Custom tools
Software for the thing no product does.
A spreadsheet is running part of the business.
When a critical process lives in a file only one person understands, every change is a risk and nothing scales.
We replace the spreadsheet everyone is afraid to touch with software built for how your team works, delivered in your own repo.
- Time
- 4 to 10 weeks
- Price
- From $30,000
- Deliverable
- Working software, your repo, and docs
Where it fits
Build, because it gives the team software it does not have yet: an internal tool, a research platform, an integration, or a first product, delivered in your own repo.
This is right when
- A critical process lives in a spreadsheet only one person understands.
- The process needs its own interface, database, or users, not just a connection between tools.
- You need a working first version of a product, with sign-in, payments, and a database.
Not the right engagement when
- Your tools only need to talk to each other.Look at Workflow automation.
- A product you can buy already does the job.We say so. Setting it up costs less than building it.
- You want to learn to build your first product yourself.Look at Build Lab.
What we build
The dashboard, tracker, or approval queue that has lived in a spreadsheet for two years.
Structured analysis tools with a real database behind them.
A working first version with auth, payments, and a database, ready for real users.
The connector between two systems that were never meant to talk.
Next.js, Tailwind, Supabase or Neon Postgres, Stripe, Vercel. A CLAUDE.md, roadmap, and decisions document from day one, so the codebase explains itself. Weekly demos of working software. Everything lands in a repo you own.
- The WorkroomInternal toolA collaborative review tool with dual sign-off and a retrieval knowledge base.
- Door MoneyStoryworlding venture, in the buildA two-sided marketplace with Stripe Connect payouts.
- Often comes beforeNothing, if you know what the tool needs to do. Build specs from an AI Readiness Audit are one way in, not a requirement.
- Often leads toHand it to your engineers with the docs, keep us on light maintenance, or come back for the next build. If it is your first product, Build Lab teaches you to do this yourself.
Software, an existing tool, or a cleaner sheet?
Most problems do not need custom software. If a product you can buy does the job, set it up. If your tools only need to talk to each other, that is Workflow automation. Custom software earns its cost when the process needs its own interface, database, or users. Bring the spreadsheet, and we tell you honestly which of the three it needs.
- Workflow automationYour team gets back the hours lost to busywork.From $18,000
- AI Readiness AuditKnow where AI pays off, and what to build first.$18,000