Ship the smallest thing worth paying for.
For founders and companies testing a new idea. A real, working first version in 6–10 weeks — small enough to afford, good enough to charge for, and built so that version two isn't a rebuild from scratch.
A first version isn’t a cheap product. It’s an expensive question, asked properly.
First versions fail in one of two ways. Either they're stripped back so far that nobody can tell whether the idea works, or they're so complete that the money runs out before anyone finds out. The job of a first version is to answer one question — will people use this, and will they pay for it — using the least time and money that still gives you an answer you can trust.
So we start by writing the question down. Then we build the shortest honest path to it: the one workflow that delivers the value, a way to sign up, a way to pay, and nothing else. We build it on foundations that scale, so if the answer is yes you carry on from here rather than starting again. Six to ten weeks, an agreed scope, and something real at the end of it.
What’s included.
One workflow, done properly
The single thing your product is for, built well enough that someone would pay for it — rather than five half-finished things nobody can judge.
Sign-up, log-in, and payments
Real accounts and a real way to take money from day one. An idea nobody has paid for is still just an idea.
A design that doesn’t look like a prototype
Proper branding, proper typography, proper mobile screens. People judge a new product in about four seconds, and 'we'll design it later' loses those seconds.
Web, mobile, or both
A web app, an iPhone and Android app, or a web app with a mobile version to follow. We pick whichever gets you a trustworthy answer soonest.
A view into what’s happening
A simple admin screen so you can see every signup, help anyone who's stuck, and fix data yourself — without messaging an engineer at midnight.
Analytics that answer the question
Not vanity charts. Just the handful of numbers that tell you whether people are getting value: who signed up, who came back, who paid, and where everyone else dropped off.
Foundations that survive success
Standard tools, clean structure, automated tests on the important paths, and written documentation. If it works, you build on it. Too many first versions have to be thrown away.
Who this is for.
Founders raising a first round
Investors fund traction, not slides. A working product with real users is a far shorter conversation than a deck full of mockups.
Companies testing a new line of business
Established businesses trying an idea outside the core — without a year-long internal project and three committees.
Teams with a demo to prove
You've sold the concept to a customer or a board, and now something real has to exist by a specific date.
Anyone quoted a year and a fortune
Big estimates usually mean the scope was never cut. We'll show you the version that answers the same question in a quarter of the time.
How we run it.
Define the question
Before anything else, we write down what this build has to prove and what success looks like in numbers. Everything after this is judged against that one page.
Cut the scope
We take your feature list and split it into 'needed to answer the question' and 'later'. The second list is usually the longer one, and that's the point.
Design
One week of clickable screens covering the whole journey. You show them to five potential customers while we set up the technical foundations.
Build
Four to eight weeks in two-week sprints. Something usable in your hands every fortnight, and no surprises at the end — you watch it come together.
Launch to a first group
We go live for a controlled set of real users, watch every session closely, and fix what trips them up in the first two weeks.
Decide
We sit down with the numbers and answer the original question honestly: double down, change direction, or stop. All three are good outcomes when they're early and cheap.
Stack and integrations.
Engagement models.
Prototype
from $18k
Four to six weeks. One workflow, real accounts, and a design that stands up in front of customers or investors.
- Clickable design of the full journey
- One core workflow, working
- Sign-up and log-in
- 30 days post-launch support
MVP
from $32k
Six to ten weeks. A product you can actually sell: payments, an admin screen, analytics, and a controlled launch to your first users.
- Everything in Prototype
- Payments and subscriptions
- Admin screen and analytics
- 60 days post-launch support
MVP + Runway
from $55k
The first version plus three months of continued building afterwards — so the team that made it keeps improving it while your first customers arrive.
- Full MVP scope
- 3 months of continued building
- Weekly releases and reporting
- Handover to your own team included
Frequently asked.
5 questions answered. Still have one? Reach out.
The smallest version of your product that a real customer would use and pay for. Not a demo, not a mockup, and not half a product — a small, complete one that answers whether the idea works before you spend the rest of the budget.