Have a working prototype built
The fastest way to know whether an idea holds up is to use it.
A clickable design shows what something looks like. A working prototype shows how it behaves: real code, your own data, real navigation. That difference decides whether a week leaves you with a decision or just a feeling.
The difference between showing and working.
The same screen twice. One is a picture, the other actually does it. Go ahead and click it.
- WB-2041Colman Bakery Maintenance · DeurneOn the way
- WB-2042Kaai 7 Residences Breakdown · AntwerpScheduled
- WB-2043Verlinden Garage Installation · MortselScheduled
- WB-2044Dr. Aerts Practice Inspection · BerchemScheduled
A heavily simplified example, on made-up data. A real prototype goes further than this.
A prototype, an MVP and a proof of concept are not the same thing.
Proof of concept
Proves something is technically possible. Narrow, disposable, built to answer one question.
Prototype
Shows how it works for the people who'll use it. That's what I build in a week.
MVP
The first version you actually put into production. It follows from the prototype, not the other way round.
The three get used interchangeably. The difference is who's looking: a proof of concept convinces your engineer, a prototype convinces your users, an MVP convinces your customers.
How it runs
What it needs to do
An hour-long working session on day one. What should it do, for whom, and what's the core? If a design or a sketch already exists, we start there.
Build
The design becomes a working prototype: real screens, your own data, real navigation. Not clickable images, but code that runs.
Walk through it
You click through it yourself. Whatever's wrong surfaces now. Usually something turns out to matter more than expected.
After that
What stands after that week is real code, not a throwaway. You build on it, you adjust, or you stop. All three are good outcomes, and all three cost you a week instead of a quarter.
Usually it becomes building on. A small finished project is two to four weeks more. A system your company runs on takes months, planned in phases with a fixed price per phase. And sometimes that first week is not needed: if you already know exactly what has to be built, we start on the real work straight away.
What it's good for
- Testing an idea before you put a year's budget behind it
- Seeing whether your people actually use it before anything gets built
- Trying an integration between two systems before you invest in it
- Having something concrete on the table to make the decision on
AI speeds up the building. Not the thinking.
Converting screens, trying variants, the boring parts of the code: that's ten times faster than it was three years ago. Which means you see something working in days instead of having to imagine it.
The fair question is whether that scales. Quickly generated code nobody has reviewed does not scale. So I decide the architecture, the data models and what is allowed into production: testable, readable, and something the next developer can pick up. AI writes alongside me. It decides nothing.
What it costs
excl. VAT · fixed price
One week: the conversation, the build and the walkthrough. Fixed price, so if it turns out to be more work than expected, that's my problem and not yours. What comes after, we discuss once you've seen the prototype.
What people ask
What does custom software cost?
A one-week prototype costs €3,500 excl. VAT, fixed price. What comes after depends on the size. The smallest finished project starts around €6,500. A system your company runs on takes months and sits well above that. Those get planned in phases, with a fixed price per phase.
How long does it take?
A working prototype is there within the week. From there to a first version in production is usually six to ten weeks, depending on what the prototype exposed. Larger systems run longer and go in phases. I make that estimate afterwards, not before.
What's the difference from off-the-shelf software?
Off-the-shelf software forces your way of working into the shape the vendor picked. Often that's fine. If the way you work is what sets you apart, it's a compromise, and then you're paying annually for a compromise. Custom-built software works the other way round: the system follows how you work, not the reverse.
One person: is that enough?
For code: yes. When the work gets bigger or wider, I bring in people from my network: developers, designers, whoever the project needs. I put the team together, direct it, and stay the single point of contact.
Who owns the code?
You do. The code sits in a repository in your name, and documentation is part of delivery. I build with Laravel, Vue and React, so a next developer can pick it up straight away.
Tell me what you have in mind.
Send a short description of what you want to build, even if it's still vague. You'll hear from me within one working day.