Co-develop your custom software with us, from first build to production.
- Hands-on agentic development
- See it before you commit
- Owned by you, production-ready
What is Co-Dev?
Take part in development. We stay responsible for making it production-ready.
Co-Dev is an option for clients who want to be hands-on. We start with a working prototype we develop from your brief: a real, running software you can review and change yourself. Once the prototype is the way you want it, we build the production system together: you help in development, adding features and making changes alongside our developers as we go. You don't need to be a programmer. We set up the AI development tools and teach you to use them.
You bring the business knowledge: how the system should work. We bring the technical implementation: the language, the database, the architecture, and the production standards. If you want to own that piece yourselves instead, or stay hands-off entirely, both are possible.
The more your team takes part, the deeper you understand the system you end up with. That means less lock-in, and less dependence on your IT supplier.
Already have a vibe-coded proof of concept? You can bring it to us for the production-readiness review, fixed-price scoping, and the engineering needed to turn it into production software.
Prefer a different route?
- If your project is mostly maintenance and ongoing changes, that is Continuous Monthly Development.
- If you would rather stay fully hands-off, we build it as a Fixed Price Project.
You could not do this before AI
Building custom software used to mean writing a spec, agreeing a price against paper, and hoping the final outcome matched what you pictured. AI changed that. Now you help shape a real prototype with us, then co-develop the application so that you are on top of what is being built while we responsible for the engineering.
The usual way
Spec first, see it later
- Your specs stay words on a page until it is fully built.
- You approve a price from a document, not a working thing.
- The gap between what you meant and what gets built shows up late.
The Co-Dev way
See it first, then develop it
- You get a real working prototype in your hands.
- You shape it hands-on together with us, and we keep responsibility for the technical implementation.
- We price the exact thing you approved, then build it.
You stay hands-on; we stay responsible.
Once the prototype is done, we build the real application: right language, right database, right structure. Everything a production system needs that a prototype skips, we add in, fully tested and ready to launch.
Stack: Codex · Claude · Manus · Grok Bot · GitHub Copilot · Cursor · Windsurf · plus our own models, skills, and workflows
Built for complex systems, not standard changes
Co-Dev is for modern, custom software: AI agents and automation that plug into the systems you already run, bespoke applications, and business tools built around how you work. Big or small, if it is specific to your business, it is a good fit.
Good fit
Complex, custom, AI-powered systems
- Custom AI agents and platforms that integrate with your existing IT systems.
- Your own CRM or production system, built around how you work.
- A custom quoting or pricing engine, or an internal workflow portal.
- Anything from an internal tool to a customer-facing platform.
Not the right fit
Standard changes to off-the-shelf platforms
- Adding a new checkout to a Magento store.
- A WordPress or Umbraco theme change.
- Installing or configuring a Shopify app.
- A routine bug fix or a small, well-defined feature.
For standard changes, Continuous Monthly Development gets you there faster.
Two phases, eleven steps, and a readiness gate between them
Phase one: shape the prototype together. Phase two: build the application, with you as involved as you want to be. In between, a readiness review confirms the price matches what you approved.
Shaping the prototype
Project intake
You describe the application you want in our custom project intake portal: a meeting recording, a real-time conversation with us and AI, or documents you already have. We review it, identify missing requirements and technical risks, and run a clarification round, so nothing gets built from a half-formed brief.
Set up the base application
We turn what we have agreed into the initial build, agents, and skills packages, then set up the base application inside one coherent AI framework.
A working prototype
We develop it into a working prototype you can click through, so you see how the application will actually work.
From intake, a working prototype usually takes one to two weeks for us to prepare. Before shaping starts, we run a two-session workshop where we teach you AI software development so you can make changes on your own. You then shape it typically with Codex using your own key, often gaining skills your team can keep using after the project.
Set up your environment
We set up and configure an AI development environment on your computer, and we manage it for you, so there is nothing for you to maintain.
Shape it together
We teach you to make changes to the prototype yourself, and you dive in hands-on. We're on call for questions or when something breaks, and we jump in ourselves when you want a hand. It's back-and-forth, not a handoff.
You are happy with the prototype. Your sign-off fixes the point where we calculate the price for the real application. It doesn't end your involvement, stay as hands-on through the build as you want. Either way, the prototype is yours to keep.
Fixed-price build
Production-readiness review
We review the prototype and document what it takes to make it production-ready: authentication, real data, integrations, security, scaling, and deployment.
Scoping and fixed price
We scope it and give you one fixed price for the real application.
Development
We build it right: right language, right database, right structure. Want to stay involved? You keep working alongside our developers, shaping features and making changes as we go. Prefer to step back? We'll run with it and keep you posted. Anything outside the agreed spec is quoted separately either way.
Testing
We test the application thoroughly, using AI-driven testing alongside our testers, before it goes anywhere near your users.
Deployment
We deploy the finished, production-ready application, owned by you. We also update your prototype to match, so you always work on the latest code base. From here, new features run through Continuous Monthly Development, but major updates can be quoted as a fixed price.
Hand over the source code
We hand over the source code, typically into your own source code repository, such as GitHub. If you do not have one, we can help you set up and maintain it.
Yours to keep, and to build on
Many clients come away from a Co-Dev project with new skills their own team keeps using.
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It's yours to keep
Take the prototype with you after the shaping phase, no matter what you decide next.
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Owned by you
The finished application is yours: you can use it, sell it, change it, and you can even continue development with another team if you want.
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Continuous Monthly Development
Once you are live, we keep extending and improving the application with you on a monthly basis.
What is fixed, and what is not
The prototype and the production build each have a fixed price. The shaping sessions in between run as time and materials, since how much hands-on work that could take varies project to project. Once a price is fixed, staying involved doesn't cost extra: we're in this with you the whole way.
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The prototype
Once we know your scope, from the intake, we quote a fixed price. We can't quote sooner, every project's different.
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Shaping it together
We advise, suggest, and build alongside you. Since every project's different, this runs time and materials, at $80/hour.
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The production build
Once the prototype's done, we quote a separate fixed price to build, test, and deploy the real thing.
After launch, Continuous Monthly Development covers new features. You cover your own AI credit usage once your tools are set up.
Shaped together. Built right.
Start with an intake: tell us what you want to build, and we come back with the questions that get us to a prototype.
Free, no-commitment
Good things to ask before you start
Do I need to know how to code?
No. You describe what you want and shape the prototype using tools we set up for you. This is often called vibe coding, and it has a mixed reputation: plenty of vibe-coded apps wouldn’t hold up under real use. That’s fine for a prototype: it doesn’t need the ideal language, database, or the ability to handle thousands of users at the same time, it just needs to work. Making it production-grade is what the build phase is for, and you can stay just as hands-on there too if you want to.
Am I responsible for getting the software right?
No. The prototype is only there to capture your ideas and let you see the software working. Making it correct, in the right language, on the right database and infrastructure, is our responsibility.
What if I want changes during the build?
Keep shaping it. Anything covered by the agreed spec is included; anything new is quoted separately.
What does it cost?
The prototype is a fixed price, quoted after intake. Shaping it together runs time and materials at $80/hour. The production build is a separate fixed price, quoted once the prototype’s done.
If I shaped the prototype, why pay for the build?
Because a prototype isn’t production software yet. It proves the concept and locks the scope, but skips real engineering, security, real data, integrations, scale, testing, deployment. That’s what the build phase adds, so you can actually run your business on it. (For example, we will not build a full role management system in the prototype; that will be added in the finished application.)
Do I keep the prototype?
Yes. You can take it with you after the prototyping phase, even if you decide not to continue to the build.
What do I own?
The finished application, including source code, is yours, delivered in the right language on the right database and infrastructure.