone-billed, quoted after discovery | Monthly retainer |
| You receive | Findings document, prototype, costed build plan | Working system, decision log, agreed measures, guides, handover review | Weekly demo notes, quarterly architecture review |
| Change control | n/a | Written change note, re-priced within 3 working days | Re-prioritised in the weekly planning note |
| IP | Yours from day one | Yours from day one | Yours from day one |
How a fixed-price build is billed.
By milestone, as a share of the agreed fee. No large lump sum up front.
| Milestone | Share of fee | Billed when |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery sprint (credited if already done) | 10% | On signature |
| Measures, baseline and running costs agreed | 20% | You accept the baseline |
| First working slice live | 25% | First real traffic |
| Build, working software every fortnight | 30% | Demoed every fortnight |
| Hand-over and written review | 15% | Your team has run it for two weeks |
| Total | 100% |
From the first message.
Every line is something we control.
- d01
You write a paragraph. A founder replies within one working day.
- d02
30-minute call with both founders. No deck.
- d04
Written read of your problem: what we would build and roughly what it costs. Yours to keep, whoever you build with.
- d06
Discovery sprint starts, if you want it. Repo and wiki created in your accounts.
- d10
First weekly note in your inbox: what was built, what was decided, and why.
Honest answers, including “not yet”.
Do we actually need AI?
Sometimes no. Many problems are better served by a clean data model, one well-placed automation or a faster system than by a model. The discovery sprint says which is true for you, and we will say “not yet” when it is.
Is our data used to train someone else’s model?
No. We build on paid business plans where what you send is not used for training, or on models running in your own accounts. An NDA is signed before you share anything sensitive, and every credential sits in your accounts, not ours.
What happens when the model gets it wrong?
It will. That is why the test it must pass is agreed before the model is chosen, every decision carries its evidence, and anything the system is not sure of goes to a person. Accuracy is measured on your own data before roll-out, not promised in advance.
Who owns what at the end?
You do: code, prompts, the agreed tests, the setup files that recreate the system, the guides to run it, and the accounts it all runs in. Any team can take over.
What happens when something breaks after you leave?
You call the founder you already know. A reply within one working day is written into every statement of work, the handover includes the guides your team runs it from, and a monthly care plan is available — never required — to keep it watched. Because everything is in your accounts, any engineer you hire can take over.
Will our staff actually use it?
That is designed for, not hoped for. The system suggests and a person approves, so nobody is fought by their own tools; your team is trained while we are still in the room, in their own workplace; and adoption is one of the measures we agree up front. The worked examples show what that looks like.
We already run Tally, Shopify or Zoho. Do we throw it away?
No. We keep what works and connect it. In the pharmacy chain example, each store keeps its existing billing where that is simpler; the new system sits on top and gives the owner one picture. Replacing software your team already knows is a last resort, not a starting point.
Why a two-person firm and not a larger vendor?
Because the people who scope the work build it. Large firms sell senior judgement and deliver junior capacity; freelancers can disappear. We are two senior people, accountable by name, and we will tell you when you need fifty engineers instead.
We are not in India. Does that matter?
No. Remote by default, on site by arrangement. Work runs with weekly demos and a written note.
What is the smallest way to start?
A two-week discovery sprint at a fixed fee. You get a findings document, a prototype and a costed build plan, and you keep all three whoever you build with.
What does it cost?
A fixed itemised quote follows the discovery call; we do not publish a rate card, and there is no hourly billing. Scoped work is fixed price, billed by milestone — never a large lump sum up front — and you can stop after any milestone and keep what was built.
Write a paragraph. A founder replies within one working day.
A 30-minute call with both founders follows. No deck, no proposal template — a first read of whether we are the right shape for the problem.