07:00 — this craft's hour on the studio wall
Mobile app development for startups and product teams
We design and build iOS and Android apps for founders shipping a first version, and for teams whose app has outgrown its first one. You get a build on your phone every week, and the code lives in your accounts from day one.
What we help with
You have an idea and need a first version people can install
We help you cut it down to the smallest app that tests the idea, then build that properly: real sign-in, real payments and real notifications, not a demo held together with tape.
Your app is slow, crashes or drains batteries
We profile it on mid-range and older phones, not just the newest one on the desk, fix what is actually slow, and wire in crash reporting so you see what your users see.
Two codebases, one small team
If keeping separate iOS and Android apps in step is eating your roadmap, we look at whether one React Native codebase would help, and say plainly when it wouldn't.
It has to work without signal
Field teams, travel and patchy networks need offline storage and sync that settles conflicts sensibly. We design for the dead zone first.
What you get
- Designs for every screen, tested as a clickable prototype before we build
- iOS and Android apps in Swift, Kotlin or React Native
- A test build on your phone every week, through TestFlight and Google Play internal testing
- Store listings prepared and submitted under your own developer accounts
- Crash reporting and analytics wired in before launch
- Source code, design files and a written handover
What we build with
We pick the stack for the product, not out of habit. This is how we usually decide.
- Swift and SwiftUI
- when the app leans on iOS features such as widgets, HealthKit or the camera, and iOS is where your users are.
- Kotlin and Jetpack Compose
- the same reasoning, on Android.
- React Native with Expo
- when one small team needs both platforms and the app is mostly screens, forms, lists and media.
- A backend you can run without us
- usually TypeScript or Python on a managed database, or Firebase or Supabase when that is enough.
How an engagement runs
Most projects move through these in order. You can stop after any of them and keep what was made.
Scope sprint
2 weeks · fixed fee
Turn an idea into a plan you can trust before you commit to a build.
We map every screen, choose native or cross-platform with you, and hand over a clickable prototype and a fixed quote.
- A clickable prototype
- A list of risks and how to retire them
- A fixed quote for the build
- The fee is credited against the build
Sample price: from $3,000
Start with a scope sprintBuild
6–12 weeks
We design and ship the product, with something real to try every Friday.
Design and engineering in weekly builds, ending with submission to both stores.
- Weekly builds you can open on your phone
- Design, engineering and launch
- Code, models and data handed over
- 30 days of fixes after launch
Sample price: typically $15,000–60,000
Plan a buildOngoing team or ML pilot
monthly
A small senior team that keeps improving a product you already run.
New features, OS updates and store-policy changes, handled by the people who built the app.
- A fixed team, no rotating juniors
- A monthly plan and a weekly demo
- Pause or stop with a month's notice
Sample price: from $4,000 a month
Talk about a team
Prices here are samples, to give a sense of scale. A scope sprint ends with a fixed quote for your project. For a rough range before you write, try the cost estimator.
Common questions
Should we build native or React Native?
It depends on what the app does. If it relies on platform features such as widgets, background location or heavy camera work, native Swift and Kotlin are usually worth it. If it is mostly screens, forms and content, React Native lets one team ship both platforms. We make the call with you during the scope sprint, with the reasons in writing.
Do you publish the app to the App Store and Google Play?
Yes. We prepare the listings, screenshots and privacy details and submit the app under your own developer accounts, so the listing and its reviews belong to you from the start.
Can you take over an app another team built?
Usually. We start with a short code review to see what state it is in, then tell you whether to keep building on it, fix it in stages or rewrite parts of it, and why.
Do you build the backend too?
Yes. Most apps need sign-in, a database and an admin view. We build them on services you can keep running without us, and hand over the access and the documentation.