Software development for US startups from first product to scaleup
We build and grow software for US startups, with senior engineers responsible for agreed product delivery.
You own the product direction. We agree the engineering scope, team and release plan with you.
- 120+Projects delivered across 12 countries since 2012
- 100+Senior in-house engineers, six countries
- 2 to 4 weeksTypical time from signature to start
- ISTQBISTQB-certified QA engineers
- ISO 27001Certified security practice, audited by Quay Audit UK
01Overview
Plan the first product or the next growth stage
unicrew helps US startups turn product priorities and industry requirements into scoped engineering work. For a fixed-scope first version, explore MVP in 6 Weeks; for an existing product, agree the next release and ongoing team responsibilities.
- Agree the start windowMost engagements start within two to four weeks of signature. We confirm the scope and team before work begins.
- Adapt the engagementTeam extension is billed monthly per team member, with no recruitment or placement fee. We plan changes around your product priorities.
- Keep product contextClients describe full-time engineers assigned to continuing product development, testing and project management.
- Scope testing with deliveryWe have ISTQB-certified QA engineers. Testing responsibilities and release checks follow the agreed engagement scope.
02Options
Choose how to build your engineering team
Permanent hiring, a standing partner team and independent specialists serve different product needs. Compare the onboarding work, flexibility and responsibility for keeping system knowledge.
| A standing team from unicrewunicrew | Hiring the engineers yourselfIn-house | Contractors, booked per roleContract |
|---|---|---|
| What it takes to startA scoping call, an NDA and a signature. Most engagements start within two to four weeks. | What it takes to startRecruitment, an agreed joining date and onboarding into your product and process. | What it takes to startA defined specialist scope, availability agreement and product onboarding. |
| When the plan changesTeam extension is billed monthly per engineer, so the team scales down the same way. No recruitment or placement fee. | When the plan changesYou retain permanent expertise and can redirect engineers across the product. | When the plan changesAdjust the specialist scope and availability under the contract. |
| Who knows the code next yearWe agree documentation, knowledge sharing and handover with your team. | Who knows the code next yearYour own engineers, and the context stays in-house for as long as they do. | Who knows the code next yearAgree documentation, handover and future availability with each specialist. |
03Situations
Software built for launch, and for the growth after it
Choose the first engagement around the product milestone, from validating a usable version to improving an established platform.
Turn agreed product decisions into a usable first version through a fixed-scope six-week engagement. You provide access to users so the release can inform the next investment.
- First move
- MVP in 6 Weeks, fixed scope
We turn an agreed feature set into working mobile software that users can try. The scope focuses on the product decisions the first version needs to test.
- First move
- Nail the features, then build
We assess the code, dependencies and release process, then recommend what to preserve and how to continue delivery.
- First move
- An audit, then a written plan
A dedicated team develops the platform around your roadmap, with engineering responsibilities and release priorities agreed with your product lead.
- First move
- A dedicated team on your product
We review cloud usage and operating costs, then scope infrastructure improvements around the platform you already run.
- First move
- Find the spend, then fix it
Define release checks and test automation around the workflows your users depend on. Our ISTQB-certified QA engineers contribute within the agreed testing scope.
- First move
- QA in the sprint, not after it
AI advice from a team that runs its own AI products
unicrew builds and operates Snaplore and Talkmetry, both owned, revenue-generating products with active users. That product experience informs how we assess AI features and the engineering needed to operate them.
Keep the part of the product only your team can get right in-house, and let us build the rest. We agree that split with founders on the first call, so the roadmap keeps moving while you hire.
Oleksandr TrofimovCTO & Co-Founder, unicrew04Proof
Product delivery and client outcomes
US founders describe product growth, operating costs and continuing development in these client accounts from 2018 to 2025.
- A founder who raised money after we shippedBoruch Akbosh, founder of Mover Technologies in Florida, in his updated Clutch review: "After Artelogic developed our BuildMyMove project, we raised $1.5 million in investor capital." That funding, he writes, "grew our business from three to 70 people within an eight-month period". His 2018 account dates the work to 2009, under our former Artelogic brand, and describes continuing development of the freight platform. The freight case covers that platform. The owner of EZ-SQR, a security startup in Boca Raton, says on Clutch that we "delivered an extremely high-functioning product that's great even as a demo".$1.5 millionraised in investor capital after the first build, in the founder's words, 2018
- A platform that kept growing for yearsCraig Elsdon-Dew, CEO of WaiverKing, on Clutch: "They've been helping us grow our platform together since the beginning, from a couple hundred companies to around 2,000." On how the work was staffed he adds that "Artelogic has assigned full-time team members to work on our mission". The WaiverKing build began under our former Artelogic brand. On team growth, the CTO of a German science tech company says on Clutch: "They return with two or three high-quality developers when we need another resource. We've had difficulty choosing between them because they're all so good."Around 2,000companies on the platform, up from a couple hundred, in the CEO's words, 2022
- Faster turned out to be cheaperPatrick W., founder and president of a New York B2B SaaS company that Clutch anonymises, writes on Clutch: "When I first spoke to the team, the pricing was higher than I had hoped, but it turned out that Artelogic could work much faster than our previous service provider. Ultimately, the team wound up costing us less or at least the same." The founder brought us in as his programming team; the 30% or more AWS reduction happened within that engagement. The B2B SaaS case describes how his AWS bill came down in the same engagement.30% or morelower AWS costs, in the founder's words, 2024
- Recent, and one of the smallest clients hereKevin Terry, founder of a health management company in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Clutch: "We're one of unicrew's smaller clients, but they're always incredibly quick to respond. When we have issues, they treat them as if they're extremely important. We feel like we have a partner, and that's been incredible." Our work stabilized and scaled his platform. The consumer health work also lowered cloud costs. Stephanie Allemann, president of Crik-IT in Maine, describes working-hour overlap on Clutch: "We have a daily status meeting over Google Meet. They're ahead of me, so we meet in their evening time in Ukraine. The accommodations they've made for US time have been great." Kevin Terry's engagement began in June 2024; his review was published in 2025.2025the year this review was published; the engagement began in June 2024
05Delivery
Agree the scope, deliver and develop further
We start with the product milestone and agree a first delivery scope. Most engagements start within two to four weeks of signature.
- Define the product milestoneWe discuss the roadmap, your team's product knowledge and the engineering responsibility you want us to own.You getAn opinion on scope and team shape, in writing
- Scope the first sliceWe define the first useful release, technology and team responsibilities in writing, with the commercial model matched to the scope.You getA scoped first slice and an engagement model
- Ship it in front of real usersWe build the agreed software and review it with your team. Testing and release checks follow the delivery scope, with user feedback informing the next priorities.You getSoftware you can put in front of users
- Plan continuing deliveryWe agree the next product priorities and team shape with you. A dedicated team supports continuing development; monthly team extension can be adjusted around the agreed roadmap.You getA team that scales in both directions
06Terms
Commercial terms and delivery controls
Confirm billing, warranty and access responsibilities before the engagement begins.
Three ways to be billed
Time and materials, billed hourly and quoted per project. Fixed price, quoted per project against an agreed outcome. Team extension, billed monthly per team member.
- In practice
- Recommended after scoping, not before
No recruitment or placement fee
On a dedicated team or team extension nothing separate is charged for sourcing, vetting or placing an engineer. The engagement is priced monthly, per team or per engineer.
- In practice
- Nothing charged for finding people
A warranty on fixed-scope work
Fixed-scope work carries a post-launch warranty period as standard, with the length agreed in the contract rather than assumed on either side.
- In practice
- Agreed per contract, in writing
Certified security and quality
ISO 27001:2022 for information security and ISO 9001:2015 for quality management, both renewed through a multi-stage audit with Quay Audit UK.
- In practice
- The controls a security review asks for
ISTQB-certified QA engineers
We agree testing responsibilities, automation and release checks as part of the engagement. Our QA credential is ISTQB certification.
- In practice
- Testing scoped to the product
Least-privilege access to a live product
On a build engagement we work from access agreed with your technical contact, read-only wherever the work allows, and with no write access to production during discovery.
- In practice
- Agreed with your technical contact
07Client voices
Founders on working with unicrew
Up until a year and a half ago, I handled all the development and support of our application myself and I needed help. I brought in Artelogic, and it was one of the best business decisions I’ve ever made.
They were perfect. Nothing got lost in translation and we managed the time difference well. Artelogic has been professional, personable, and flexible, especially when it comes to our budget after the pandemic.
They’re a highly ethical and well-managed organization. I was amazed by the CEO’s skill level and business acumen.
unicrew met deadlines and stayed on budget. The team went above and beyond what I expected; unicrew was excellent. It was more of a full-service provision than expected, so I was delighted.
We’ve seen enhanced customer satisfaction thanks to unicrew’s work. Our customers love the UI and speed of the application. We’ve received positive feedback, and there are no errors in the system. unicrew meets their deadlines and stays on budget.
08Case studies
Startup platforms and continuing development
Explore a freight platform for a Florida founder, a B2B SaaS takeover with lower AWS costs, and a waiver platform developed over years.
See all case studies- LogisticsA freight-management platform and mobile apps for a US logistics startup (Mover Technologies)
- SaaSAWS costs down 30%+ for a US B2B SaaS platformunicrew became the programming team for a B2B SaaS platform that had run for over a decade, streamlined how it used AWS and Heroku, and sped up rollouts.30%+Lower AWS costs
SaaSWaiverKing: Software Development for a Waiver Form CreatorWaiverKing is a document management business serving primarily the health and fitness industries. The platform integrates with Mindbody Online, one of the largest business-systems providers for gyms and yoga studios.Weeks to hoursTime to release an update to production
09Questions
Questions founders ask us
Permanent hires build long-term product knowledge inside your company. A partner team gives you an agreed engineering scope and delivery responsibility alongside that core team. Most engagements start within two to four weeks of signature. Team extension is billed monthly per team member, and we plan the team shape around your roadmap.
Our engineers work from Europe, and we agree the overlap window at scoping for each engagement. We plan live meetings, reviews and decision-making with your team so the working arrangement supports the product.
unicrew quotes each engagement on its own terms, because the figure depends on team shape, stack and scope. What is settled before you commit is how you are billed: time and materials, quoted per project and billed hourly; fixed price, quoted per project against an agreed outcome; or team extension, billed monthly per team member. There is no recruitment or placement fee on a dedicated team or team extension.
We agree each addition around the skills, product context and availability required. Timing is confirmed with you, with onboarding and handover planned around the next product priorities.
Yes. We assess the code, dependencies and release process before recommending continued development, refactoring or a rebuild. The assessment sets out what to retain and the scope needed for further delivery.
Yes, and it is a defined offer rather than an open-ended discovery phase. MVP in 6 Weeks takes a product idea to a working, usable first version in six weeks, on a fixed scope agreed before we start, so you learn what works before committing budget to a larger build. What you bring to it is the product decisions and access to real users.
We fit US startups commissioning a first product or continuing development with a remote senior engineering team. You retain product direction and investor relationships; we agree the engineering work and bill through the model that fits its scope. Where the product decisions need development, start with product design and development.
Discuss your product and roadmap
Share the product milestone and your current engineering setup. We agree the first work to scope and how delivery responsibilities will be shared.
What happens after you contact us
- We reply within one business dayA senior engineer reads what you sent, not an autoresponder.
- A call about product prioritiesThe next milestone and the engineering responsibility you want us to own.
- Scope and engagement model, in writingThe first slice, and whether it is time and materials, fixed price or team extension.
- NDA, then a start dateMost engagements start within two to four weeks of signature.