Pillar
Beyond the usual agency checks, ask for apps you can download from both stores today, a reasoned answer on native versus cross-platform for your product specifically, clarity on who builds and runs the backend, a process for handling app review rejections, and a maintenance plan with numbers in it. Mobile products decay without updates because OS releases and store policies change on someone else's schedule. A partner who can't describe life after launch is quoting half the product.
Do I need a mobile app or is a web app enough?
If your product doesn't need push notifications, offline use, or device hardware like the camera or GPS, a responsive web app is usually enough, and it's cheaper, faster to iterate, and free of app store review. Plenty of projects that arrive as "we need an app" ship better as web apps. The honest test is listing the phone-specific capabilities your product genuinely uses; if the list is empty, start on the web. A good partner will walk through that list with you before quoting mobile work, not after.
Should I launch on iOS or Android first?
Launch on the platform your first paying users actually carry, and let the second platform wait until the first proves the product. iOS tends to fit US consumer and B2B professional audiences; Android wins on global reach and many field-workforce use cases; your own waitlist or early-adopter data is the tiebreaker. Building cross-platform keeps the second store cheap to add later, so sequencing costs you little. Be wary of anyone who insists on launching both at once without a market reason, since that doubles testing and review risk before you have a single user.
How much does it cost to build a mobile app for a startup?
A focused, MVP-scale mobile product typically runs $25k to $75k, the same territory as custom software of similar scope, with the platform count and the backend driving where you land in the range. One cross-platform codebase sits at the friendlier end; two native codebases can approach twice the build. Get the real number before committing: a $1,199 Discovery scopes your specific product and returns line-item pricing you can take to any team, which beats budgeting off a blog post's ranges.
How long does a software rescue take?
The review phase is quick: our Discovery runs 2 to 3 weeks, with kickoff 7 to 10 business days after signing, and anything actively bleeding (crashes, data loss, exposed credentials) gets stabilized first once work begins. The modernization itself depends on how much of the system needs replacing, which is exactly what the review prices out phase by phase. Be wary of anyone promising a full rescue timeline before they've read the code, since the honest answer starts with what the review finds.
What happens in a code review of an existing product?
With read-only access to your repositories, we map the architecture, data model, test coverage, security posture, and deployment process, then report what's solid, what's fragile, and what's dangerous in plain language with a phased, line-item plan. Nothing gets changed during the review, so there's no risk to the running product. It's worth insisting on this step with any partner, because the review is where a rescue quote stops being a guess and becomes a number you can hold someone to.
How much does legacy software modernization cost?
Scoped honestly, it starts small: our $1,199 fixed-price Discovery reviews the existing code and returns line-item pricing, so you know the real number before committing to anything. From there, patch work is priced per fix, incremental modernization spreads cost across phases while the platform keeps running, and a full rebuild lands in the same ranges as new software of similar scope, typically $25k to $75k for a focused MVP-scale product. Budget 15 to 20 percent of build cost per year for maintenance afterward so the platform never needs rescuing again.
Should I patch my software or rebuild it from scratch?
Patch when the architecture is sound and the problems are local, modernize piece by piece when the core works but parts are past their support window, and rebuild only when the foundation itself (data model, test coverage, stack) fights every change. A quick gut check: walk the system and count what you'd keep. Keeping most of it points to a patch, keeping only the data and the lessons points to a rebuild. Ask any partner you're evaluating to show you that keep list before they quote either path.
What is a software rescue?
A software rescue is taking a system you can no longer move forward (a stalled build, an aging platform, a codebase nobody on your team understands) and getting it back under control through a code review, stabilization, and a deliberate plan to patch, modernize, or rebuild. It rarely means throwing everything away. The existing system is the most accurate requirements document you'll ever have, so a good rescue starts by reading it, and any partner who quotes a rescue without reviewing the code first is guessing with your money.
