SERVICES
Engineering and product services for startups
BrainStormers services cover the engineering and product work a startup needs, from validation and design to builds, fixes and scale, offered one at a time or as one team.
The drawing shows a transit map and, under it, engineering and product services as stops on two lines from early to later stage, meeting at one interchange.
We are a technical and product consultancy for startup founders and established teams. Hire one service, one suite or both as one team, and change the mix as you grow.
THREE SUITES
All BrainStormers services, by suite
Three ways to buy help: product and engineering together, engineering alone, or product alone. Each service has its own page.
ONE TEAM
Product and engineering, one team
Product development consulting and the code behind it, from one senior team. One plan runs from validation to launch, with no hand-off between two vendors.
ENGINEERING10 SERVICES
Engineering
Software development consulting and hands-on engineering, led by Thanos Gkanas. We rescue AI-built apps with an AI code audit and fix for vibe-coded apps and answer outages with production incident response. We build first versions as an MVP development company that plans past launch, run DevOps consulting, and cover part-time technical leadership, code audits, due diligence, extra engineers and AI features.
AI code fixes
Senior review and repair for apps built with AI coding tools: security, data and scale problems found, ranked and fixed.Crisis response
Senior help when production is down, a release failed or a vendor vanished: stabilize first, then fix the cause.MVP development
Scope the smallest product that proves demand, then build it with senior engineers on code you can grow.Fractional CTO
A senior part-time CTO for architecture, hiring, vendors and the roadmap, without a full-time salary.DevOps consulting
CI/CD, infrastructure as code, monitoring and on-call that a small team can run, set up with your developers.Cloud consulting
Cloud architecture, migration, security and cost control on AWS, Google Cloud or Azure, sized for your next stage.Code audit
An independent source code audit of security, architecture, tests and delivery risk, written up as a ranked fix list.Technical due diligence
Code, architecture, security, team and scale risk, reviewed for investors and founders before a round or an acquisition.Team augmentation
Senior engineers who take tickets from your board, review the hard parts and plan the handover from the first week.AI integration
LLM features, AI agents, retrieval and evaluation built into your product, with cost and safety controls that hold up in production.
PRODUCT9 SERVICES
Product
Product consulting from seasoned, industry-agnostic product people, led by Roger Grekos. We test demand through idea validation and run software product discovery services to find the real problem before anything is designed. A fractional CPO, meaning a part-time chief product officer, can own the roadmap, and product strategy services set the direction for the testing, design, pricing and growth work that follows.
Fractional product manager
A senior product lead, part time: discovery, roadmap and delivery without a full-time hire.Product strategy
Decide who the product serves, what to build next and what to drop, with evidence behind each call.Product discovery
Customer interviews, workshops and prototypes that show what customers will pay for before you build.Idea validation
Research, interviews and smoke tests that end in a go, pivot or stop decision before you build.Usability testing
Moderated and remote sessions with real users, turned into a ranked list of fixes.UX audit
A ranked review of your onboarding, key flows, accessibility and conversion, with a suggested fix for every issue.UX/UI design
SaaS UX and UI design for startups: flows, screens, design systems and prototypes your engineers can build.Pricing and monetization
Pricing strategy for startups: value metric, plans, usage pricing and price tests, built into a monetization plan.Scale planning
A staged plan for your next stage of growth: team shape, process, product operations and the systems behind them.
Not sure where to start?
Two quick questions point you to the services that fit. Prefer to check something yourself first? Our free tools for founders take a few minutes, and your answers stay in your browser.
AI code risk check
Ten questions that show where an AI-built app is most likely to break: security, data, payments or operations.
CTO cost calculator
Set the hours you need and compare a fractional CTO with a full-time hire, monthly and yearly, from the quote you have.
MVP scope planner
Pick your features and see what to build first, what to cut, and a range of weeks and cost.
ENGAGEMENT MODELS
Four ways to work with us
Every service runs in one of four models, by how much of the work you want us to own. See BrainStormers engagement models, or set them against a full-time hire, outsourcing and staff augmentation in our engagement model comparisons.
Advisory
Time with a founder on a decision you need to get right.
You get
- A recommendation in writing
- The reasoning and trade-offs behind it
- A pointer to the right service if more work is needed
Typical shape
One session or a short series
Quoted after a short call
Ask for a quoteHands-on project
One service, one scope and one named lead on our side.
You get
- A scope and plan agreed before work starts
- The deliverables named on the service page
- A handover with docs and next steps
Typical shape
Scoped to your project, delivered in milestones
Quoted after a short call
Ask for a quoteEmbedded capacity
Senior people inside your team, working in your sprints and tools.
You get
- Capacity without a long hiring process
- Code reviews, specs or research to your standards
- Notes and docs that stay when we leave
Typical shape
Set days each week, for as long as you need
Quoted after a short call
Ask for a quoteFractional lead
A part-time CTO or head of product who owns the plan.
You get
- Ownership of the roadmap or the technical strategy
- Hiring help: specs, interviews and onboarding
- Updates you can share with investors
Typical shape
An agreed share of each month, reviewed monthly
Quoted after a short call
Ask for a quote
FAQ
Questions about engineering and product services for startups
Which BrainStormers service should I start with?
Start with the problem that costs you most right now. If the product is failing or insecure, start with an audit or crisis help. If you are unsure what to build, start with validation or discovery. If you have a plan and no team, start with an MVP build or a fractional lead. If two apply, fix the blocker first.
What does each BrainStormers service include?
Each service page lists the deliverables, the steps and the engagement options. Most services follow the same shape: an audit to find out what is true, the hands-on work, and a handover with written notes, docs and next steps your team can use without us. The scope is agreed in writing before any work starts.
Can we start with one fixed-scope project?
Yes. A fixed-scope piece of work is a good first step, such as a code audit, a UX audit, a validation sprint or an MVP scope. You get a clear deliverable at the end, and you decide afterwards whether to continue, change direction or stop.
How do product and engineering work together when we hire you for both?
You get one plan with two leads. Roger owns the product side: users, evidence, scope and priorities. Thanos owns the technical side: architecture, build quality and operations. They agree the plan together, review progress together and settle trade-offs between what users need and what the system can carry before those trade-offs reach your team.
Do you work with pre-seed, seed and Series A+ companies?
Yes. At pre-seed the work is usually validation, discovery and a first prototype. At seed it is MVP development, team augmentation, documentation and go-to-market support. At Series A and beyond it is growth: continuous discovery, scale planning, infrastructure and day-to-day support for the team. Each suite page maps its services to these stages.
How are your services priced?
Every engagement is quoted after a short call. Pricing depends on the engagement model and the scope of the work, so we agree the scope with you first and confirm the quote in writing before anything starts. Our pricing and engagement options page explains each model and what shapes its quote, from a single working session to a fractional role.
NEXT STEP
Tell us what you need
Describe the problem in a few lines and we will point you to the right service, or to better help elsewhere.