05 / 06 · App Development

Apps that actually ship.
Custom software, built to last.

We build the software around the work.

Book a callHow we work
Timeline
12–24 weeks
Team
4–6 people
Starts at
$80k
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Under the hood

The architecture you actually own.

Every build ships on this shape: a typed front-end, a clean API seam, your own database, and observability from day one. The code and the infrastructure are yours, no platform hostage situations.
Next.js front-endReact 19 · TypeScriptAPI layerRoute handlers · authPostgreSQLYour data, your instanceBackground jobsQueues · schedulesIntegrationsStripe · CRMs · emailObservabilityLogs · alerts · uptime
  • Client owns the repo, the database, and the cloud accounts.
  • Typed end-to-end, schema to UI, so changes don't break silently.
  • Boring, proven infrastructure. Exotic tech has to earn its place.
Stack you inherit

Code you can read, own, run.

Not a black box you have to maintain a relationship with us to use.
Layer 01
Type-safe end to end
TypeScript on both sides of the wire. Zod for validation. The compiler catches what reviewers shouldn't have to.
Layer 02
Server Components by default
Next.js App Router, RSC where they help, Client Components where they earn it. Less JS shipped, faster pages.
Layer 03
Boring infra on purpose
Vercel + Postgres + Redis. CI on every PR, on-call playbook documented. No surprises at 2 a.m.
How we work

Six steps from brief to launch.

Predictable on the outside, lots of judgment on the inside.
  1. 01
    Weeks 1–2

    Shaping

    Two weeks where we get embedded with your team, not enough to design the whole thing, just enough to understand the problem and propose three shapes for solving it. We come out the other side with a fixed scope and a timeline you can plan around.

    • Stakeholder + user interviews
    • Existing-system audit
    • Three shaped solutions
    • Fixed-scope proposal
  2. 02
    Weeks 3–6

    Design & prototype

    Information architecture, end-to-end flows, hi-fi prototypes for the critical paths. We test those prototypes with real users before any code gets written. Cheaper to find problems in Figma than in production.

    • Full IA + flows
    • Hi-fi designs (every state)
    • Prototype tested with 5+ users
    • Component library v1
  3. 03
    Weeks 5–18

    Build

    Two-week sprints with a real demo at the end of each. You see working software the same week we make it. The team is the team, same five or six people from kickoff to launch, no offshore handoffs.

    • Two-week sprint cadence
    • Working demo every two weeks
    • PR-based code review
    • Test coverage on critical paths
  4. 04
    Weeks 16–22

    Hardening & QA

    Performance work, accessibility audit, security review, end-to-end test suite. Real-data dress rehearsal in staging. We don't go live until the rehearsal is clean.

    • WCAG 2.2 AA audit + fixes
    • Load + performance testing
    • Security review
    • Staging dress rehearsal
  5. 05
    Weeks 22–24

    Launch & runbook

    Cutover plan, on-call rota for the first 30 days, written runbook for everything we built. Your team takes the wheel knowing exactly what's where and who to call when something goes sideways.

    • Documented runbook
    • 30 days of on-call
    • Knowledge transfer sessions
    • Source code + infra handoff
  6. 06
    Ongoing

    Iterate or hand off

    After launch we either continue as your engineering partner on a quarterly cadence, or hand off cleanly to your in-house team. We've done both, and we'll tell you honestly which is right for you.

    • Quarterly retainer (optional)
    • Hiring support if going in-house
    • Architecture office hours
    • Yearly tech-debt review
Step 01Weeks 1–2

Shaping

Two weeks where we get embedded with your team, not enough to design the whole thing, just enough to understand the problem and propose three shapes for solving it. We come out the other side with a fixed scope and a timeline you can plan around.

  • Stakeholder + user interviews
  • Existing-system audit
  • Three shaped solutions
  • Fixed-scope proposal
Field notes

Field notes on buying custom software.

For founders and operators making a build-vs-buy call, what it costs, what goes wrong, and how to de-risk it.

When custom software is worth it (and when it isn't)

Buy off-the-shelf when your process is standard: accounting, payroll, generic CRM. Build custom when your process is the advantage, when your team runs a workflow competitors can't copy, and the off-the-shelf tools force you to work their way instead of yours. That's where the spreadsheet-and-email workarounds start, and those workarounds are usually the business case: hours lost weekly, errors from re-keying, decisions made on stale data.

The test we use with clients: if software that fit your process perfectly would save two people half their week, custom pays for itself inside two years, and you own the asset instead of renting a subscription forever.

02What a custom web app costs in 2026

Our builds start at $80k and run twelve to twenty-four weeks. That range covers a real production system: authenticated users, a database you own, integrations with the tools you already run, and the unglamorous engineering, permissions, audit trails, backups, that separates software from a demo.

Cheaper paths exist and are sometimes right: no-code tools are genuinely good for internal prototypes, and offshore rates look compelling until the rewrite. Where budgets die is the middle, paying custom prices for a team that has never operated software after launch. Ask any vendor who fixes the 2 a.m. incident in month nine.

Ownership test
At the end of the project, do you hold the repo, the database, and the cloud accounts? If the answer is anything but an unqualified yes, you're renting your own product.
03Why software projects blow up, and the boring cures
  • Scope soup: building for every edge case on day one. Cure: ship the workflow that carries the money first.
  • Invisible progress: months of "backend work" with nothing to click. Cure: working software in your hands every two weeks.
  • Handoff loss: strategists sell, juniors build. Cure: the people who scope it are the people who ship it.
  • Exotic architecture: tech chosen for résumés, not the problem. Cure: boring, proven infrastructure that hires easily.
04The stack, and why it protects you

We build on Next.js, TypeScript, and PostgreSQL, the most widely adopted modern web stack there is. That's a hiring decision as much as a technical one: if you ever bring engineering in-house or switch vendors, thousands of developers in Ohio alone can pick up the codebase. Typed code end to end means changes fail loudly in development instead of silently in production, and your data lives in a database you can take anywhere.

05After launch: the part most shops skip

Software is a living thing, dependencies age, usage grows, the business changes. Every build ships with observability (logs, alerts, uptime checks) from day one, and we stay on for support with a real response commitment rather than vanishing at handoff. Several of our platforms have been in production for years with the client's own team running them day to day, which is the actual goal: software you own and operate, not a dependency on us.

Frequently asked.

Everything teams ask before kicking off a App Development engagement.

Still have a question?

Email a partner directly, no SDRs, no chatbots, no marketing list. Just a straight answer from someone who does the work.

  • First reply within one business day
  • A partner answers, never an SDR
  • Happy to sign an NDA before we talk
Talk to a partner[email protected]
What stack do you build on?
Default is Next.js + TypeScript on the front, Node + Postgres on the back, deployed on Vercel and a managed Postgres provider. We use other stacks when there's a reason, but we won't pick a tool because it's trendy.
Do you do mobile (iOS / Android)?
We focus on responsive web apps and PWAs, which cover most use cases. For true native iOS / Android, we partner with a small set of specialists we trust and project-manage end-to-end.
Can you migrate us off our current platform?
Yes. We've done WordPress → Next.js, Salesforce → custom, Airtable + Zapier → real platform, and a half-dozen others. We always start with a data audit and a phased cutover plan.
Who owns the code?
You do, end to end. Source on your GitHub org, infra on your accounts, secrets in your vault. We don't hold anything hostage.
What happens after launch?
30 to 90 days of active on-call (depending on tier), then either a quarterly retainer or a clean hand-off. We've done both. We'll tell you honestly which fits your team.
Do you do compliance work (SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR)?
We can build to and document for those standards. We're not your auditor or your legal counsel, but we'll work alongside them and we won't make their lives miserable.
How do you handle scope changes?
Two-week sprints with a clear weekly demo. If scope shifts, we replan together, usually trading something out, not piling on. We've never had to file a change order.
Service areas

App Development across Central Ohio.

Based in Powell, serving businesses across the Columbus metro and beyond. Find app development in your city.
Ground control to Houston:

Let's build
something out of
this world.

[email protected]
Other practices

Five more ways we help.

No handoffs between practices. One studio.