Working software.
Every week.
- see progress
- shape direction
- launch faster
You get working software in your hands every week.
You see it, use it, and steer what comes next.
No long waits, and no big reveal at the end.
Just steady, visible progress.
LevelFive
8 to 12 weeks
Continuous flow, with working software in your hands every week.
Weekly progress
What you can expect from every engagement.
- 01
AI is just how we build now
You won't hear us pitch "AI implementations" or talk up AI features in your product. Banks stopped selling "digital banking" a decade ago, it just became banking. AI is on the same path. Helix, our agentic operating platform, does the work that doesn't need judgement. Senior humans own architecture, product calls, stakeholder decisions, and anything a wrong answer would cost you money on. A greenfield build that used to need a PM, two frontend engineers, two backend engineers, and a QA now runs with an engagement lead, a senior builder, and a product designer.
- 02
Senior associates only
Every person on your delivery team has at least ten years of hands-on experience. We do not staff with juniors. We do not run a training programme on your budget. The person who pitched the work is the person doing the work. Our associate network is small and carefully assembled: people we have worked with before, who can make calls without supervision and hold a whole product in their head.
- 03
Fixed price, defined scope
Day rates reward delay. Time and materials tie our revenue to your headcount burn. Both models are broken for the work you want done. We agree the scope, we agree the price, we deliver. If scope changes, we price the change explicitly before we do it. If we finish faster, we earn better margin. If we underestimated, we absorb the cost. A paid Discovery precedes every build. The spec is yours to keep whether you proceed with us or not.
- 04
End-to-end, working software
You get code running in your environment, not a PDF of recommendations. No separation between strategy and delivery. No handover to a separate implementation team at month three. When we leave, your team owns what we built. Standard stacks, documented architecture, no proprietary frameworks, no perpetual licence hooks, no reason for you to keep paying us unless you want to.
Same scope, same quality, live in weeks not quarters.
The same build that used to need a six-person squad now ships with two or three senior people and Helix. This is a broad, best-case comparison; every engagement differs, and we scope and price each one in a paid Discovery.
Illustrative comparison, not a client project
| Traditional consultancy | LevelFive About a third of the cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to production | ~6 months Sprints, squads, and handovers between strategy and delivery. | 8 to 12 weeks Continuous flow, with working software in your hands every week. |
| Quality | Senior and junior mix A blend of experience levels, with QA added as a separate stage. | Senior-only, reviewed Ten years' minimum on every pair of hands, and humans own every call that matters. |
| Team and cost | 6 people · ~£300k Day rates and time-and-materials, billed by the week. | 3 + Helix · ~£100k fixed A fixed price agreed up front against a defined scope, no day rates. |
Illustrative figures for a typical build, not a specific client project, and a best case. Every engagement differs, and simpler builds can save more. The traditional cost assumes a six-person squad over roughly six months. We use a blended UK agency rate of around £600 a day per head, junior and senior averaged. Team size ramps up and down across the build. We agree scope and a fixed price in a paid Discovery before any build begins.
Forward Deployed Builders, embedded in your team.
Every engagement is run by two to four senior people, embedded inside your team, solving a real business problem end to end. Kanban, continuous flow, weekly working software. No sprints, no six-person squads, no layers of delivery management between you and the people doing the work. The team is named in the proposal, every person has at least ten years of shipping experience, and the people who pitch the work are the people doing it.
We own the outcome, not the headcount. You don't rent developers from us by the week.
From first call to handover.
The work inside each phase changes with the product. The rhythm doesn't. Payments are tied to milestones, not time, on Net 7 terms.
- 01
Discovery (1 to 2 weeks, paid)
A short piece of paid discovery that produces a buildable spec. Problem defined, users researched, architecture sketched, integrations mapped, effort and price agreed. You keep the spec whether you proceed with us or not. If you do, the Discovery fee is credited against the Build price.
- 02
Mobilise (Week 0)
Contract signed, deposit clears, repositories created, environments stood up, tooling in place. The team, named in the proposal, starts on Monday. No work begins until mobilisation clears.
- 03
Build (5 to 10 weeks)
Kanban, not sprints. Continuous flow, with a working release every week into a staging environment you can use. Daily async updates to your main contact. A 30-minute check-in every week with the engagement lead. Two or three senior people, plus Helix doing the work that doesn't need judgement. Every call that matters is made by a human on your team or ours.
- 04
Ship
User acceptance testing, production deployment, handover. Your team is walked through the architecture, the deployment process, and how to maintain it. Credentials, infrastructure, documentation, and IP all transfer. Thirty days of post-engagement support for questions, not new features.
Rough numbers, so you can size the work before you talk to us.
The comparison above is one illustrative build. These are the ranges to plan against across the work we take on. Ranges, not quotes: the price you agree is fixed before anyone writes code, and it only moves if you change what you asked for.
| Engagement | Typical budget | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | £5,000 to £20,000 | 2 days to 2 weeks |
| Micro build | £30,000 to £60,000 | 2 to 5 weeks |
| Standard build | £60,000 to £120,000 | 5 to 10 weeks |
| Platform build | £120,000 to £300,000 | 3 to 5 months |
| Enterprise build | From £300,000 | 4 to 6 months |
| Agentic automation | £10,000 to £50,000 | Scoped at discovery |
| Prototype hardening | £20,000 to £75,000 | 4 to 8 weeks |
Every number includes our AI costs. Tokens, tooling seats and model bills sit inside the price, never metered or passed through. Discovery, audit and triage fees credit against the engagement if you proceed.
Working software every week. Fixed price. No day rates. If we cannot commit to that on a piece of work, we will tell you before we sign.
How to tell if we're the right fit for the work.
We would rather lose the work early than take it on and let you down later. An engagement works when there is real budget allocated, an honest timeline, direct access to whoever can say yes, and a team that has worked with outside builders before. Here is the work we turn down, so the conversation is honest before any money changes hands.
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Body shopping or staff augmentation
We deliver outcomes, not bodies at desks.
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Time and materials contracts
Even when clients offer them.
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Vendor capture
We recommend the right tooling for your build, not the one paying us a referral fee.
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Proprietary frameworks
Nothing you have to keep licensing after we leave.
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Bait and switch
Turn up for a pitch with senior people and staff the build with juniors.
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Promise what we cannot deliver
If we aren't sure we can ship what you need, we will say so, and we will turn the work down.
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Brand, positioning, or ad campaigns
We are not a creative agency. If your problem is positioning or paid acquisition, we will point you at people who do that work properly.
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Growth experiments and PLG programmes
We do not run conversion experiments or product-led growth programmes for you. We will build the surfaces those teams need, not own the experiment loop.
If that fits how you want to work, let's talk. The first conversation costs nothing.
or email us directly at [email protected]