Don't hire a dev shop. Gain a co-founder.
Apps and web apps are expensive, and agencies get paid whether your startup wins or not. Co-Build flips that: if we believe in your idea, we join as your technical co-founder, build the MVP at half the cost, and only really win when you do.
Three numbers, no fine print games.
We scope your MVP at a normal fixed price, the same way we would for any client. Then the co-build deal replaces the invoice.
You pay half
You pay 50% of the scoped build cost. We cover the other half with our own senior time, invested into your venture in exchange for an agreed stake.
We build it as owners
Product, design, engineering and launch by the team that ships its own products. Your MVP is our investment now, so it gets the same standard our own does.
You choose at the gate
MVP live? Keep us on as your technical co-founder for the journey, or pay the remaining 50% and part ways cleanly. The choice, and its terms, are agreed before we start.
A team that owns a slice outbuilds a team on a timesheet.
The maths of hiring is simple: an external dev team's incentive ends at the invoice. A co-founding team's incentive starts at your revenue. That difference shows up in every decision made when you're not in the room.
| Hiring a dev agency | Quokka Apps Co-Build | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash needed for the MVP | Full build cost, up front or staged | 50% of the same scoped price |
| Who carries the risk | You alone. The agency is paid either way | Shared. Half our fee only pays off if your product wins |
| Team motivation | Deliver the contract, close the ticket | Grow the thing we part-own, working on our own interest |
| Scope decisions | More scope = more billable hours | More scope = our own money burned. We fight for the smallest useful version |
| After launch | Handover, invoice, goodbye | Your technical co-founder stays, or you buy out cleanly |
| What investors see | "They outsourced the build" | A committed technical team with skin in the game |
From application to the MVP gate.
Co-Build is application based with limited intake: we run a small number of ventures at a time, because each one gets the same team that builds our own products.
Tell us the idea, the market, and you
A short application: the problem, who pays to solve it, why you're the person to win this market, and where the product needs to go. No pitch deck required, plain words are fine.
We assess it like investors, because we are
We only join ventures we genuinely believe in. Expect direct questions about the market, the model and the competition. You should interview us just as hard: co-founders are for years, not sprints.
Everything in writing before any code
The scoped MVP price, your 50%, our stake, the build plan, and both post-MVP options including the buy-out. Agreed case by case, signed before we start. No surprises at the gate.
The MVP, built founder-grade
Product strategy, design, engineering and launch from one senior team, AI-assisted where it multiplies. You work directly with the people building, and you see working software early and often.
Your call: continue together, or buy out
The MVP is live and the choice is yours. Keep us as your technical co-founder while you grow, or pay the remaining 50% of the original build cost and part ways with your code, your accounts and our genuine goodwill.
We're selective, because it's our money too.
A founder who owns the market side
Domain knowledge, customer access, and the drive to sell. We bring the product and the code; you bring the market. Both jobs are full-time.
A real problem with real buyers
Someone has to be paying to solve this already, badly. "It would be cool" doesn't survive our own money being on the table.
A product we can win with
An app or web app where design and engineering quality is the edge. That is where our half of the investment is worth the most to you.
Someone we'd want to work with for years
Co-founding is a relationship. Straight answers both ways, fast decisions, no ego. We check for this as carefully as we check the market.
It is not a free build: you invest 50% and equity, we invest the other half as work. It is not for every idea: we say no more often than yes, quickly and politely. And it is not a lock-in: the buy-out path is agreed before we start, and your code, accounts and infrastructure are yours from day one. If Co-Build isn't the fit, we can still scope your build as a standard client project.
QuokkaGuide: the venture we co-built with ourselves.
Before offering this model to anyone, we ran it on our own money. QuokkaGuide went through two business models, a hard pivot from first-party tours to a creator marketplace, and the AI writing and voice-cloning stack that finally unlocked it. Live today on iOS, Android and web.
The case study spells out what the rebuilds cost and what we'd never let a co-build founder repeat. That judgment, bought with our own cash, is exactly what your venture gets on day one.
We've been the founder. Recently. Expensively.
Scope creep. Requirements that move mid-build. A pivot that rebuilds the codebase. We met them all on our own product before we ever offered co-build, and the case study above shows the receipts. When we scope your venture, we're pattern-matching against our own scars, not a services brochure.
Product, design, code, marketing
One senior team covers the whole technical side, the package you cannot hire in one place. No relay race between departments.
Proof in production
Safety-critical client apps, our own marketplace platform, AI automation running daily. The case studies are on this site, told honestly.
Small by design
Limited intake, a few ventures at a time. Your MVP is never the project a junior team learns on.
Co-Build questions, answered straight
How does the Co-Build model work?
If we believe in your product idea, we join as your technical co-founder. We scope your app or web app MVP at a normal fixed price, you pay 50% of it, and we cover the rest with our own work in exchange for an agreed stake in the business. After the MVP ships you choose: keep us on as your technical partner, or pay the remaining 50% and part ways. Everything is agreed in writing before any code is written.
How big a stake do you take?
There is no fixed number. The stake depends on the size and risk of the build and is agreed case by case, in writing, before the project starts. You see the full scoped price and the stake side by side, so the trade is completely transparent.
What happens if I want to leave after the MVP?
You pay the remaining 50% of the originally scoped build cost and part ways. The buy-out terms, including what happens to our stake, are agreed in writing before the build starts, so there are no surprises at the gate. You keep your code, accounts and infrastructure either way.
Do you take control of my company?
No. You run the company. Co-Build makes us your technical side, not your boss: we hold a minority stake and take care of product design and engineering. Governance terms are part of the written agreement.
Why would you reject an idea?
Because we invest our own senior time at half price, we only join ventures we genuinely believe can win, and we take on a small number at a time. If it's not a fit, we say so quickly and can still quote the build as a standard client project.
Is this a free app build?
No. You invest 50% of the scoped build cost and equity; we invest the other half as work. Both sides have real skin in the game, which is exactly why it works better than a normal agency engagement.
Think your idea can pass our own money test?
Apply for co-build. If we believe in it, you get a co-founder. If we don't, you get a straight answer and a fair quote.
Apply for co-build