Etherlabz
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Your product team, until you hire one.

For founders who have customers and a problem, and no one to build the product yet. We design and build your product with you. We also run one of our own.

Send us your problem Written reply within 2 working days.

Where you might be

You have customers and no one to build it

You have done the interviews and people want this. You do not want to give a real slice of the company to the first engineer who says yes, or spend months looking. We design and build the first version with you, in accounts your company owns, with documented code your first engineer can pick up.

Your prototype works until real people use it

An AI builder or a freelancer got you to a demo. Sign-up, payments, permissions and data are where it gives way. We read the code, tell you in writing what is worth keeping, and rebuild the rest so it holds up in front of paying users.

Version one shipped and every change is slow

Your users want more than you can ship. We help you choose the change that matters most, then build it properly, and clean up the parts that make every release painful.

Who does what

You bring

  • Customers, and what they tell you
  • The market and the pitch
  • The final call on what ships

We bring

  • Product design: flows, screens, the details users notice
  • Engineering: code, infrastructure, security, deploys
  • A straight opinion, especially when it is not the one you wanted

Terms, plainly

No price list, because no two problems cost the same. Everything below is in writing before any work starts.

  • Pay in cash, or part cash and part equity.

    Equity goes through a SAFE or shares at your round price. We never take a board seat or a veto.

  • You own the code and the IP.

    Assigned to your company in the contract as each phase is paid for.

  • NDA before details.

    Ask in your brief and we send one before you share anything sensitive.

  • Your accounts, your name.

    Code, docs and accounts sit in your company’s name from the start.

How it starts

  1. Send the problem

    A few paragraphs on who has it and what exists today. No deck needed.

  2. Get a written reply

    Within 2 working days: questions, or a first take on what to build first. If it fits, scope, timeline and terms follow in writing.

  3. Use a working build every week

    You get a working version to click through each week, and decisions explained in plain words.

  4. After launch, keep us or hire your own

    Keep building with us, or take the code and docs to your own team.

Questions founders ask

Comparing options? Read co-founder, agency or studio, including when we are the wrong choice.

How much does it cost?

It depends on the problem. After your brief we send scope, timeline and terms in writing, so you can compare us with a freelancer, an agency or a hire on real numbers.

How does paying in equity work?

Part of the fee can be paid in equity when we both want that. It goes through a standard instrument: a SAFE, or shares at the price of your current or next round. We agree it in writing before work starts.

Saying no to equity is a normal answer and does not change how we read your brief.

Does our equity vest, and what happens to it if we stop?

Vesting, and what happens to our equity if the work stops early, is set out in the written agreement before work starts, next to the instrument and the price.

Do you take a board seat or any control?

No. No board seat and no veto. If we hold equity, we are a small shareholder like any other.

Who owns the code and the IP?

Your company owns what it has paid for. The contract assigns the code, designs and docs to you as each phase is paid. Open-source libraries keep their own licences, and the contract spells out how you can use any general tools of ours that end up in your product.

Are you a venture studio or a fund?

No. We do not raise a fund and we do not start companies to sell to you. We are a small team that builds products, including one of our own, and we build yours with you.

Who actually does the work?

Our own designers and engineers, led by the founders. You talk directly to the people building your product, whoever is on the call.

Will you sign an NDA?

Yes. Say so in your brief and we will send one before you share anything sensitive. The brief itself can stay high level.

What if we stop working together?

What you have paid for is yours, and the code, docs and accounts sit in your company’s name, so whoever comes next starts from there.

What do you build with?

Mostly TypeScript, React, Next.js, Node and Postgres, because that is what we know best and what most engineers you hire later will know too. We say so if your product needs something else.

Where are you?

India. We work with founders in Europe and the US, in writing first and on calls when it helps.

Tell us about the problem.

A few paragraphs is enough. You get a written reply within 2 working days, including a plain no if we are not the right fit.