How we think before we build
Tools and frameworks come and go. What stays useful is asking the right questions at the start, so every project opens with the same few.
Start with the decision
Before any design or code, we find out which business call the work is meant to support. Often it is about commissioning, pricing or a release.
Measure what you can
Viewing data, tests and models come first. Where data is missing we tell you, and we mark which figures are estimates.
Show work early
Small working builds every couple of weeks. The biggest risk in any release is the part nobody has seen running.
Keep it lean
Each service, library and process we add has an upkeep cost, and that cost has to be worth paying.
Leave you independent
We document as we go and hand everything over. A good studio relationship leaves your own team stronger.
Say it straight
If we see a problem with the plan, you hear about it from us early, while it is still cheap to fix.
Five phases, loosely borrowed from the way a production runs. Each one closes with something you can review and sign off.
- 01
Brief
An hour with you on the problem, the audience and the dates that cannot move. We tell you plainly whether we are the right studio for it, and we say so when we are not.
DeliverableWritten brief and a recommended next step
- 02
Pre-production
We agree scope, measurable goals, risks and the date everything works back from. Work starts once both sides have signed off on what success looks like.
DeliverableProposal with scope, schedule and a fixed price
- 03
Production
Short sprints, each ending with a demo on real devices with real content. You work directly with the designers, analysts and engineers doing the job.
DeliverableWorking builds and a demo every fortnight
- 04
Release
Before launch we load test, try the build on every target device and agree how to roll back. Then we watch the numbers with you through the first days in front of an audience.
DeliverableLaunch, monitoring and a post-launch review
- 05
Support
Code, documentation and training go to your team. We stay on call while your people take over, and we plan for that to happen quickly.
DeliverableDocumentation, handover and a plan for the next season
We pick tools for the problem at hand and are happy to join the stack your platform already runs on. These are the ones we use most.
Design
- Figma
- Design Systems
- Design Tokens
- Prototyping
- Usability testing
- WCAG 2.2
Product
- Discovery
- Roadmapping
- OKR
- A/B experimentation
- Metabase
- Google Ads
- Meta Ads
Quantitative
- Python
- R
- SQL
- ClickHouse
- Kafka
- Time series
- Monte Carlo
Engineering
- TypeScript
- Next.js
- Node.js
- NestJS
- Go
- Rust
- PostgreSQL
- Redis
- ScyllaDB
- FFmpeg
- OpenSearch
- MinIO
Platform & SRE
- AWS
- Kubernetes
- Docker
- Terraform
- Helm
- Argo CD
- GitLab CI
- Prometheus
- Grafana
- Vercel
- Cloudflare
- LocalStack
- Can we hire you for one project, or do you also work as an ongoing team?
- We do both. A clearly scoped project gets a fixed price. For continuous or exploratory work, such as running a product through a full season of releases, we reserve a team for you at a set monthly cost.
- What is the smallest piece of work you take on?
- A diagnostic of two to three weeks, for example a review of your streaming app, your subscriber funnel or your platform's readiness for a big launch. Big projects usually run for two months or more.
- How much does it cost?
- We quote a fixed price for every engagement before anything starts, and that price holds. A diagnostic is the lowest-cost way to begin. The contact form lists the budget ranges most of our projects fall into.
- When could you start?
- Give us your date, especially if it is tied to a premiere, a season launch or an event going on sale. Diagnostics need little preparation and start soonest. Larger projects depend on who we have free that month, and we would rather turn work down than understaff it.
- Will you work alongside our in-house team?
- Yes, and that is a large share of what we do. We use your tools, join your rituals and ship on your release schedule.
- Do you take on clients outside Portugal?
- Yes. Our clients are spread across Europe and we work in Portuguese and English, from Lisbon, at your offices or remotely.
- Who owns what we produce together?
- You do. Code, designs, models and documentation created under the contract pass to you on delivery.
- Do you sign NDAs?
- Yes. Unreleased titles, launch dates and audience data are routine for us. We sign your NDA or send you ours before any detailed discussion.
Half an hour on a call is usually enough for both sides to know whether we should work together. There is no obligation and nobody will try to sell you anything.
