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.
Can HIPAA-compliant software use AI features?
Yes, with deliberate architecture. The compliant paths are real: AI vendors that sign business associate agreements, zero-retention configurations, and de-identifying data before it leaves your system. The common failures are mundane, like piping patient conversations through an unvetted transcription tool or letting prompt logs accumulate PHI in a logging service outside the BAA chain. Decide feature by feature, before launch, what data the model sees and under what agreement. An AI feature bolted on in a sprint is how clean systems become liabilities.
How much does HIPAA compliance add to a software build?
Less than founders fear when it's designed in from the start, and far more when it's retrofitted. Built in early, compliance is mostly architecture decisions (eligible services, data modeling, access controls, audit logging) layered onto a normal custom build, though a compliant product usually starts above the entry point of a comparable standard build because the safeguards add scope to every feature they touch. Retrofitting touches every endpoint and table and forces a full re-test of a live product. Our discovery engagement maps PHI flows and prices the compliant build line by line before you commit.
Do I need a BAA with my hosting provider and AI vendors?
Yes, with every vendor in the path of protected health information: hosting, email, error tracking, transcription, and any AI API that sees identified patient data. The major clouds sign business associate agreements covering specific eligible services, and some AI providers offer them on enterprise tiers with zero-retention configurations. One vendor without an agreement breaks the chain no matter how good your own controls are, which is why the vendor list belongs in your architecture plan instead of a post-launch cleanup.
Is there an official HIPAA certification for software?
No. No government body certifies software as HIPAA-compliant, so a "HIPAA-certified" badge is a marketing claim rather than a legal status. What exists is the ongoing practice of compliance: risk assessments, safeguards, agreements, and documentation maintained for as long as you handle protected health information. Third-party audits can be useful evidence for enterprise buyers, and they still only describe how you operated at a point in time. Treat any vendor leading with a certification stamp as a signal to ask harder questions.
What makes software HIPAA-compliant?
HIPAA compliance is a combination of technical safeguards built into the software (unique user access controls, encryption in transit and at rest, audit logging, integrity controls), signed business associate agreements with every vendor that touches protected health information, and documented policies for the people operating it. No single feature makes a system compliant; the architecture, the vendor chain, and the operating habits have to hold together. Ask any team you're vetting to walk you through where PHI flows in their proposed design; specifics are the difference between compliance and marketing.
What does it take to scale a pilot into a production system?
More than most pilots are built to survive. Turning a proof of concept into something the wider business runs on means hardening it for real usage, meeting the security and data standards a central IT team will accept, and documenting it well enough to hand over. This is the gap where most corporate innovation dies, because a demo that works is not a system anyone can adopt, and it's exactly the work we specialize in.
How do you keep executives and stakeholders aligned during a build?
With short feedback loops and progress an executive can actually read. Corporate innovation teams answer to sponsors, dual reporting lines, and shifting priorities, so we work in a cadence that produces working software rather than status decks, and we keep useful work moving when an approval stretches out or a sponsor changes direction. A partner who has only worked with founders will build you something good and then be surprised when it stalls in your process.
How do you get onboarded through enterprise procurement?
We've been through it before, which is usually the difference between weeks and months. That means signing your master services agreement, carrying the insurance your legal team requires, completing vendor risk questionnaires, and working inside your change control and approval gates without needing to be walked through each step. Ask any partner whether they've been onboarded as an enterprise vendor before, because if procurement is new to them, that learning curve becomes your delay.
Can you work with our SSO and identity provider?
Yes. New applications should authenticate through your existing single sign-on rather than standing up a separate login for your IT team to govern. We work with standard enterprise identity providers and SSO protocols, and we scope authentication during planning so access, roles, and permissions are settled before development starts instead of being retrofitted later.
How does a development agency get through our InfoSec and vendor security review?
By expecting it and preparing for it, rather than treating it as red tape at the end. A partner who has been through enterprise reviews before can answer a vendor security assessment directly, produce what reviewers actually ask for (data flow diagrams, access controls, audit logging, evidence of secure development practices), and support a penetration test near the end. Watch how a firm reacts when you first raise security. The ones who have done this can tell you what your reviewers will flag before you ask.
How is enterprise web development different from building a startup MVP?
The engineering is similar; everything around it is not. An enterprise build has to authenticate against your identity provider, connect to systems of record that predate the project, pass an InfoSec review, and clear procurement, none of which a startup MVP faces. Budget for that surrounding work from the start, because it usually determines the timeline more than the code itself does.
Do you build secure, HIPAA compliant web applications?
Yes, we build scalable web applications including HIPAA compliant systems, with security and compliance considered from the architecture stage rather than bolted on later.
Do you build both web and mobile applications?
Yes ‚we develop scalable web applications (including HIPAA-compliant systems) and native mobile apps, and we frequently build both for the same product. Having design and engineering for every platform under one roof means a consistent experience for your users and a single accountable team for you
What industries do you work in?
We're industry-agnostic by design and have built med-tech, fitness, ag-tech, food-tech, business automation, event management, and marketing software, among others. That range means we bring patterns from one industry to solve problems in another, so you're not paying us to learn on your project.
