Custom systems, platform-priced
The Lab is our custom development wing. Senior architecture and systems design, delivered at a fraction of typical agency cost — because we build with the same platform we sell.
The same software, built differently
Most custom development engagements price hourly: a team of engineers writing code by hand, billing for every meeting, every review, every retry. That model hasn't changed in twenty years — but the cost of building software has.
The Lab is built around our own platform. When you engage us for a custom system, you get senior engineers doing what they do best — discovery, architecture, systems design, quality control — and our platform doing what it does best: the repetitive, mechanical work of turning architecture into working code.
The result is a real, production-grade system built by people who actually understand it, priced as if it had been built with the leverage of our platform — because it was.
Why teams hire The Lab
Senior engineering judgment, transparent pricing, and your IP staying yours — by default.
Senior architecture, no agency overhead
Every engagement is led by an experienced systems architect. We design the data model, services, and integrations end-to-end — and we put it in writing before a single line is written.
Our platform does the heavy lifting
We use Chart, Sail, Harbor, and Pilot internally on every project. The same automated engineering that powers Shiproom builds your custom system — which is why our pricing isn't a typical agency rate card.
You own everything
Source, infrastructure, documentation, and decision history are all yours. Exportable at any time via standard tools. We don't lock your business inside our walls.
Built to outlast the engagement
Wake captures the why behind every architectural decision so your future team — or future you — can understand the system without reverse-engineering it.
How an engagement works
Fixed-price, fixed-scope, no surprises.
Discovery
We start with a working call to understand the problem, your constraints, and what success looks like. No proposal templates — just a real conversation.
Architecture & quote
We produce a detailed systems design with a fixed-price quote. You see exactly what we're building, how it fits together, and what it costs — before you commit.
Build
Our team drives the platform to execute the build, reviewing every milestone. You get progress updates and live previews throughout — not a black box.
Handoff or hosted
We can deploy and operate the system through Pilot, or hand it off with full documentation and decision history. Your choice, no lock-in either way.
Engagements we take on
- Greenfield product builds for non-technical founders
- Custom internal tools and operations platforms
- System redesigns and architectural rewrites
- Integration-heavy backends across SaaS APIs
- Data pipelines and reporting infrastructure
- Migrations off legacy or no-code stacks
Built in The Lab
Real products, shipped. Some are ours, some belong to our clients — here's what we can show today.
InkWalk
Playable novels — walk into a story
Real novels, rebuilt as living worlds. Step into Dracula or Pride and Prejudice, say anything, and every page answers in the author's own voice. Designed, built, and shipped end-to-end in The Lab.
Step into a story at inkwalk.comSelorra Pro
AI style matching for wedding photography
Couples describe their wedding vision; Selorra Pro analyzes photographers' real portfolio work — composition, color, light, emotional tone — and delivers a shortlist ranked by demonstrated style fit, each with a transparent fit report. Evidence, not ad placement. Built in The Lab for our client.
See it live at selorra.proSelorra Concierge
An AI wedding planner that does the vendor legwork
Couples describe their wedding once. Selorra Concierge discovers vendors across every category — venue, florist, caterer, DJ, and a dozen more — reaches out in the couple's own voice, chases replies, and organizes pricing and availability into one comparable shortlist. The couple stays in control and books directly. The companion to Selorra Pro, built in The Lab for our client.
In private pilot — public launch to followByline
The investigative reporting game
You're a reporter in a procedurally generated city with a breaking story. Interview sources who lie, misremember, and push agendas; file against the clock; then see your front page next to what actually happened. Every run regenerates the truth, so no two stories are the same. Our own release, designed and built in The Lab.
Closed alpha at play.byline-game.comYATA App
You Are The Asset — a life operating system in your pocket
One app for the whole person: plan the year and break it into this week's tasks, log workouts in monthly challenges with points and leaderboards, link your accounts and watch budgets and savings, keep a journal, and learn along the way. iOS and Android, with an admin portal for the program's owner. Built in The Lab for our client.
Closed beta — private listing on the app storesMore projects on the way — including client work we'll share as soon as we have the green light.
Tell us what you're building
Send us a note about your project. We'll reply within one business day with next steps or a quick call to dig in.