Same code. Different judgment.
Anyone can write the code. The expensive part is knowing what to build, what to leave out, and how to sell what ships.
Dev shops build what you ask.
Founders build what sells.
A dev shop and a founder,
question by question.
| The question | Typical dev shop | Caprae Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Who decides what gets built | You, feature by feature | A founder who has shipped products, working with you |
| What ships first | Whatever is on the list | What your customers will pay for |
| When AI goes in | Everywhere, because it sells the project | Only where it saves real hours |
| How you're priced | A lump-sum quote you can't check | Features × hours × one hourly rate, upfront |
| Your time | Daily questions and constant reviews | One weekly check-in |
| After launch | Handover and goodbye | Help deciding what to show first and how to sell it |
See what changes.
Left: building with a typical dev shop. Right: building with founders in the CTO seat.
- You write the spec
- Every feature gets built
- AI added because it sounds good
- The quote changes halfway
- You chase updates
- A founder writes the spec with you
- What sells gets built first
- AI only where it pays back
- Hours per feature, agreed upfront
- One check-in a week
We've made the mistakes.
You don't have to.
Our founders have built companies, bought them and grown them. Every one of those came with lessons. That's what you're hiring, not just the code.
Features don't sell themselves. The order you show them in does.
We decide which feature goes on top, which waits, and how each one is presented to the people you sell to.
The first version should be smaller than you think.
We've shipped too much too early. Now we cut to what a customer will pay for, then build out.
AI where it pays back. Nowhere else.
We add AI when it takes real hours off someone's week, not because it looks good in the pitch.
Do it by hand before you automate it.
We map how the work is done today. That manual version becomes the spec, so we never automate the wrong thing.
A founder's time is the most expensive thing in the building.
Yours included. That's why you get one weekly check-in, not daily questions.
The people in
your CTO seat.
They've built, bought and grown companies in tech, healthcare, data and acquisitions.
Hereford Johnson
Knows exactly what an acquirer needs from a tool.
Hereford's profile
Mike Savino
Builds healthcare tech for a living.
title to confirm (CEO / CTO / CDO?)Mike's profileBefore you book.
Is this an alternative to a technical co-founder?
For the product, yes. A founder who has built, bought and grown companies steps in as your CTO, decides what's worth building and what will sell, and meets you once a week. You run your business.
What if something isn't worth building?
We'll say so. Some of our most useful advice is what to leave out.
When do you add AI?
Only when it saves real hours or makes the product easier to sell. If it won't pay back, we'll tell you.
How much of my time will this take?
One weekly check-in. The founder in your CTO seat makes the day-to-day calls.