- Why monthly instead of an upfront project fee?
- Three reasons. First, software isn't a project that ends at launch — it needs security patches, content updates, performance monitoring, and the occasional rebuild as the business changes. Pricing as a one-time project hides this and pushes the real cost back to you when something breaks. Second, monthly costs match how SMBs and early-stage startups actually budget. Third, it aligns our incentives with yours — we make money by keeping your system fast, working, and current, not by selling a one-time deliverable and disappearing.
- Do I own the code?
- While you're an active client, you have a perpetual royalty-free license to run the system for your business — we host it, we maintain it, you use it. The source itself stays under our copyright. If you ever want full ownership — to take it in-house, hand it to another shop, or sell the business with the IP attached — there's a posted buyout: 24× your current monthly fee, paid once. That's two years of retainer up front, no negotiation theater. At that point the repository transfers to your name and we hand over every credential. We don't lock you in — but we don't give away $5,000 of engineering work for one month of fees either.
- Why a 12-month minimum?
- Because there's no upfront build fee. A typical Starter site is 20-40 hours of custom engineering work that has to be amortized across the year — without a minimum, the math doesn't work for either side, and we'd be forced to charge a real upfront fee like everyone else does. The 12 months is the trade: you get a custom build with zero cash down, we get enough runway to recover the labor. After month 12, cancel any time with 30 days' notice.
- What happens if I need to leave inside the first year?
- Two paths. (1) Pause and resume: settle for the prorated remainder of the 12-month term — never more, never an inflated buyout. If you're at month 7 of a $299/month Starter, that's 5 months × $299 = $1,495 to close out, the system goes dark, and we part as professionals. (2) Take the code with you: exercise the 24× buyout (e.g. $7,176 on Starter) and walk with full ownership of the repository and credentials. Either way, no negotiation theater.
- Can I switch tiers as my needs change?
- Yes — up or down, with one month's notice. If you launch a new product line and need more dev hours, move to Pro or Scale. If a project goes into maintenance mode and you need less, move down. We don't gate switching behind a contract renegotiation.
- What's the difference between Scale and Enterprise?
- Scale is for serious web apps and AI-enabled products that one engineer can keep ahead of — typically 8-20 hours of dev a month. Enterprise is for systems where the build itself is bespoke and ongoing — manufacturers' DSD ordering, ERP integrations, multi-tenant SaaS, regulated industries — and where downtime has real operational consequence. Enterprise engagements include a fixed-fee scoping phase upfront so we both know what we're committing to before the retainer starts.
- Why are you cheaper than a NYC agency? Why are you more expensive than Wix?
- We're a solo operation with a senior engineering background, no PMs and no overhead, which keeps prices below typical NYC agency retainers ($800-$4,000/month for comparable maintenance work). We're more expensive than Wix or Squarespace because we write real custom code on a modern stack — Next.js, TypeScript, Supabase — that's measurably faster, more secure, and more flexible than templates. The difference shows up in Core Web Vitals, in conversion rates, and in what's possible to build six months from now.
- Do you ever take equity instead of cash?
- Selectively, yes. For early-stage founders with a credible product thesis and no cash to burn on engineering, we'll consider an equity-only or reduced-cash-plus-equity partnership in lieu of a monthly retainer. This isn't a default — it requires conviction in the founder, the market, and the wedge — but if you'd rather have a founding engineer than a vendor, ask. We'll be honest about whether we think the bet is worth taking.