Technology consulting for small companies
An engineer to ask before you sign, hire or build.
For companies with nobody technical on staff. We read the proposal, sit in on the interview and look at what you already run, then tell you what we’d do in your position. Sometimes that’s nothing.
No sales team. The person you speak to is the person who does the work.
Proposal: a new customer portal
Our recommendation
Sign it, with two changes.
What people ask us
Most work starts with one of these questions.
Is this quote reasonable?
We read the proposal line by line and tell you what’s fair, what’s padded, and what’s missing.
Should we build this, or buy it?
Usually the answer is buy. We’ll say so, and tell you which one.
Is this developer any good?
We sit in on the interview, read their past work, and tell you what we think before you commit.
Will what we have hold up?
We look at what you run on and tell you what will last, what won’t, and what fixing it costs.
A second opinion
One decision, checked properly before you commit to it.
Fixed fee, agreed before we start DetailsA written plan
What to fix, what to build and what to leave alone, in order, with rough costs.
Fixed fee, agreed before we start DetailsHelp hiring
An engineer’s opinion on a developer, agency or freelancer before you commit.
Fixed fee, agreed before we start DetailsSomeone to ask
A regular call with a senior engineer, for as long as it’s useful.
Ongoing, at whatever pace suits you Details
In writing
Everything we tell you, we write down.
After each piece of work you get a document you can read without us in the room, and forward to your bank, your board or the next developer you hire.
- Written for an owner, not an engineer
- A rough cost and a risk on every line
- Yours to keep, whether or not you hire us
What to do, in order
When the plan says build
The person who advised you builds it.
Some advice ends with “leave it alone.” When it doesn’t, the same engineer carries on, so nothing gets lost between the person who planned the work and the person doing it.
Custom software
Software built around how your business already works, so you stop working around the software you rent.
Learn more: Custom softwareHosting and reliability
Fewer outages, a smaller monthly bill, and updates that are routine instead of nerve-racking.
Learn more: Hosting and reliabilityAI and automation
Repetitive work taken off your staff, one job at a time, and only where it pays for itself.
Learn more: AI and automation
How it starts
It starts with a look at what you have.
Before anyone suggests building anything, we go through what you run on and write down what we find.
Before anything is built
Look
We go through what you have and how you actually work, then write down what needs doing, roughly what it will cost, and what could go wrong.
The first thing you get
Footing
The first thing we hand over is small, real, and in use by somebody on your team.
From there on
Build
We add to it in steps. After each one you can see and use what changed, and you get a short note saying what it cost.
When it becomes yours
Handover
We write everything down, record a walkthrough, put every account in your name, and stay reachable while it settles in.
What we’ll talk you out of
Sometimes the advice is to keep your money.
A few things we’ll advise against, whoever is selling them.
See the full listA rewrite when a repair will do
Most systems need a few fixes, not a fresh start.
A technology because it’s new
Unusual tools make your next developer harder to find and slower to get going.
Help you no longer need
Once it’s working and written down, you should stop paying us. We’ll be the ones to say so.
What are you about to decide?
Send us the quote or the proposal, or describe the problem in a few lines. The engineer replies, you talk it through on a short call, and then you get a written answer.