Four ways to get your MVP built
We'd rather you pick the right one than pick us. Most founders we talk to aren't a fit for MVP in a Day, and we tell them so.
| Build it yourself with AI toolsLovable, Replit, Bolt, Claude Code | Hire a dev shopAgencies and outsourced teams | A CTO and a developer or twoThrough FastCTO, the team that runs MVP in a Day | MVP in a DayOne experienced CTO using professional AI tools, with you | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time to a working MVP | Days for simple apps, weeks to months for anything harder. | Usually months. | Often a couple of months for a complicated MVP. | Most MVPs take one day; ~25% take two. We'll tell you up front what we think so no extra days get sprung on you. |
| Typical cost | Low for simple apps; hundreds to thousands in AI tokens for harder ones. | Often $10,000 to $60,000 or more: at least twice what the work should cost, because dev shops run on margin. | Less than a dev shop for the same work. FastCTO runs at about 10-15% margin, not the 50-70% industry standard. | $3,000 including prep, then $2,000 per extra day. |
| The code you end up with | Varies widely. Often hard for a developer to take over. | Depends on the shop and the contract. If you're not technical, you can't check it. | Yours, and built to last. | Yours from the first commit, built on a proper architecture. |
| Best for | Simple products, prototypes and testing an idea. If this is you, use these tools and keep your money. | Honestly, no one. If your product is too big for a day, a CTO and a developer or two will build it better for less. | Products that are harder than a day or two can handle. If that's you, this is where we'll point you. | Products at the edge of what AI tools can do on their own: about one founder in ten. |
Build it yourself with AI tools
Lovable, Replit, Bolt, Claude Code
- Time to a working MVP
- Days for simple apps, weeks to months for anything harder.
- Typical cost
- Low for simple apps; hundreds to thousands in AI tokens for harder ones.
- The code you end up with
- Varies widely. Often hard for a developer to take over.
- Best for
- Simple products, prototypes and testing an idea. If this is you, use these tools and keep your money.
Hire a dev shop
Agencies and outsourced teams
- Time to a working MVP
- Usually months.
- Typical cost
- Often $10,000 to $60,000 or more: at least twice what the work should cost, because dev shops run on margin.
- The code you end up with
- Depends on the shop and the contract. If you're not technical, you can't check it.
- Best for
- Honestly, no one. If your product is too big for a day, a CTO and a developer or two will build it better for less.
A CTO and a developer or two
Through FastCTO, the team that runs MVP in a Day
- Time to a working MVP
- Often a couple of months for a complicated MVP.
- Typical cost
- Less than a dev shop for the same work. FastCTO runs at about 10-15% margin, not the 50-70% industry standard.
- The code you end up with
- Yours, and built to last.
- Best for
- Products that are harder than a day or two can handle. If that's you, this is where we'll point you.
MVP in a Day
One experienced CTO using professional AI tools, with you
- Time to a working MVP
- Most MVPs take one day; ~25% take two. We'll tell you up front what we think so no extra days get sprung on you.
- Typical cost
- $3,000 including prep, then $2,000 per extra day.
- The code you end up with
- Yours from the first commit, built on a proper architecture.
- Best for
- Products at the edge of what AI tools can do on their own: about one founder in ten.
Why not just keep vibe coding?
AI coding tools are remarkable, and for simple products they're all you need. The trouble starts at the edge: a data model that has to be right, sign-in and permissions, payments, background jobs, security. AI will happily write all of it, and without someone who knows what good looks like, it's hard to tell when it's wrong.
On an MVP in a Day, the AI still does most of the typing. The difference is that an experienced CTO designs the architecture first, reviews what the AI produces, and throws out what doesn't belong. That's what turns a demo into something that a developer, or you, can keep building on.
Already built something and worried about it? That's what the Architecture Review is for.
Not sure which one you are? Ask us.
If you already know you're a fit, apply and we'll schedule your day. If you're not sure, talk to us first. If we're not the right answer, we'll say so and point you somewhere better.