How we work / Paid Build
Have a budget? Here is how a paid build runs.
Milestone fees to a written scope. You own the company and the code on payment. No revenue share, no equity, and none of the readiness questions the other tracks need.
Who it is for
You want the product built, and you want to own all of it.
Funded founders, operators with a budget line, and companies adding a product they cannot build in-house. You want the fewest strings and the cleanest ownership.
You do not need paying pilot customers or a full-time founder to start. You need a budget for the first release and time to make decisions every week.
Short on cash but close to paying customers? Founder's Path recovers most of the build from the product instead.
What it costs
£40k to £100k for a first commercial release.
About $50k to $125k. Quoted and invoiced in GBP.
Where yours falls depends on scope, the number of user roles, and the integrations: payments, banking, health records or school systems each add work. Compliance work, such as security testing for a fintech product, sits on top.
Discovery is the first milestone and fixes the exact number in writing before the build starts. If you want the scope as a standalone document first, for investors or to compare partners, the Fundraising Tech Pack takes two weeks, costs from £2,500 (about $3,100), and is credited to the build if you go ahead.
For a first estimate in a minute, try the cost calculator.
How it runs
Five steps, a milestone at each.
Weekly working sessions, a shared board, and working software at every milestone. If you cannot see it, it is not done.
- A callThirty minutes. You explain the market and what you need built; we say whether we fit and what it would take.
- DiscoveryThe first milestone. Scope, architecture, cost and timeline, in writing, before anything else is committed.
- Proof sliceA working slice of the hardest part of the product, so the risky bit is proven early rather than discovered late.
- Trial releaseReal users on a working product. A 30-day defect warranty starts at trial-ready acceptance.
- Commercial releaseThe release you sell. Final payment, and the deed of assignment that puts the code in your name.
What you get
All of it, on payment.
Ownership
100% of the company and the project IP on payment. Deed of assignment at final payment. No equity, no revenue share, nothing owed after the last invoice.
Protection
A written scope with change orders for anything outside it, and a 30-day defect warranty after trial-ready acceptance.
A team you can see
A senior technical lead, developers and QA, with Gaurav on every build. Weekly sessions with you, a shared board, working software at every milestone.
Paid builds we have shipped
Two live products, both in regulated UK markets.
Questions buyers ask
Straight answers.
Do you take equity or a revenue share on a paid build?
No. On Paid Build you pay milestone fees and own everything on payment. Equity and revenue share only exist on Founder's Path and Studio Bet.
Can you quote before discovery?
We give you a range on the first call. Discovery turns it into a fixed number, in writing, before the build starts.
What if the scope changes halfway?
It is priced as a change order and you decide before any work starts. Nothing is added to the bill without your sign-off.
Do you invoice in US dollars?
Prices are set and invoiced in GBP. The dollar figures on this page are approximate, for comparison. Clients outside India pay no GST.
Tell us what you need built.
A few lines on the product and the budget is enough. You get a straight answer, usually within 24 hours.