It is the first version of a digital product that does the minimum needed to be used for real: the main path, on real data. It tells you whether anyone uses it before you pay for the full version, and it is what comes out of week eight.

How do you tell whether an idea stands up?

By putting it in the hands of the people who would use it. In week two we choose the number that will say whether it works; from week seven the product goes to users and we watch what they do, whether they come back, where they stop. The dossier reports those numbers.

What happens if we decide not to continue?

The material stays yours and you do not owe the success fee. That is the risk we take, and it is what makes this different from a quote.

Why does the date never move?

Because a fixed deadline only holds if something else can move, and here that something is the scope. A new request comes in only as something else goes out, and you make that call on Friday.

What do we see during the eight weeks?

Every Friday there is something you can open and use, more complete than the week before. There are no weeks where work is merely in progress. From week seven real people use it, for real days.

The same people for all eight weeks, and in those weeks they work on this only. A team that changes starts over, and eight weeks are not enough to start over.

How does the fee work?

In two parts. One covers the eight weeks. The other, the success fee, is triggered only if you sign phase 2, that is building the full version. If you stop after week eight, there is nothing else to pay.

From idea to business

Eight weeks to find out whether your idea stands up.

We build the first working version of your digital product, an MVP: app, web app or platform. We have real people use it and collect the numbers. It is for people founding a startup and for companies that want to test a new product before investing in it. Part of our fee, the success fee, only arrives if you go on.

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An idea of ours, turned into a company · Neurally

How long does it take to develop an MVP?

With From idea to business, eight weeks from signing, and the date does not move. The team does not change and the content is decided with you week by week. At the end the product is used by real people, and you, or whoever funds you, have a dossier with numbers, costs and risks to decide on phase 2.

An idea of ours, turned into a company

Neurally

Neurally started as an idea inside dotenv and became an AI company with two products of its own, Neurally Platform and AREA. It shows we can take an idea all the way to a company, even when the risk is ours.

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The three rules that make the date real

The date does not move

Eight weeks from signing. Not for a new request, not for a delay. It is the fixed point everything else turns around.

The team does not change

The same people from first day to last, dedicated to this. A fixed-time project slips when the team gets pulled onto something else, and here the team stays.

Scope is negotiated weekly

Every Friday we decide together what is in and what is out. Change your mind as often as you like: the content changes, and the deadline stays the same.

How the eight weeks run

Understand
1. W1ImmersionWe get to know who will use it, the constraints and the data you already have.
2. W2ScopeWe decide what goes in, how it is built and which number will say whether it works.
Build
1. W3First loopThe main path works, still without finishing touches.
2. W4SubstanceThe functions that carry the use case, on real data.
3. W5FinishingInterface and edge cases: usable without instructions.
4. W6SolidityPerformance, permissions, integrations. Ready for people who have never seen it.
Test
1. W7UsersReal people use it for real days. We watch and fix.
Decide
1. W8DossierNumbers collected, phase 2 costs, known risks.

End of week 8 — the fork

You decide whether to fund the next phase

The decision is made on a dossier: what the product does, who used it and how, what it costs to reach the full version, what can still go wrong.

The two outcomes

We go on

Building the full version, with the team that already knows the domain.
The agreed success fee, triggered when phase 2 is signed.
No time lost getting a new supplier up to speed.

We stop here

You keep everything: code, documentation, data collected, analysis.
You spent eight weeks instead of a year finding out it did not stand up.
We do not collect the success fee. That is the risk we take.

When this is not the right shape

A shared-risk agreement adds complication, and it only makes sense when that complication produces something a normal contract cannot. When it does not, we say so upfront.

You need a team to build what you have already decided: Then it is custom software, on a normal quote. Simpler for everyone. How we work with a startup →
The only problem is budget: Sharing risk is not a way to pay less. If cash is the issue, let us say so openly: there are better routes than this one.
Scope cannot be reduced: If everything has to fit into eight weeks or nothing does, the date will not hold and the promise becomes a lie. Better a phased project.
You need scale before any signal: If the product only makes sense with thousands of users from day one, eight weeks will tell you nothing useful.

Frequently asked

What is an MVP?: It is the first version of a digital product that does the minimum needed to be used for real: the main path, on real data. It tells you whether anyone uses it before you pay for the full version, and it is what comes out of week eight.
How do you tell whether an idea stands up?: By putting it in the hands of the people who would use it. In week two we choose the number that will say whether it works; from week seven the product goes to users and we watch what they do, whether they come back, where they stop. The dossier reports those numbers.
What happens if we decide not to continue?: The material stays yours and you do not owe the success fee. That is the risk we take, and it is what makes this different from a quote.
Why does the date never move?: Because a fixed deadline only holds if something else can move, and here that something is the scope. A new request comes in only as something else goes out, and you make that call on Friday.
What do we see during the eight weeks?: Every Friday there is something you can open and use, more complete than the week before. There are no weeks where work is merely in progress. From week seven real people use it, for real days.
Who works on it?: The same people for all eight weeks, and in those weeks they work on this only. A team that changes starts over, and eight weeks are not enough to start over.
How does the fee work?: In two parts. One covers the eight weeks. The other, the success fee, is triggered only if you sign phase 2, that is building the full version. If you stop after week eight, there is nothing else to pay.

Submit the project

Tell us your idea and a rough budget. We’ll get back to you within one working day.

What it costs to build an app →