From ideato production.
One team carries the product the whole way: product decisions, design, frontend, backend, AI and infrastructure. Nothing gets thrown over a wall, because there is no wall.
Tell us the problem
No specification required.
A few paragraphs are enough. Tell us what’s slow, manual, missing or broken, and what it costs you. If you already have a spec we’ll read it, and we’ll still ask why.
- A written answer by email
- Our view on whether it’s worth building at all
We shape the product
Deciding what to build is most of the work.
We turn the problem into a product: what it does, who it’s for, what the first version leaves out on purpose, how it’s put together, and what we can realistically ship first. You get something concrete to approve, argue with or reject.
- Product scope and non-goals
- Architecture and stack decisions
- A first-version plan with a timeline
We build it
One team, one codebase.
Product, design, frontend, backend, data, AI and infrastructure, all by the same people. You get something you can open in a browser early, and then again every week. Not a status report.
- Software running in a real environment from week one
- Releases often enough for you to change your mind
We ship it
The unglamorous half.
Deployment, environments, tests, monitoring, backups, access control, and the launch itself. This is the half that decides whether the thing is still standing a month later, so it gets built alongside everything else instead of bolted on at the end.
- Deployed and monitored production environment
- Handover, documentation and access
We keep going only if you ask
OptionalNever automatic. Never a retainer you forget you’re paying.
By default the project ends at handover: the code, the infrastructure and the accounts are yours. If you later want a second version, more features, or for us to keep operating it, we scope that and add it to the contract. We don’t sell standing 24/7 support you may never use.
- A scoped addition to the contract
- Only the work you asked for
How we makedecisions.
We start by challenging the request
The first version of a request is rarely the real problem. Expect questions about what happens today, who it affects, and what would change if the software existed. Sometimes the answer is a smaller product than the one you asked for.
Scope is a decision, not a negotiation
We write down what the product does, and then what it will not do. The second list is the one that keeps a first version shippable.
Working software early, then continuously
You see it running in a real environment within the first weeks, not a deck at the end of a phase. It is the only reliable way to find out a requirement was wrong while changing it is still cheap.
Production is part of the build
Deployment, environments, monitoring, backups and access control are designed in from the start. Software that only runs on a laptop isn’t finished.
You own what we build
Code, infrastructure and accounts are yours, handed over at launch. If you want us to keep working on it afterwards we will, as an agreed addition to the contract, and never as a dependency you can’t get out of.
Ways thisusually starts.
Build a new product
From an idea or a problem to a first version in production, then continued development.
Rescue or rebuild an existing one
A prototype that cannot scale, a codebase you inherited, or a system that has stopped being safe to change.
Add AI to something that already works
Retrieval, agents, automation and evaluation, added to a product that already works — where they earn their place.
Keep building after launch
A second version, new features, or running the product with you. Scoped and added to the contract if and when you decide you want it.
Why teamswork with us.
We argue about the product first
A requirements list isn’t a brief. Deciding what should exist, and what shouldn’t, is where most of the value is. Expect push-back before anyone writes code.
One team from idea to production
Product, design, frontend, backend, AI and infrastructure sit in the same room. Nothing gets lost between an agency, a freelancer and a hosting provider.
Built for production
Authentication, tenant isolation, migrations, rate limits, backups, monitoring. Nobody asks for any of it in the first conversation. It’s the reason the software still works six months later.
AI where it earns its place
We build serious AI systems: retrieval, evaluation, guardrails, cost control. We’ll also tell you when a good schema and a queue would do the job better. Not every problem is a chatbot.
We’ve been on call for our own software
We’ve carried our own products through production, incidents included. When you’re the one getting woken up, you design differently, and that shows up in what we build for other people.
We build our own products too
We designed, shipped and ran a multi-tenant AI SaaS platform of our own: billing, integrations, tenants and everything underneath them. Client work is built to the same standard.
What people askbefore the first call.
What does AssistoLabs do?
AssistoLabs is a software product studio. You bring a business problem or a half-formed idea, and we design, build, deploy and run the software that solves it: product decisions, design, frontend, backend, AI and infrastructure. We don’t sell developers or engineering hours, and we don’t hand over a codebase and disappear.
Are you a development agency or an outsourcing team?
No. An agency sells people by the hour and builds to a specification you wrote. We take responsibility for the product working, which usually means arguing about the specification first. If what you need is extra hands inside an existing team, we’re the wrong studio and we’ll say so.
What kinds of software do you build?
Five patterns cover most of it: AI products such as retrieval systems, agents and copilots; multi-tenant SaaS platforms; internal and operations tools; developer and infrastructure products; and integrations and automation between systems that were never designed to talk to each other. It’s a set of patterns, not a menu.
I only have an idea, not a specification. Can you still work with that?
That is the normal starting point, and it is the one we prefer. A specification written before anyone has built the thing usually encodes guesses as requirements. Describe the problem in your own words: what happens today, who it affects, and what should be different. Turning that into a scope is the first part of the work, not a prerequisite for it.
Can you take over a product someone else built?
Yes. Inherited codebases, prototypes that can’t scale, and systems that have stopped being safe to change are a normal starting point. We read the existing code before promising anything, then tell you whether it is worth continuing or worth replacing.
How much does a project cost?
Each project is quoted after we understand the scope, so there is no price list. The inquiry form asks for a budget range so we can tell you quickly whether what you want is realistic at that level. If it isn’t, you hear that in the first reply rather than after three meetings.
How long does a project take?
That depends on scope, and anyone who gives you a number before hearing the problem is guessing. What is fixed is the shape of the work: we agree what the first version does and does not do, and you see software running in a real environment within the first weeks rather than a presentation at the end of a phase.
What happens if the scope changes halfway through?
It usually does, because building the thing teaches you something the plan couldn’t. We write down what the product does and what it deliberately will not do, so a change is a visible decision rather than a quiet expansion. When something new is worth doing, it gets scoped and agreed before it is built, and something else usually moves out of the first version to make room.
What do you need from us during the project?
One person on your side who can make decisions and answer questions within a day or two. That matters more than documentation. We don’t need you to manage the work, write tickets or review code, but a project where nobody can say yes stalls no matter how good the engineering is.
Who owns the code you write?
You do. Code, infrastructure and accounts are yours and are handed over at launch. Our clients own what we build for them as a matter of practice, and the specifics are written into the contract signed for that project.
Will you sign an NDA before we describe the idea?
Yes, if you want one, and it is a normal request. In practice you can describe the problem you are trying to solve without handing over anything sensitive, and that is enough for a first reply. Whatever you send us is treated as confidential regardless of whether a document has been signed yet.
Do you maintain the product after launch?
If you want us to. Continued development, a second version, or running the product alongside your team are scoped and added to the contract when you decide you want them. There is no standing support obligation unless the contract says so, and it is never set up as a dependency you can’t get out of.
Can you work alongside our existing developers?
We can, as long as the split is by ownership rather than by task. Give us a product, a service or a surface to be responsible for and it works well. Putting our engineers into your backlog to pick up tickets does not, and that is the arrangement we turn down.
Do you put AI into everything you build?
No. We build serious AI systems when the problem calls for one: retrieval over your own data, agents that take actions, evaluation, guardrails and cost control. We will also tell you when a good schema and a queue would do the job better. Not every problem is a chatbot.
What technologies do you build with?
TypeScript, React and Next.js on the web; React Native and Expo for mobile; Python with FastAPI and Node.js on the backend; PostgreSQL, Redis and Qdrant for data, with retrieval and LLM APIs for the AI layer; Docker, CI/CD and observability for running it. We pick from a stack we know well rather than trying something new on your budget.
Do you build mobile apps?
Yes, with React Native and Expo, and normally as one part of a product rather than on their own. A mobile app almost always needs a backend, an admin surface and a deployment story behind it, and building the app without those is how projects stall just before launch.
Do you work with startups and non-technical founders?
Yes. Not having a technical background is not a problem, because deciding what the product should be is our part of the job. What does matter is that someone on your side understands the business problem deeply. We will explain the technical trade-offs that affect cost, timeline and what the product can do later, in language that doesn’t require you to already know the answer.
Where are you based, and do you work with clients abroad?
AssistoLabs is Assisto Labs LTD, registered in Bulgaria. We work remotely with clients wherever they are, in English or Bulgarian. Written communication is the default, which also leaves a record of every decision that was made.
How do I start a project with you?
Describe the problem on the Build page in a few paragraphs. No specification, deck or technical detail required. A person reads it and replies within one to two business days with what we think the product could be, and whether we are the right team to build it.
Step 01 isa conversation.
Describe the problem in your own words. We’ll come back with what we think the product should be.