Services for Non-Technical Founders: Fractional CTO, App Development, and Product Strategy
What We Do
Don acts as Fractional CTO and developer. Steve leads product and design. Most teams engage with us on a monthly retainer across two lanes: Advise or Build.
When you need to choose what to build
Strategic guidance, technical R&D, and clickable prototypes. Hard truths from people who've shipped real software.
Shape vision and explore technical feasibility through R&D experiments.
Investor-ready demos and pitch materials to test your product story.
Explore: Fractional CTO, Product Strategy
When you're ready to ship
Full product development across web, mobile, and AI. Designers and developers in the same sandbox, working software from day one.
Trusted build partner: lean, AI-driven releases and prototypes with essential design and code.
Enhanced communication: more contact, more access, more frequent and faster feedback loops.
Full-stack product partner: brand, UX/UI, development, and go-to-market readiness.
Explore: MVP Development, Flutter App Development, AI App Development, UI/UX Design
What Each Mode Includes
| Advise | Build | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What You Get | Guide | Concept | Core | Plus | Pro |
| Fractional CTO | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tech R&D | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Clickable Demos & Prototype | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Brand Foundation | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| App UI Mockups | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Deck Design Support | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Marketing Website Design & Dev | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web (Rails), Mobile (Flutter) Dev, w/ Bootstrap UI | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom AI / API Integrations | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Weekly 30-min demo / status call | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Enhanced Communication | — | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Full-stack UI/UX + Brand Delivery | — | — | — | — | ✓ |
All engagements are monthly retainers. Pause, cancel, or switch anytime. See how we work →
After You Launch
Keep your product healthy once it's live. Two monthly options, on the same flexible retainer.
| Post-Launch | ||
|---|---|---|
| What You Get | Monitor | Maintain |
| Keep software, OS & third-party services up to date | ✓ | ✓ |
| Investigate issues and tell you what needs to be fixed | ✓ | ✓ |
| Deliver bug fixes & patches (actually fix it) | — | ✓ |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who does Eight Bit Studios work with?
We work primarily with non-technical founders building their first real product. If you've got a prototype from Cursor, Bolt, or Lovable and need to turn it into something people actually pay for, or you need a technical partner who can help you figure out what to build and then ship it, we're your fit.
How do Eight Bit Studios engagements work?
All engagements are monthly retainers across two lanes: Advise (strategic guidance, fractional CTO, R&D) and Build (full product development). You can pause, cancel, or switch lanes anytime. No fixed-bid contracts, no time-and-materials billing, no long-term lock-in.
What's the difference between Advise and Build?
Advise is when you need help deciding what to build. That includes fractional CTO leadership, technical R&D, and clickable prototypes. Build is when you're ready to ship. That includes full-stack web and mobile development, custom AI integrations, and end-to-end product delivery.
Do you work with enterprise clients or just startups?
We focus on startups and early-stage founders, but we've also done significant work for larger companies like Vivid Seats, Allstate, Cars.com, and Nielsen. Our sweet spot is helping founders ship their first real product or rescue an AI prototype that hit the wall.
What technologies does Eight Bit Studios use?
We build with Flutter (cross-platform mobile), Ruby on Rails (backends and web), and Supabase (infrastructure). For AI, we do custom integrations with OpenAI, Anthropic, and other providers, not just thin wrappers. We're stack-opinionated because it lets us ship faster for founders.
Where is Eight Bit Studios based?
We're headquartered in Chicago with a secondary presence in Dallas. We work remote-first with founders across the country, but we're happy to meet in person if you're local.
Getting Started
Tell us what you're working on. We'll figure out the right lane together. And if we're not the right fit, we'll point you to someone who is.
Submit & Review
Tell us what you're building. We review your details and reach out to learn more.
Discuss & Align
We talk through your goals and requirements, then align on scope, timeline, and budget.
Agree & Engage
We finalize the agreement and kick off your project. Building starts.