A product studio like us
Right when you need something real to show investors or users soon, have no technical team, and want one team to scope, design and build. Wrong when you only need a quick prototype, or have engineers already.
Studio, freelancer, agency or AI app builder?
Without a technical team, there are seven ways to get a first product made. Each one is the right choice for someone. Here's when, including when it isn't us.
The short version.
| Deeds Lab | Freelancer | Pitch deck agency | AI app builder | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Specification, clickable prototype and investor deck, then the product | Usually design or code, rarely both | A deck, sometimes with mock screens | A working first draft you assemble yourself |
| Something investors can click | In 2–3 weeks | Depends on the person | No | In days, if you can steer it |
| Who scopes the product | We do, with you | Usually you | You | You |
| Ready for real users and payments | Yes, after the build | Depends on the person | No | Once an engineer has checked it |
| Best when | You need to raise or launch and have no technical team | You can scope and manage the work yourself | The product exists and needs its story told | You want to test an idea before spending real money |
When each one is the right choice.
A freelancer
Right when you can write the specification, judge the work and manage the person. A freelancer is usually cheaper than a studio. The risk is that scoping, design and every decision land on you, and if the freelancer leaves halfway, the knowledge leaves too.
A UK development agency
Right when you need a large team, or people in the room in London. You'll pay London rates, and for the layers that come with them: account managers, project managers, offices.
A pitch deck agency
Right when the product already exists and the story is what's missing. It won't give investors anything to click, and it won't help you build what the deck promises.
An AI app builder (Lovable, Bolt, Replit)
Right for testing an idea before you spend real money: you can have something working in days, for the price of a subscription. Before real users, payments or private data arrive, get an engineer to check it. The usual problems are data any visitor can read, keys left where the browser can see them, and code nobody can safely change.
A fractional CTO
A fractional CTO is a senior technical leader you hire for a few days a month to make technical decisions, hire engineers and manage suppliers. Right when you have engineers, or are about to hire them, and need someone senior to lead them. With no engineers yet, a fractional CTO usually ends up hiring a studio or freelancers anyway, so you pay for the leader and the team.
A founding engineer or technical co-founder
Right when the product is the company and you can offer equity or a senior salary for years. It's the best long-term answer, and the right person takes months to find. Many founders build a first version with a studio while they look; ours is written to be handed over.
Still not sure?
Book a call and tell us where you are. We'll say which of these fits, even when it isn't us.