How We Work
No hourly billing, no fixed-bid surprises, no long contracts. You hire a small senior team on a flat monthly retainer, and you can pause, cancel, or switch modes anytime.
Get StartedOne Model: A Monthly Retainer
Every engagement is a flat monthly retainer. You pick a lane and a mode, and the arrangement stays steady unless you decide to change it. There is no time-and-materials meter running, no change-order negotiation, and no minimum term.
We work this way on purpose. Real products change as you put them in front of real users. A fixed-price quote forces both of us to guess the full scope before anyone has learned anything, then fight about it later. A retainer keeps things predictable while the work stays flexible. You decide each month whether to keep going, pause, or switch.
Two Lanes: Advise and Build
When you need to choose what to build
Strategic guidance, technical R&D, and investor-ready demos. Don acts as your Fractional CTO so you get senior technical judgment without a full-time hire. This is the highest-return lane early on, when the expensive mistakes are the ones you make before writing code.
Modes: Guide, Concept
When you are ready to ship
Full product development across web, mobile, and AI. Design and development happen in the same room, so there are no handoffs and no wireframe purgatory. You get working software from the first weeks, not a deck that describes software.
Modes: Core, Plus, Pro
Not sure which lane you are in? That is a normal place to start. Tell us where you are and we will help you figure out the right mix. See the full comparison of what each mode includes.
Five Modes, From Guide to Pro
The modes scale with how much you need built and how closely we work together. You start in the mode that fits today and move as your product moves.
Shape vision and explore technical feasibility through R&D experiments.
Investor-ready demos and pitch materials to test your product story.
A trusted build partner: lean, AI-assisted releases and prototypes with essential design and code.
Everything in Core with enhanced communication: more contact, more access, more frequent and faster feedback loops.
A full-stack product partner: brand, UX/UI, development, and go-to-market readiness.
The Phases of an Engagement
Whether you are in Advise or Build, the shape of the work is the same. Each phase produces something real you can react to, so you are never paying for activity you cannot see.
Align
We agree on the goal, the lane, and the monthly scope, and the milestones we are aiming for before we begin.
Decide
We pin down what actually needs building and in what order. Strategy happens through building, not in a vacuum before it.
Build
We ship working software in weekly increments, with a weekly demo and status call so you steer as you learn.
Adjust
Real feedback decides the next milestone. You can change scope, switch modes, or pause at any monthly boundary.
Where This Fits Best
We are two senior people, not a large team of junior contractors. You are paying for the judgment to get the important calls right the first time, which is usually cheaper than rebuilding later. The biggest driver of scope is rarely the code. It is how many assumptions you are trying to test at once, and we will push you toward the smallest experiment that answers your real question.
Where founders get the most out of working with us:
- A non-technical founder taking a first real product to market
- A promising AI prototype from Cursor, Bolt, or Lovable that hit the wall and needs to become production software
- A founder who needs senior technical leadership but cannot justify a full-time CTO yet
- A team that wants design and engineering to move together instead of in separate handoffs
If you are still deciding what is worth building at all, start in Advise. Senior product and technical direction without a full build is often the higher-return choice at that stage.
Who You Actually Work With
You are not handed off to an account manager and a rotating bench. Don acts as your Fractional CTO and developer, and Steve leads product and design. Between them they bring more than 17 years of shipped products, including work for Vivid Seats, Allstate, Cars.com, and Nielsen alongside first-time founders.
And if we are not the right fit for your stage, we will say so early and connect you with trusted people in our network. A clear no is more useful than a slow maybe.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Eight Bit Studios engagements work?
Every engagement is a flat monthly retainer tied to a lane and a mode, not an hourly rate and not a fixed-bid contract. No time-and-materials billing, no long-term lock-in. You can pause, cancel, or switch modes anytime. To talk through the right fit and the specifics, get in touch.
Why a monthly retainer instead of a fixed-price quote?
Real products change as you learn from users. A fixed-bid quote forces both sides to guess the full scope up front, then argue about change orders later. A retainer keeps things predictable while the work stays flexible. You get a steady team, and you decide each month whether to continue.
What are the two lanes, Advise and Build?
Advise is when you need help deciding what to build, across two modes, Guide and Concept: fractional CTO leadership, technical R&D, and investor-ready demos and prototypes. Build is when you are ready to ship, across three modes, Core, Plus, and Pro: full web and mobile development, custom AI and API integrations, design, and go-to-market readiness.
What does a month of working with you look like?
You work directly with Don, who acts as your Fractional CTO and developer, and Steve, who leads product and design. Build engagements ship working software from the start, not slide decks, with a weekly demo and status call. Higher modes add enhanced communication: more contact, more access, and faster feedback loops. You see progress every week and adjust scope as you learn.
Where do you deliver the best results?
Our best fit is a non-technical founder taking a first real product to market, or a team turning an AI-built prototype into production software. If you are still deciding what is worth building, the Advise lane gives you senior technical and product judgment before you commit to a full build. If we are not the right fit for your stage, we will tell you and point you to someone who is.
Tell Us Where You Are
Share what you are building. We will help you pick the right lane and mode, and figure out the best path forward together.
Get Started