You have the idea, and that's it
Every technical choice is a bet in the dark, and it costs.
● Technical consulting/ chapter · Consulting
Deciding what to do, before you spend.
Sometimes you need someone to say what's worth doing, what it costs to keep running, and which quote not to sign.
/ When you need it
The situations people call us about.
You have developers, no lead
They work, but nobody decides what doesn't get done.
You have to judge a vendor
You're holding a quote and need someone to read it with no stake in it.
/ What we do
The adult in the room, on call.
We come to the meetings that matter, write the decisions down and own them. The person making them writes the code and has built products of their own: the expensive mistakes were made in-house first.
- What comes firstNow, later, never. Written down.
- What technology to useExplained in plain words, with what it costs to keep running.
- Checking the workWe look at what your developers write, before it becomes a problem.
- Who to hireWe help you choose, and avoid the expensive wrong one.
- The problems put offThey get budgeted today, before they get expensive.
- Quotes and vendorsWe translate the jargon and weigh the offers for you.
/ How it works
Hourly, with a cap you set.
First call, free
Long enough to see whether the problem is technical. Often it isn't.
As many hours as you want
What you don't use, you don't pay. No retainer.
All in writing
Every choice ends up in a document that's yours, clear to whoever comes next.
It ends when it should
It's over when you can decide on your own. We don't work at being indispensable.
/ What it is not
Consulting does not mean slides.
No reports nobody reopens. What you're left with is decisions in writing, dated, with the reason beside them, so later on it's clear why you did it that way.
And it isn't a way of selling you the build. If we're the right people to build it, we say so up front and in writing: you always know when we're advising and when we're selling.
Let's talk First call free. You leave knowing what's worth doing, and what isn't.
/ Frequently asked questions
The questions people ask.
How does the first call work, and does it cost anything?
It is free and there are no strings. You tell us what you need to build, we ask questions, and at the end we tell you what is worth doing, what is not, and in what order, even when the answer is not to do it. Video call, or in person if you are nearby.
How quickly do you reply to an enquiry?
Quickly, including when the answer is no. Whoever reads it and replies is the one who would then write the code.
Where are you, and which areas do you work in?
We are in Città di Castello, in the province of Perugia, in the upper Tiber Valley. We work face to face with companies across the Umbrian and Tuscan Valtiberina, Sansepolcro, San Giustino, Umbertide, Anghiari, and the provinces of Perugia and Arezzo. Everywhere else we work remotely, and an in-person meeting gets arranged when it matters.
Do you work with small companies?
Yes, and it is a good part of the work. A small company with a clear problem is a better client than a large one that does not know what it wants. All we ask is that someone on your side can decide: without that, any project stretches.
Who runs the project? Do I always talk to the same person?
Yes. Whoever answers your first call is whoever writes the code, and whoever answers when something breaks. There is no salesperson who closes you and a team that inherits the project without ever hearing your voice.
You have products of your own: is there time left for my project?
Yes, and it is the same craft. Our products start from an idea of ours and we develop them end to end: interfaces, recurring payments, app-store releases. They are where we try ideas out before taking them to a client. If there were no room for your project, we would tell you on the first call.
Do I own the source code?
Yes, in writing. At the end you get the full repository, the documentation and the credentials for every service. If one day you want to take it elsewhere you can, without asking us, and we walk whoever takes over through it.
Are there compulsory monthly fees?
No, we do not sell subscriptions whose job is to keep you attached. If you want a maintenance agreement we will write one, but it is your choice and it can end. What remains are the third-party services the product uses, like hosting and the domain, and those are in your name.
Can you act as an outsourced CTO or technical advisor?
Yes, and it is a service of its own. We come in as a technical lead by the hour, as many as you decide: what to do first, what technology to use, how to judge quotes and vendors. It helps people with the idea but not the skills, and companies with developers but nobody deciding.
Do you build dashboards and reports? With which tools?
Yes. We work with Power BI and Tableau: we connect the sources, build the data model and the measures, and design the reports for the people who actually read them. If the dashboard belongs inside the software you use every day, we build it there.
▸ We are here after the handover too
Tell us what's on your mind.
First call free. You leave knowing what's worth doing, and what isn't.