From vibe-coded prototype to production software.

You built something that works in a demo with an AI app builder or a coding assistant. We make it safe to put real users, real data, and real money through it, keeping what is good and rebuilding only what has to be.

01why now

AI app builders and coding assistants have made it possible for a founder, a product manager, or an operations lead to build a working app in a weekend. That is genuinely useful: the prototype proves the idea, shows what users want, and is a far better spec than any document. The trouble starts when the prototype gets real users.

The same patterns show up again and again in AI-generated prototypes: secrets committed to the code or exposed to the browser, database access rules left open, authentication that only checks on the client, no tests, no backups, one giant file nobody can change safely, and costs that spike with the first wave of traffic. None of that shows in a demo. All of it shows when a customer's data leaks or the app falls over on launch day.

02what we do

• Audit. A written review of the code, data model, security, hosting, and costs, with every issue ranked: fix before launch, fix soon, or fine for now.
• Security fixes first. Secrets moved server side, access rules on every table, authentication and authorization enforced on the server, input validation, and rate limits.
• Data model and payments. A schema that will survive your next ten features, migrations instead of manual edits, backups, and payment flows that handle failures and refunds.
• Structure and tests. The code reorganized so changes are safe, with tests on the paths that matter and CI that runs them on every change.
• Deployment and monitoring. Separate staging and production, error tracking, uptime alerts, and logs you can read.

refactor or rebuild?

Most prototypes should be refactored, not thrown away: the screens, flows, and much of the front end usually carry over. We recommend a rebuild of a layer, usually the backend or data model, when fixing it in place would cost more than replacing it. You get that call in the audit, with the reasoning, before any money is committed to the build.

03who this is for

• Founders with a prototype that has early users or investor interest and needs to become a real product.
• Operators inside larger companies who built an internal tool with an AI builder that the team now depends on, and IT wants it made safe.
• Product teams with an AI feature that worked in a pilot and now has to handle real volume, real edge cases, and real cost limits.

We have carried products from idea to shipped before: Nestwell went from idea to product with us as fractional CTO on a $30K budget and raised $1.2M+ after shipping. If you need that ongoing technical leadership rather than a one-off hardening, ask about it on the call. For larger new builds, see custom software development.

04how it runs

1. Audit. You give us access to the code and hosting. You get the ranked findings and a refactor or rebuild recommendation.
2. Fix the budget. A fixed number for the work the audit calls for. Change requests are priced before they start, never after.
3. Harden in priority order. Security first, then data, then structure and tests. Working software every two weeks, and the app stays usable throughout where it is already live.
4. Launch. Staging, production, monitoring, and a launch checklist run with you.
5. Stay. We stay past launch to measure, harden what works, and help you keep building, with or without AI tools on your side.

Our own engineering is AI-augmented, so we are not here to tell you AI tools were a mistake. We use them every day, with tests and senior review behind them. See AI coding orchestration for how.

05common questions about taking a prototype to production

What does prototype to production mean?

Taking an app that works in a demo, often built with an AI app builder or coding assistant, and making it safe and reliable for real users: fixing security, the data model, authentication, payments, tests, deployment, and monitoring.

Is my vibe-coded app safe to launch?

Possibly not. AI-generated prototypes commonly expose secrets, leave database access rules open, check authentication only in the browser, and have no tests or backups. An audit tells you exactly which of those apply before real users find out.

Do we have to rebuild from scratch?

Usually not. Most of the screens and flows carry over, and we refactor in place. We recommend rebuilding a layer, typically the backend or data model, only when fixing it would cost more than replacing it, and you get that recommendation before committing to the build.

Which AI app builders do you work with?

Code from any of them, along with apps written with coding assistants or by hand. What matters is that you can give us the code and hosting access.

How much does it cost to take a prototype to production?

The audit sets a fixed number for the work it calls for, agreed before work starts. Change requests are priced before they are started, never after.

Can we keep building with AI tools after you are done?

Yes, and we will set the code up so you can. Clear structure, tests, and CI make AI coding tools much safer to use, because a broken change gets caught before it ships.