Frequently asked questions

Most likely yes — that is our main type of founder. The best projects come from practitioners who have watched a problem from inside an industry for years, not from people with a deck. You do not have to quit: we need your expertise, your access to people and 5–8 hours a week.

One test question: would anyone pay for a second copy? If the solution is only needed by your own business, it is an internal system and paying cash for it is cheaper. Equity in an operating business does not give the lab what it works unpaid for, and it costs you more than an invoice would.

Around 5–8 hours a week: a weekly call, answers to industry questions and conversations with potential customers from your own network. That is the floor below which the project stalls, and we say so up front rather than in month three.

Once a week you get a short status in plain language: shipped, learned, changing. Plus a working product you can open and click through from the early weeks, not at the end of the timeline.

That is the normal case and the reason to talk to us. What matters far more is whether you have already built something by hand — a spreadsheet, a bot, a manual process. That tells us more than a finished spec.

Cash is the scarcest resource an early founder has, and equity is cheap today. Hourly billing also creates a conflict: the vendor wants scope, you want speed. Equity flips that.

For reaching an MVP, expect a few percent, with vesting. The range tracks your own contribution: bring only the idea and it is the top of the range; put in the hours and arrive with proven demand and it is the bottom. The full breakdown is on the terms page.

The stake is earned over time rather than granted upfront — typically 4 years with a 1-year cliff. It protects the company from dead equity. We vest our own stake too.

We discuss it case by case, but by default that is not the model. The point is aligned interests over distance, not deferred payment for development.

Code, design, brand and data belong to your company — in writing. The lab keeps general methodology: acquisition playbooks, process templates, validation approaches.

4–8 weeks of build plus 1–2 weeks of validation. If it does not fit, we are usually testing more than one question at once — then we cut scope, not extend the deadline.

We will still start with which hypothesis the product answers — often half the spec is not needed for v1. If you want a vendor to execute the spec as written, a paid dev shop is cheaper.

No — that is the typical case and a good reason to talk to us. Industry knowledge matters more; unlike code, it cannot be copied quickly.

One or two. A deliberate limit: execution quality beats deal count early on. No free slot means we say so and give you a date.

We stay in the company as a partner. The scope is negotiable: continued development, help with metrics and acquisition, or handover to your team.

That is the most likely outcome and we carry the risk with you — you owe nothing. Our job is a negative answer in six weeks rather than two years.

Yes, and it is a normal part of the process. Common reasons: zero customer conversations, the project is not a priority, you want a spec executed as written, or you want guaranteed results. We always explain.

Not for the first call — a deliberate position: value comes from execution, not secrecy. Once we touch real data and credentials, of course we sign.

There is no economic sense in it: our asset is reputation and deal flow. And an idea without the founder industry expertise is usually worth nothing — which is why we look for people, not ideas.