Test product ideas on evidence, not on a business case.
Testing three product ideas the usual way means a budget, a team, a hiring cycle and months of work before you learn which idea has a market. With us the same three ideas run as parallel proofs of concept for two months, at a combined cost of £15,000 plus VAT.
Small, bounded bets, then a full version of the ones that work
The investment that used to sit in front of the decision moves behind it.
Opportunity review
A short workshop with the executive team, a ranked list of product ideas, the evidence each needs and the first proofs of concept with written success and stop criteria.
Proofs of concept
A working proof of concept per idea, tested with real users or representative data, separate from your core estate, with a continue or stop recommendation.
Full version
A production product built to the Graduation Standard, ready to hand to your team, run as a new product line or move into a new company.
Handover
Code, cloud account, documentation, runbooks and the evidence pack transferred, with your internal team trained to own it.
Agreed at the start, earned at delivery
Where the product stays inside your business, as a new module, an internal platform or a customer tool, you choose between a fixed delivery fee based on scope and a value fee that you only pay in full once the product is in use and has proved its worth.
Where the product is meant to be sold to the wider market, we can set up a new company around it. The studio takes 5% to 15% on delivery, your business takes the majority or a large minority, and a management team is put in place to run it.
Stopping costs a few thousand pounds, not a team
Proofs of concept that are stopped carry no further charge. You own what was built and the evidence gathered. You can run three or four ideas for less than recruiting one product manager.
Very little until it works, then a fee tied to value
For businesses that cannot or would rather not give equity. We carry the risk on our senior time, and you keep the code from the first day.
| Stage | What you pay | When |
|---|---|---|
| Opportunity review | £2,500, credited against your first proof of concept month | Upfront |
| Proofs of concept | £2,500 a month per track | Monthly, nothing further if an idea stops |
| Full version | £2,500 a month per track | Monthly during the build |
| Launch fee | About 40% of the agreed value fee | When you put the product into production use |
| Value fee | The remaining 60% | When an agreed value measure is met, within 12 months of launch |
Something you already count
A cost saving, hours taken out of a process, active users, or first revenue from a customer product. We agree the measure, the data source and who confirms it before the full version starts. If it is not met within 12 months, the value fee lapses and you keep the product.
Or a share of revenue
For products sold to your own customers, the value fee can be 5% to 10% of net product revenue for three years, capped at twice the agreed fee. You can buy it out at any time for the balance of the cap.
For the executive team
- Test several product ideas in parallel for a few thousand pounds each, and decide on evidence within weeks
- No need to fund a team, change your organisation or interrupt your technology roadmap to find out whether an idea has a market
- Everything built to the standard an investor or acquirer would expect, so a product that works can be scaled, handed over or spun out without a rebuild
- Your technology team stays in control of the core platform, with a defined role in reviewing and owning what we build
- You own the code, the data and the evidence, whatever the outcome
- Larger businesses may be able to claim R&D tax relief on contracted out work; we write the technical uncertainty into each brief and recommend you take advice from your own R&D tax adviser
Start with an opportunity review
Two weeks with your executive team, £2,500 fixed, and a ranked list of ideas with the first proofs of concept ready to start.