A properly built first product, without the agency bill.
Most early founders buy their first product from an agency, a freelancer or a technical co-founder learning on the job. It works well enough to demo, then struggles in diligence. We build it to the standard investors check from the start.
Three stages, each with a clear exit point for both sides
Discovery sprint
Problem and customer definition, scope for a first version, an architecture outline, a build plan and a clear go or no go decision from us.
Build
A working product in production, built to the Graduation Standard, with real users or pilot customers where the market allows. Six months is standard.
Graduation
Launch plan, funding plan and targets, SEIS or EIS advance assurance application, investor evidence pack and a handover or support arrangement.
Infrastructure and AI, not our time
The monthly fee covers cloud hosting, AI model and agent credits, and development and monitoring tools. Our time is paid for through equity, which we take as ordinary shares of between 5% and 15%, issued only once you have accepted the delivered product.
That keeps our reward tied to delivering, and keeps the studio well below the level of ownership that would affect your eligibility for SEIS, EIS and VCT investment.
Costs outside the fee
- Paid marketing
- Third-party licences specific to the product
- Legal advice for the venture
- App store fees
After graduation you can take the product in house, hire your own team with our help, or keep us on a support retainer until your first funded team is in place.
We accept a venture where the founder
- Has a defined customer and problem, and access to people who have it
- Is committed full time, or will be by graduation
- Is building a product that can be sold to the wider market
- Accepts the Graduation Standard and the equity terms
- Is open to a funding route through SEIS and EIS angels before later rounds
- Wants to own the company, the code and the decisions
Start with a discovery sprint
Two weeks, £2,500 fixed, and a clear go or no go at the end.