PoCs for Funding. MVPs to Validate.
Production Apps to Scale.

We help UK founders and growing businesses build better software fast — from investor-ready prototypes to market-validated MVPs to production-grade applications. Whether you're six weeks from a funding pitch or scaling what works, we move at your pace.

Got an Idea?

Get a PoC that wins investor confidence

6-8 week timeline
£15-50k investment
Let's Build

Got Traction?

Build an MVP to test with real users

8-12 week timeline
£25-80k investment
Let's Build

Ready to Scale?

Scale with enterprise-grade systems

Ongoing partnership
£80k+ investment
Let's Talk
The Challenge

Building Software Shouldn't Be This Hard

We've seen what happens when founders and growing businesses try to build software the wrong way

❌ The Problem

  • Agencies that take 6 months to deliver what you needed in 6 weeks
  • Freelancers who disappear when things get complicated
  • Dev teams that speak in jargon and miss the business point
  • Products that work technically but fail commercially
  • Budgets that balloon because scope wasn't managed
  • Code you can't maintain or hand off to anyone else

✓ Our Approach

  • PoCs in 6-8 weeks, MVPs in 8-12 weeks — real deadlines, kept
  • Senior operators who've built and scaled real businesses
  • Trade-offs explained in business terms, not tech speak
  • Products designed for commercial success, not just technical elegance
  • Ruthless prioritisation and scope discipline
  • Clean, documented code you own 100% — no lock-in

We're not just coders. We're experienced business consultants who understand that great software is a means to an end — your business success.

Start a Conversation
The App-Factory Difference

Built by Operators, Not Just Coders

Our team combines decades of business experience with expert technical execution

🎯

Strategic Input

We'll challenge your assumptions, push back on scope creep, and help you think through go-to-market. Technical co-founder mentality, not vendor mentality.

💬

Your Language

No jargon. We explain trade-offs in business terms — faster but more expensive, slower but more scalable, simpler but limited.

🤝

Real Experience

We understand founder problems because we face them too. We're building HeroSuite ourselves — an integrated business platform for SMBs.

Speed with Purpose

We move fast strategically. Smart architectural decisions upfront, ruthless prioritisation, shipping PoCs in weeks not months.

Most dev agencies: "Tell us what to build, and we'll build it."

App-Factory: "Tell us what problem you're solving, and let's think strategically about how to prove your hypothesis fast."

Our Clients

Who We Work With

Clear about who we serve and what success looks like together

Early-Stage Founders

You have a clear vision for solving a specific problem. You need to validate product-market fit quickly. You're raising funding or bootstrapped but disciplined about spend.

Typical investment: £15-50k
Timeline: 6-14 weeks

We've helped pre-seed founders build PoCs that raised funding. We understand the pitch deck conversation and move at your pace — market windows matter.

Growing SMBs

Your business is successful but limited by current tools or processes. You're ready to invest in technology that scales operations. You have clear requirements and decision-making authority.

Typical investment: £30-100k+
Timeline: 8-16 weeks

We've built platforms for trades, operations, financial management. We understand spreadsheet hell — we're operators too and we get your constraints.

Scaleup Leaders

You've achieved product-market fit and need enterprise-grade infrastructure. You're replacing legacy systems or expanding into new products. Budget allocated, timeline clear.

Typical investment: £80k+
Timeline: Ongoing engagement

We handle complex platforms and scaling challenges. Build for performance, security, and growth. Support through production and beyond.

✓ We're a Great Fit If You:

  • Have a specific problem to solve (not "build something cool")
  • Can give clear direction and feedback during development
  • Want a collaborative, transparent process
  • Value speed and iteration over lengthy specs
  • Understand the best product emerges through building and testing

We Typically Pass On:

  • "Idea stage" without customer validation — Validate demand first, then we help build.
  • 12+ months continuous development — We're optimized for focused, time-boxed sprints.
  • Massive enterprise transformations — Different expertise required.
  • Strictly budget-driven projects — We deliver quality; there's a cost floor.
  • Teams without decision-making authority — Slow feedback kills momentum.

We're transparent about what we don't do because founders respect honesty.

Ready to Move Fast?

Let's talk about your project — 20 minutes to explore what's possible.

Schedule a Call
Our Work

What We've Built

From internal products to marketplace disruption to sensitive domains

HeroSuite

Unified Business Platform

We built HeroSuite to solve the problem we saw everywhere: UK SMBs trapped in spreadsheet hell. Sales and Books modules are live. People, Plan, Projects and Risk launching 2026.

This isn't a client project — it's proof we understand your market because we operate in it.

Status: Live (Sales + Books)
Users: Active paying customers

Used Car Marketplace

AI-Driven Matching

Founder had an insight: used car buying is broken. Intelligent matching could fix it. Competitors were moving. Market window was tight.

Delivered working PoC with AI-driven matching in 6 weeks.

Delivered: 6 weeks
Stage: Pre-seed

Application Platform

Enterprise AI Automation

Large professional services firm needed to replace aging platform. Legacy system couldn't scale. Needed AI-powered workflow automation across hundreds of users.

Production-ready MVP in 2 weeks. Now live with 6-month roadmap.

Delivered: 2 weeks to production
Scale: Hundreds of users live

Quality Trades

Two-Sided Marketplace

Finding quality tradespeople is broken. Homeowners drown in low-quality bids. Tradespeople compete on price, not quality.

Built matching marketplace in 8 weeks. Now in alpha with real users.

Delivered: 8 weeks
Status: Alpha, gathering feedback

Funeral Coordination

End-of-Life Planning

Losing someone is hard. The logistics that follow are harder. Families need coordination when they're in crisis — not more features.

Family-centered platform delivered in 4 weeks. Empathy-first design.

Delivered: 4 weeks
Approach: Empathy-first design

What These Projects Show

✓ Fast delivery
2-8 weeks for working products

✓ All scales
Startups to enterprise

✓ Complex domains
AI, marketplaces, sensitive sectors

✓ Founder-friendly
Market urgency, constraints, iteration

Our Promise

Our Commitment to You

Transparent about what matters: quality, pricing, ownership, and partnership

Our Process

How We Work

Collaborative, transparent, and founder-friendly

Phase 1: Discovery & Architecture

Weeks 1-2

We start by understanding your problem, not your solution.

  • Deep conversation about your vision and constraints
  • Challenge your assumptions (in a good way)
  • Map your core problem into deliverable stages
  • Align on architecture and trade-offs

Output: Clear understanding of what we're building and why.

Phase 2: Build & Iterate

Weeks 3-6 (typically)

We build in focused sprints with regular demos and feedback.

  • Weekly or bi-weekly demos of working software
  • Rapid iteration based on your feedback
  • Ruthless prioritisation
  • Regular communication on progress

Output: Working software every week, full visibility into progress.

Phase 3: Polish & Launch

Weeks 7+ (varies)

We get to production-ready (or investor-ready for PoCs).

  • Final testing and quality assurance
  • Performance optimisation
  • Security hardening
  • Launch support and monitoring

Output: Production-grade software, confident launch, clear next steps.

Key Principles

🤝 Collaborative
Regular communication, shared decisions, transparent trade-offs

📊 Founder-Friendly
Optimise for real feedback, not just "done"

🎯 Strategic
Smart decisions upfront enable fast iteration later

🔄 Iterative
Best products emerge through building and learning

Learn

Resources for Founders & Growing Businesses

We share what we've learned building products and scaling businesses

The Great Spreadsheet Paradox

Why your best tool becomes your worst problem — and how to escape.

Read Article

From Idea to MVP

A practical playbook for founders seeking funding.

Read Article

Risk Management for SMBs

Why you need it now, not later — and how to start simple.

Read Article
Let's Talk

Ready to Build?

Whether you're six weeks from a funding pitch or scaling what works

Get in Touch

Tell us about your project and we'll schedule a call to explore what's possible. No sales pitch — just honest conversation about whether we're a fit.

📞

Schedule a Call

20 minutes to explore your idea. Book on Calendly

✉️

Email Directly

hello@app-factory.dev

💼

LinkedIn

Connect with us

We typically respond within 24 hours. No sales-speak, just honest conversation about whether we're a fit.

Tell Us About Your Project

Fill out this quick form and we'll be in touch.

Thanks! We've received your message and will be in touch within 24 hours.
Something went wrong. Please try again or email us directly at hello@app-factory.dev

We'll review your message and get back to you within 24 hours.