A prototype that cracks under real users
Lovable, Bolt or Cursor can get a first version on screen. Logins, payments, data safety and deploys are where it breaks, and where we come in.
Software development for Austin startups and businesses
Austin custom software development for founders and operators
Our best fit in Austin is a founder with funding and no engineering team, or an operator who built a first version with an AI tool and now needs it to hold up under real customers. Ojastra, a Toronto team, delivers custom software development to both, remotely.
Austin is one hour behind Toronto, so we keep your hours. You see a working build every week, you own the repository from day one, and the price is settled before we write code.
Fixed price. You own the code. A working demo every week.
Where Austin builds go wrong
An MVP quote that eats the runway
Early budgets are tight, and agency estimates for a first version can differ by tens of thousands of dollars. A fixed price and a written scope protect the runway.
A contractor who has gone quiet
Half-finished code, no repository access and nobody who can explain it. We audit it, tell you what is salvageable and hand back clean ownership.
No technical cofounder to judge the work
Without a CTO, a founder can't tell real progress from a good-looking demo. A working build on a link you can click every week makes progress visible.
What we build for Austin companies
MVPs for Austin startups
The first version of your product: accounts, the core workflow, payments and admin, built to grow instead of being rewritten at the first funding round.
Prototype-to-production rescues
We take an AI-built app and make it safe: fix the broken flows, secure logins and data, set up hosting and hand it over.
SaaS dashboards and admin panels
Customer accounts, Stripe billing, usage reporting and the internal screens your team uses to run the product.
Mobile apps for iPhone and Android
Shipped through the app stores with you as the account owner, and a web companion where the product needs one.
Internal tools for fast-growing teams
Ops dashboards, sales trackers and onboarding tools that replace the spreadsheet the team outgrew.
AI features that do one job well
Summaries, intake, drafting or lookup inside your product, with a human review step where the stakes are real.
A senior team for a city that builds products
Austin has built its reputation on technology companies and startups, and that shapes what founders need: speed, a product that can change direction, and code a future hire can read. We build with plain, mainstream tools, document how the system works and keep the repository in your account so a first engineering hire can take over without a rewrite.
Founders here are often told to find a technical cofounder, a freelancer or an offshore shop. We are a fourth option: senior full-stack engineers working to a fixed price, with a weekly demo and a handover built in. It isn't the right fit for an idea that hasn't found a customer yet. For a funded product or a business with revenue, it usually is.
Austin sits one hour behind Toronto. We hold calls in your morning and keep demos on the calendar every week. There is no Austin office. You get native English, a business culture close to your own and Canadian-dollar pricing that stretches a US budget, with US-dollar quotes on request.
What it costs
Fixed prices in Canadian dollars. The blueprint fee is credited in full when you go ahead with the build.
| What you get | Price (CAD) | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| BlueprintWorkflow map, key screens, fixed quote and build schedule. 100% credited to the build. | $1,500 | About 1 week |
| MVP for a funded founderThe first version of your product, built to grow. | $25K–$75K | 8–14 weeks |
| Rescue an AI-built or broken appAudit, fix, secure, deploy and hand over. | $5K–$20K | 2–6 weeks |
| Customer-facing web or mobile appBooking, ordering, client portal or marketplace. | $20K–$60K | 6–12 weeks |
| Care planHosting, monitoring, fixes and small changes. | From $500/month | Monthly |
Prices are listed in CAD, and we quote in US dollars on request. The MVP range depends on the blueprint, which turns it into one fixed number. See all prices.
How we work
1. Plan
A free written plan within 48 hours, then a one-week blueprint ($1,500, credited to the build) that ends in one fixed price and a schedule.
2. Build
A working link to click every week. Milestone payments, no hourly surprises. Scope changes are priced in writing before we build them.
3. Care
You own the code and accounts from day one. Optional care plan from $500 a month for hosting, fixes and small changes.
Software we built and run
pickup.kitchen
Our own live ordering and meal-plan platform for food businesses.
- Each kitchen gets its own storefront on a subdomain or custom domain
- Stripe payments and a Shopify POS integration
- Live order tracking, delivery routes and a driver app
Naina
An AI coaching app we took from idea to paid MVP.
- Upload screenshots, get a score and the top fixes
- Email one-time-code sign-in and a paid pass
- AI output checked by its own test suite
Questions owners ask us
How much does custom software development cost for an Austin startup?
A first version of your product, scoped for a funded founder, lands between $25K and $75K CAD over eight to fourteen weeks. A narrower internal tool is $12K–$40K CAD. We give you the final number in US dollars if you ask.
Can you turn my AI-built prototype into a real product?
Yes. Rescuing an AI-built or broken app (audit, fix, secure, deploy and hand over) usually costs $5K–$20K CAD and takes two to six weeks. The audit comes first, so you know what is worth keeping before you pay for fixes.
How is working with you different from hiring a technical cofounder?
A cofounder shares the upside and the risk, and we don't. We sell a fixed-price build and hand over the code. For a founder who wants to keep their equity, that is often the simpler deal.
Are you an Austin software development company?
We are a Toronto company that builds for Austin clients remotely, with no office in Texas. Austin is one hour behind us, so your whole working day overlaps with ours.
Do you handle mobile app development for Austin companies as well as web products?
Yes. We build iPhone, Android and web apps, often from one codebase, with the admin screens and the server behind them. Pricing for a customer-facing app starts at $20K CAD and tops out near $60K, and delivery takes six to twelve weeks.
Can you act as an IT consulting partner in Austin?
Our advice is about software: whether to build, buy or connect. If you want a managed IT provider for laptops and networks, we'd point you elsewhere. The free written plan is where our advice starts.
Who owns the repository and the IP?
You do, in writing. The repository, hosting and app store accounts are yours from day one, so a future team can take over without asking us for anything.
Related
Tell us the problem. Get a written plan in 48 hours.
No call needed. You get the approach, a price range and a timeline in writing, free.