We build it. We run it. Then it's yours.
For startups that need a real product and real operations before they can hire an engineering team. You get both now, and ownership later, on terms you know from day one.
Three phases, each with its own terms
Build
We work out your requirements with you and build the product, showing you each change in a demo copy before it goes live. Priced by milestone or month, quoted in writing.
Operate
We host it, support it and keep improving it, typically for up to five years. A monthly fee, with service levels written down.
Transfer
The application becomes yours, with documentation, training and a supported handover. Then take it over, or keep us running it under a simple operations agreement.
Why founders choose it
Hiring a team before you have revenue is the riskiest money a startup spends. Build-operate-transfer lets you put that money into customers instead.
- A product and its operations, now. Not just code: hosting, security, backups, monitoring and support.
- Ownership you can plan for. The transfer price is set in advance, and the earlier price for every point in the term is written down too.
- Built in your own cloud account. You hold the keys from the first day.
- Ready for investors and buyers. A clear path to owning your technology, including on acquisition.
Is it right for you?
A good fit
- A founder with customers or funding, and a product to build now
- A company that wants to own its technology eventually, not rent it forever
- A team that values a long relationship over a one-off project
Probably not
- A prototype you plan to throw away
- A project that needs a large team for a short sprint
- A business system you'd rather subscribe to: see Porto
Questions about build-operate-transfer
What actually transfers to us?
Your application: its code, its data, its cloud account and everything needed to build and run it. The platform pieces it runs on stay ours, and you receive a permanent, royalty-free license to use and change them for your product.
Can we take over before five years?
Yes. Your agreement sets an early-transfer price for every point in the term, so you always know what taking over costs.
What if we're acquired?
An acquisition can trigger the transfer, on the price already in your agreement. Buyers want to own their technology, and the terms make that simple.
What if our startup doesn't make it?
You keep your data. We protect both sides with payments before work and a deposit, so the agreement can end cleanly. The terms for buying out the build are in your agreement from the start.
Where does it run?
In your own cloud account from the first day, with you holding the account's keys. So transfer is mostly a handover of access, not a migration.
Tell us what you're building.
The first conversation is free, and you'll get an honest answer about fit.
Start a conversation