Version one,built like it has a future.
You have a product idea and no engineering team. I design it, build it, and ship it, production grade from the first commit. When customers show up, the code is ready for them.
The agencies quoted you six figures and six months, and you would still need someone technical to check their work. The freelancer marketplaces want a spec you don't know how to write. No-code got you a demo, and then it got you a ceiling.
The technical co-founder conversations all end the same way: a third of your company, for someone you met twice.
There's a simpler path. Hire someone who has shipped version one before, get a build that has a future, and keep your cap table to yourself.
No mystery. This is the shape of it.
Week 0
We scope it together in plain language: what version one must do, what it won't do yet. You get a fixed scope and a price in writing.
Weeks 1-2
Architecture and design. I make the decisions that are expensive to change later, and write them down. You get a build plan you can read without a translator.
Weeks 3-10
I build and ship weekly. You see working software every Friday. Scope changes get a conversation, not a change-order ambush.
Launch
You get a production application, the documentation, the keys, and a handoff plan, whether that handoff is to your future team or back to me on retainer.
This works best when it fits.
For you if
- You're a funded founder who needs version one shipped by someone who has done it before
- You're a domain expert with customers already waiting
- Your no-code or AI prototype proved the idea and hit its ceiling
Not for you if
- You want a technical co-founder, not a builder. Equity isn't a line item here
- The idea hasn't been tested on a single real customer yet
- You need the whole thing for $5K. I'll point you at better options for that stage
I've done this before. On the record.
2M
Users in six months, from zero, at Honey
2
Startups built and acquired: Twitter, PayPal
4
CODEBASES IN THE BUILD I'M SHIPPING RIGHT NOW
The current build: a privacy-first behavioral health platform. Native iOS app, web dashboard, backend, statistical alerting engine. Four codebases, one engineer, shipping every week.
Where this lands on the rate card.
Zero-to-One Build
Scoped per project
Fixed scope, one price, weekly shipping. We define it together in week zero.
Fractional CTO
$4K-$20K+/mo
For after launch: I stay on as your technical leadership while you grow.
Prices are honest ranges. The full rate card, including what each engagement covers, is on the home page.
Tell me what you want to exist.
30 minutes. Bring the idea, the napkin sketch, the no-code prototype, whatever you have. I'll tell you what version one should be and what it would take to build.
Rather email?eric@invertedimpact.com
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