A real company
Incorporated, or ready to be before we sign.
Applications open
You bring the company.
I deliver the product.
One founder. One product partner. No fee, just a minority stake and a shared reason to build the right thing.
Discovery
Product design
Engineering
Launch
01 · The arrangement
No invoice at the end.
No control handed over.
You incorporate and own the company. I take the product from first question to first customer, in exchange for a passive minority stake.
01
No cash feeNo retainer, hourly rate, or kill fee.
02
Your company owns the workAssigned from the first commit.
03
You keep controlNo board seat, voting rights, or veto.
04
Terms before workScope, milestones, and vesting in writing.
Aligned by design
An agency is paid on delivery.
I am paid on outcome.
If the company goes nowhere, the stake is worth nothing. So I will challenge scope, cut the wrong features, and care what happens after launch.
02 · The fit
Four signals
I look for.
Early is fine. Unexamined is not.
Founder commitment
Full time now, or by the time the product is ready.
Problem clarity
You can explain who has it and what they do today.
A product, not a prop
Something useful to real people, not a fundraising demo.
What decides it
The problem.
And why you win.
I read every application myself. Evidence beats conviction: conversations, observed behavior, domain experience, access, timing, or distribution. A thoughtful early idea beats a polished answer with nothing underneath it.
03 · The process
Clear from
the first step.
01
Apply
Take an hour. Specific beats polished.
02
Talk
Thirty minutes on the problem and fit.
03
Scope
Define the first complete product.
04
Agree
Milestones, stake, IP, and exits in writing.
05
Build
Weekly demos until launch and handover.
04 · Scope
Everything needed
to launch.
Scope is settled before we start and written down.
Included
- Product discovery and scoping
- Interface and interaction design
- Frontend and backend engineering
- Infrastructure and deployment
- Launch, handover, and documentation
Yours to run
- Hosting and third-party services
- App-store fees and licences
- Marketing, sales, and support
- Maintenance beyond the agreed window
- Fundraising and investor relations
05 · Questions
The candid
answers.
How much equity do you take?+
It depends on the build. I scope first and name a number second. It is always a minority stake, agreed in writing before anything starts, and you can walk away at that point having spent nothing.
Do you get a board seat or control?+
No. No board seat, voting rights, veto, or approval over hiring, fundraising, or direction. You run your company. I hold a passive stake.
Who owns the code?+
Your company does, assigned as it is written. If we stop halfway through, you keep everything built to that point, including the repository and documentation.
What if I want to stop?+
You can, at any milestone. Unvested equity does not vest, completed work remains yours, and neither of us owes the other anything further.
Do I need a company already?+
By the time we sign, yes. If you have not incorporated yet, the entity simply needs to exist before there is a stake to grant.
What does it cost in cash?+
Nothing to me. Hosting, third-party APIs, domains, licenses, and app-store fees remain your company’s running costs. I estimate them during scoping.
How many do you accept?+
A handful each year. A product takes months of focused work, so accepting one means declining several others.
Applications open
It is never too early
to apply.
If you are not sure you are far enough along, apply anyway, and say so.