Ways to work with us

A fixed-scope project is for a business that knows what it needs built and wants the cost settled before work starts. You agree the outcome with us, we write the scope down, and the price stays the price.

How a fixed-scope project runs

Every project follows The Path: Understand, Shape, Craft, Launch and Evolve. The first two phases turn your brief into a scope document with milestones, deliverables and review points. The price is based on that document, and it is what you hold us to. You choose the pace, and we agree the schedule with you at the start.

During Craft you see a working demo at every sprint, so you click through real progress instead of reading status updates. Security is part of the first build, and every release is tested on real phones and browsers before it reaches your customers. At Launch you receive every source file, every login and a recorded walkthrough. Nothing depends on us to keep running.

Payment is half as an advance and half at launch. We do not sell or report in hours. A fixed price does not turn every small thing into a negotiation either: a text edit or a broken link gets fixed, not written up as a change request.

What kinds of work suit a fixed-scope project?

Websites, web and mobile applications, brand identity and other builds with a clear end point, where budget certainty matters more than room to change course. If you are still working out what to build, a Product Sprint or a Product Discovery Sprint settles that first. The disciplines most often delivered this way are Web Design & Development and Application Development.

When is a fixed-scope project not the right choice?

If the scope will keep moving as you learn, a fixed price will either hold you back or strain the relationship. A Dedicated Team suits a long, changing roadmap better. If we think your project belongs there, or needs less than you planned, we will say so before you sign anything.

Launch is where care starts: most businesses move to a Care Retainer so the site or app keeps being looked after by the team that built it. Have a build in mind? Tell us what you need.

A Product Sprint is a focused block of work with one clear deliverable at the end. It is for founders whose biggest risk is building the wrong thing, who want a small first step with a known price and evidence before they commit to a full build.

What can a Product Sprint deliver?

Each sprint is scoped around a single outcome. Typical ones are a tested scope with a clickable prototype and a build plan, which is what the Product Discovery Sprint delivers, or a first working version of the product, called an MVP and covered in MVP development. We agree the deliverable before the sprint starts, so both sides know what finished looks like.

How it runs

The sprint follows the first phases of The Path. We start with your goals, your users and your constraints, shape them into a scope, and then design or build to that scope. You see work in progress along the way and give feedback while it is still easy to act on. A first working version is built with security and testing in from the start, so it can grow into the real product instead of being thrown away.

The price is fixed per sprint. If the result tells you to stop, change direction or narrow the idea, the sprint has done its job, and we will say so plainly. Whatever it produces is yours to take to any team.

Who is a Product Sprint for?

First-time founders, product owners inside an existing business and teams testing a new line before they invest. Related work lives under Product Development.

When is a Product Sprint not the right choice?

If you already have a settled scope and want it built end to end, a Fixed-Scope Project is simpler. If the product will need a team on a long roadmap, look at a Dedicated Team. Not sure the idea is ready? Tell us what you are testing and we will suggest the smallest useful first step.

A Care Retainer looks after something that is already live: a website, an app or a system your business depends on every day. Most technology trouble starts after launch. The developer moves on, a form quietly stops sending leads, and a two-minute fix arrives as a quote. With a Care Retainer someone owns all of that. You pay monthly, you choose a level of care, and the team that built it keeps looking after it.

The three levels of care

The Keeper looks after what is live: updates, security fixes, checks that the site is up, backups and small fixes, so nothing slowly falls out of date. It suits a stable site or app that mainly needs to keep working.

The Partner does everything The Keeper does and adds regular improvements. We meet with you on a set schedule to decide what to change next, based on how people actually use the site or product. It suits a business that treats its website or app as something that grows.

The Confidant includes everything in the lower levels and adds a technology adviser on call. You have someone to ask first about decisions, such as whether to build or buy, which supplier to trust or what to make of a quote. It suits owners and founders who want someone on their side when technology questions come up.

The exact inclusions for each level are confirmed when we agree the retainer, so you know what you are getting before you start. If The Keeper is all you need, that is the level we recommend, and you can move between levels as your needs change.

How do you ask for changes?

Requests, changes and approvals run through the Client Ops Portal, the maintenance portal we built and run ourselves. Every request is logged and every approval is on record, so nothing gets lost in an email thread. Small changes, like a new phone number or a broken link, are handled as part of the care. They do not turn into an invoice.

Where does the Care Retainer fit with our other services?

For websites, see website care and AMC. For applications, see Application Development. Care is the Evolve phase of The Path in practice.

If you would rather we ran your hosting, security or compliance for you, read about Managed Services. Something live that needs looking after? Tell us what you have and we will suggest the level that fits.

Fractional leadership puts a part-time technology leader inside your business. It is for teams whose technology decisions are getting bigger than the people making them, who need someone to own the direction but are not ready to hire a full-time chief technology officer (CTO).

What the role covers

A fractional CTO sets the technology direction, reviews how your software is designed and written, chooses and manages technology suppliers, and helps you hire the people who will build. A fractional AI Officer does the same for AI: where it belongs in the business, which tools and suppliers to trust, and the rules for how staff use it. Both work with your team, not above it, and the advice does not depend on who gets the work. If the right answer is another supplier, an off-the-shelf tool or no build at all, that is what you hear. Every decision is written down with its reasoning, so it survives staff changes.

How it works

We start by understanding where the business is and what it plans to do. From there we agree a monthly rhythm: regular conversations with you and your team, reviews of current work and a short written note on decisions and next steps. The arrangement is monthly, and the goal is a business that can lead its own technology, so it can pause or end as your own team grows.

Who is fractional leadership for?

Founders without a technical co-founder, small teams whose product has outgrown a freelancer, and companies about to spend real money on technology who want a sound plan first. The detail is on the Fractional CTO page and under Tech Consultancy.

When is fractional leadership not the right choice?

If you need hands-on building every day, a Dedicated Team is closer. If you need one specific question answered, the Tech Second Opinion is a smaller step, and we will point you there first. Facing a technology decision? Tell us what is on the table.

A dedicated team is a TechSum team that works on your product and nothing else. It is for businesses that want control of the priorities and steady progress on a long roadmap that changes as they learn, without hiring and managing a team themselves.

How it works

We form a team around your product and agree how it works with you: how priorities are set, how often you review progress and how decisions are recorded. You decide what matters next. The team plans and builds in short cycles, so you see working software regularly and can change direction when the evidence says so. Every release is tested before it reaches your users, and security fixes and monitoring carry on between releases.

You pay a monthly fee per team. We do not sell or report in hours, and you are not managing individual people. You work with a team that knows your product and answers for it, and small things are handled as they come up instead of turning into a separate quote.

Who is a dedicated team for?

Products past their first version that need steady development, such as a subscription software product adding features, a customer portal growing new sections or an app serving more and more users. It pairs naturally with Product Development and Application Development, and works best once a first working version (MVP) has proved the idea.

When is a dedicated team not the right choice?

If the scope is fixed and finite, a Fixed-Scope Project is cleaner and simpler to manage. If you want to end up owning the team yourself, Build, Operate, Transfer is built for that. If the roadmap thins out, we will tell you and suggest a smaller model, such as a Care Retainer. Work still follows The Path, with each cycle returning to Understand.

Have a roadmap that keeps growing? Tell us about the product and we will suggest the shape of a team.

Managed services means we take on the running of a defined part of your technology, month after month. It is for businesses that want systems that stay up, backups that restore and bills that make sense, without hiring and managing people to look after their hosting, security or compliance.

What can TechSum run for you?

The areas are the ones we already work in. Under Digital Infrastructure: hosting and server management, backups, checks that your systems are up, cloud costs, and email and domain health. Under Trust, Security & Compliance: ongoing reviews, handling requests from people about their data, and keeping up the safeguards we have helped put in place.

On compliance, we implement and operate the systems. Partner counsel advises on legal interpretation, and certification or formal testing goes through accredited partners.

How it works

We agree what we are responsible for, how you will be told when something happens and how requests are made. Work is tracked in the Client Ops Portal, so every action and approval is on record. Small requests are handled as part of the service rather than invoiced separately. The fee is monthly.

Who are managed services for?

Owner-led businesses and growing teams where technology matters but is not the core trade, and nobody wants to be the person who checks on all of it. Many arrive through a Digital Health Check or a Cloud Cost Review that shows what needs looking after.

When are managed services not the right choice?

If you want to build your own in-house team over time, Build, Operate, Transfer leads to ownership. If you only need light upkeep on a live site or app, a Care Retainer is the simpler fit, and we will say so. Tired of checking on it all yourself? Tell us what you run.

A white-label partnership is for agencies that want to say yes to technology briefs without staffing for them. TechSum delivers under your agency's name. The businesses you serve see your brand, and we do the building behind it.

How it works

You keep the relationship and the brief. We scope the work with you, deliver to the agreed plan and report to you. Communication goes through the people you choose, and we never approach the businesses you serve directly.

Delivery follows the same standard and the same Path as work under our own name: understand, shape, craft, launch and evolve, with security from the first build and testing before anything goes live. Handover includes source files, logins and documentation, so you can pass everything on.

Pricing is per project, or monthly if you need steady capacity. We agree which before the first piece of work.

What work do agencies bring us?

Websites and e-commerce builds, web and mobile applications, integrations, automation and AI work, and technical SEO. The relevant disciplines are Web Design & Development, Application Development and Search & Answer Visibility.

Which agencies is it for?

Design, marketing and social media agencies that sell technology work but do not want to hire developers, and need to trust whoever does the work with their reputation. A trial project is a sensible way to start, so you can judge our work and communication before relying on it.

When is a white-label partnership not the right choice?

If you want a team that works only on your own product, a Dedicated Team is closer. If a brief falls outside what we do well, we will tell you before you promise it to anyone. Have a brief waiting? Start with one project.

A Co-Build Partnership is for founders we choose to back, who want a partner with something at stake rather than a supplier. We take a reduced cash fee and share in how the business does, through equity or a revenue share. It is a real commitment on both sides, so we only offer it where we believe in the product and the people.

How it works

It starts as a conversation, then a clear proposal. We look at the idea, the market, the founders and what the first version needs to show. If the fit is there, we agree the build scope, the cash portion, the equity or revenue share and how each will be recorded. Terms are set case by case and put in writing before any work starts, so both sides know what they have committed to.

The build follows The Path and often begins with a Product Discovery Sprint or a Product Sprint, moving into MVP development, which means building the first working version, once the scope is tested. A reduced fee does not mean a reduced standard: security, testing and care after launch are the same as on any paid build.

Who is a Co-Build Partnership for?

Founders with a clear problem, early evidence that people want the solution and the drive to run the company. Expect us to ask hard questions and give honest feedback on the idea, because we are betting our own time alongside you.

When is a Co-Build Partnership not the right choice?

Many good ideas are not a fit for this model. If we decline, your idea may still be a good one. A Fixed-Scope Project or a Product Sprint may be the better structure for you, and we will say so.

See also Product Development. Building something you believe in? Tell us about it.