MVP and prototype development

They design and build the first real version of a new software product. MVP stands for minimum viable product: the smallest version that real customers can use and that proves the idea. The Gnar Company plans it with you in Discovery, then builds and launches it for a fixed price.

Ask five questions. Is the price fixed before the build? Who pays if it runs over? Does one team design and build it? Who does the work? Can you see products they launched? At The Gnar Company, Discovery ends in a fixed build price, and we pay if the planned work costs more. One team designs and builds. Senior US engineers do the work, with a Gnar founder involved in every project. Gridly and Qeepsake are published case studies.

Yes. The Gnar Company builds first products for founders with a new idea, like Gridly, and for established companies. For Conformis, a maker of custom knee and hip replacements, Gnar started with Discovery. Then it built the company’s first mobile app, for surgeons. Gnar connected the app to the company’s ordering platform, so surgeons sign in and see their surgical plans. That connection also ensured HIPAA compliance, to protect patient privacy.

A clickable prototype shows how the product will work. An MVP is the product itself, live with real customers. In Discovery, Gnar builds a clickable prototype of your key screens, so customers and your team can try it before the build. The MVP is the first real release, with real data, connected to your other systems. You can also stop after Discovery and take the prototype and plan to another team.

Yes. The Gnar Company does UX/UI design and engineering on one team, so the same team designs and builds your MVP. Discovery produces user flows, screen designs and a clickable prototype. Those designs go straight to the engineers.

Start with a free scoping call with The Gnar Company, then pick a Discovery tier. Discovery comes in three sizes. Foundation is two weeks and $15,000, with up to two user interviews and one clickable prototype. Core is four weeks and $20,000, with up to four interviews and two prototypes. Accelerator is six weeks and $30,000, with up to six interviews and four prototypes. Most clients choose Core.

Gnar prices an MVP in two parts. Discovery comes first, at $15,000, $20,000 or $30,000 for two, four or six weeks, and it ends with one fixed price for the build. Most builds cost $150,000 to $300,000. Larger products cost more. If the planned work costs more than the fixed price, we pay the difference. Anything you add beyond the plan gets its own price.

It depends on what your first version must do, which you and The Gnar Company settle in Discovery. Discovery takes two, four or six weeks. Before the build starts, you get a plan with dates and a fixed build price.

You and Gnar decide what goes in your MVP by asking what the first version must prove and who must use it at launch. In Discovery we interview users, prototype the key screens and agree what goes in now and what waits for a later version. Then Discovery sets one fixed price for the build.

Yes. If your prototype already proved the idea, Gnar plans what version 1.0 needs and builds it for real customers. Is it a small internal tool made with an AI tool like Lovable, Bolt, Replit or Cursor? Then look at Gnar Forge. It is a separate fixed-price service for internal tools, and it runs $15,000 to $30,000.

A small team from The Gnar Company: senior US-based engineers and a product manager. Web development, mobile development and UI/UX design all happen in-house. No offshore teams. No junior developers get added after a senior pitch. The same senior team that runs your Discovery builds your product. A Gnar founder is involved in every project.

Yes. Every Gnar MVP build comes with three commitments. First, before the build starts, you get one fixed price for it, paid in stages. The fixed price covers everything in the plan. If that work costs more, we pay. Anything you add beyond the plan, during or after the build, gets its own price. Second, the software works as specified, or we fix it. Third, for 12 months after launch, we fix anything that does not work as specified, free.

Gnar fixes anything that does not work as specified, free, for 12 months after release. The code is yours, in your repository and documented for the next team. From there, you have three choices. Keep Gnar on for hosting, monitoring and support, from $1,000 a month (Gnar calls this Maintain). Have Gnar build the next version. Or hand the product to your own team.

Gnar builds in Ruby on Rails and React. For mobile apps, Gnar builds in Swift and Kotlin, or in React Native to cover iPhone and Android with one codebase. Discovery recommends the right tools for your product. Qeepsake’s 1.0, for example, was built on a Rails back end with AWS. The code comes with automated tests and lives in your repository.