MVP Development for Founders, Built in Monthly Phases
I build the first working version of your product: one web app with the core flow, login, an admin and a production deploy. It’s for founders who have a scope and want a senior engineer, not an agency. From $3,900 ($3,000 founding), delivered in monthly phases over about 3 to 5 months. Start with a Discovery Sprint.
See a sample report, proposal and weekly update- Price
- from $3,900
- Founding
- from $3,000
- Timeline
- ~3 months (3 monthly phases)
- Format
- Fixed scope, fixed price
- Hours
- US Eastern Time, async
Who this is for.
A good fit if
- Solo founders and small startups with a validated idea and a budget for a real first version
- Teams that need a working product for pilot customers or investors, not a clickable prototype
- Agencies that need a white-label build partner for a client’s MVP
Common triggers
- A pilot customer or demo date is booked
- A no-code or AI-built prototype has hit its limits
- The previous freelancer disappeared before the first release
Not a fit if
- You need it in 3 weeks, or you need full-time availability
- You want a native mobile app (quoted separately) or a design-heavy consumer app with no designs yet
- The scope is still “we’ll figure it out as we go” and you don’t want a Discovery Sprint first
What I do, and what you get.
What I do
- Turn the Discovery Sprint output into a milestone plan, each milestone ending in something you can click
- Design the data model and build the core flow, auth, roles and admin screens
- Write automated tests for the flows that make or lose money
- Set up Docker, CI and a production server (or your chosen host) and deploy each milestone to staging
- Send twice-weekly written updates and a short demo video per milestone
- Hand over the code, the runbook and every credential in your name
What you get
- A working web app in your Git repository, deployed to your own hosting account
- Tests for the critical flows, running in CI
- A staging and a production environment
- A short architecture note, a runbook and handover notes
- A 14-day fix window after the final handover
Your part
- One decision maker who answers within 2 business days
- Designs or a reference UI, or acceptance of a clean admin-style UI
- Content, copy and test data
- Accounts for hosting, domain, email sending and any paid APIs
Included
- Web app with the core flow, auth, roles and admin
- Tests for critical flows, CI and deploy
- Staging and production on one server (or an app/database split)
- Up to 2 revision rounds per milestone
Not included
- Native mobile apps
- Branding, UI design from scratch and copywriting
- Clustering, Kubernetes and 24/7 on-call
- New features after a milestone is approved (priced as a change order)
Fixed prices, agreed before work starts.
One user type, one core flow, auth, admin, 1 integration, deploy. 3 monthly milestones of $1,300 ($1,000 founding), each prepaid.
Up to 3 user roles, 2–3 core flows, billing or 2 integrations, reports. 5 monthly milestones of $1,300 ($1,000 founding), each prepaid.
Build your scope
- Timeline
- ~3 months (3 monthly phases)
- Payment
- Monthly milestones, each paid at the start of the month
- Earliest start
- Oct 5
Founding price: 3 of 7 spots left, until Mar 31, 2027 — one-off work, in return for a testimonial. How it works
Prices are in USD, paid by bank transfer against an invoice. Work under $1,000 is paid upfront; larger work is 50% to start and 50% before handover, or monthly milestones. How working together works
Variations
- Laravel + Vue/Inertia
- The default for SaaS-style products with an admin.
- Nuxt + PostgreSQL
- When the public site and SEO matter as much as the app.
- Go or FastAPI backend + Vue front end
- When the core is an API, a worker or heavy integration.
- AI in the core flow
- The LLM part is scoped with the same rules as AI Features & RAG: validation and human review.
How it runs.
- 01
Discovery Sprint
We agree a written scope, the stack and an estimate range.
- 02
Fixed proposal
You get a fixed proposal with a milestone plan.
- 03
Monthly phase
I build, demo it on staging, and you review.
- 04
Phase approval
You approve each phase before the next one starts.
- 05
Launch and handover
We launch, I hand everything over, and the 14-day fix window begins.
Where I have done this before.
Anti-Piracy Video LMS
First version built in about a month, then used by the client from 2021 to 2023.
Read the case study →SaaS · Cloud marketplace · Server automationWordPress Hosting Control Panel
A SaaS built alone across three generations, with Stripe billing.
Read the case study →Healthcare · Patient booking · Bilingual webHospital Website & Serial Booking System
A full booking system with 305 automated tests (built, not yet live).
Read the case study →Questions buyers ask.
Why phases instead of one big invoice?
You see working software every month and can stop between phases. Each phase is prepaid at the start of the month. I keep one build at a time, so your project gets real attention.
Can you give a fixed price without a Discovery Sprint?
No. A price without a written scope is a guess, and guesses turn into disputes. The Discovery Sprint (from $390) is credited if you approve the build within 30 days.
Who owns the code?
You do, from the first commit. It lives in your repository.
What happens after launch?
The 14-day fix window, then an optional care plan or prepaid hours.
Can you start next week?
I take one build at a time. I’ll tell you the next start date in my first reply.
Ask about MVP Build.
Tell me what you have and where it hurts. I reply within one US business day with either a fixed quote or the entry step that makes a fixed quote possible.
Helpful to include
- What the product does, in two sentences
- Who the first users are
- Must-have flows
- Designs (yes, no or a link)
- Preferred stack
- Deadline and why
- Budget range
- Who approves
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