Start with a studio. Hire the team in-house when you're ready.
You do not have to choose between an agency and your own engineering team. We build and ship your product. You validate it with users. Then you hire the engineers who built it into your company, with the same code and the same context.
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Hunchbite is a software development studio in Bengaluru, India that builds production-grade web applications, e-commerce platforms and SaaS products for clients worldwide — and makes AI-built and stalled apps production-ready. For startups, we work agency first: we build the product, and when you are ready to hire, you can hire the engineers who built it. Any terms for that are agreed upfront in the proposal.
How it works: build, validate, transfer
It is a build-operate-transfer style model, sized for a startup. Three phases, one codebase, the same people throughout.
We build and ship
Hunchbite is your engineering team. We scope the product, give you a fixed quote, and ship it. A focused scope ships in about two weeks; larger products run in two-week phases. You own the code, docs and deployment access from day one.
You validate with users
Real users, real feedback, real numbers. We keep shipping changes while you learn what the product needs to become. You decide what to hire for once you know what you are building.
You hire the team
When you are ready, you hire the engineers who built the product into your company. Same code, same context, same people. Nobody has to learn the codebase from a handover document.
Compared with hiring first or a classic agency handover
Each path works for someone. The difference is when you take on hiring risk and who knows the code when the agency work ends.
| Hire in-house first | Classic agency, then handover | Agency now, in-house later | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to first release | Starts after you hire. Recruiting and onboarding come first. | Starts quickly. The agency already has a team. | Starts quickly. We are the team until you hire one. |
| Who knows the code at the end | Your employees. | The agency. Your new hires start from the handover documents. | The engineers you hire, because they wrote it. |
| Handover gap | None, but you paid for it in time before launch. | Yes. New hires ramp up on code they did not write while the agency rolls off. | No handover gap. The people move with the code. |
| Hiring risk before you have users | High. You hire for a product you have not validated. | Low while the agency builds. It comes back at handover. | Low. You hire after you know what the product needs. |
| Code ownership | Yours. | Depends on the contract. Check it. | Yours: 100% of the code, docs and deployment access. |
| Pricing | Salaries, recruiting and tools, from the day each person joins. | Varies by agency. Often hourly. | Fixed quote per scope. No hourly billing. Milestones on larger projects. |
Weighing a freelancer too? Read freelancer vs agency vs in-house and agency vs in-house after seed funding.
Who this suits
- Non-technical founders who need a product built now and a team they can trust later, without hiring engineers they cannot yet evaluate.
- Funded startups before their first engineering hires, who need to ship and learn before deciding what kind of team to build.
- Founders with an MVP or AI-built app who want it taken to production by people who could later join the company.
Most of these start as an MVP build.
Who it does not suit
- Companies that already have an engineering team and only need extra hands. You need project help, not a team to hire later.
- Founders who never plan to hire engineers. That is fine. Hire us for the project and keep us on for maintenance instead.
- Buyers looking for the lowest bid or hourly billing. We work on fixed quotes for an agreed scope.
- Projects outside our stack. We build in TypeScript, React, Next.js, Node.js and PostgreSQL.
What stays the same when you move in-house
The code is already yours: 100% of it, with the docs and deployment access. The people who made the architecture decisions are the people you hire, so the reasons behind those decisions move with them. Nothing is rebuilt and nobody restarts. The full transition, including timing and what to agree before you start, is in our guide on moving from an agency to an in-house team.
The build phase is priced like any project: a fixed quote after the discovery call. Every published range is on our pricing page.
What does agency now, in-house later mean?
It is a build-operate-transfer style model. Hunchbite builds and ships your product first. You validate it with users. When you are ready to build a team, you hire the engineers who built it into your company. The code, the context and the people stay together.
Is there a fee to hire your engineers?
The terms for hiring our engineers are agreed upfront in the proposal, before any work starts. You know them before you sign, not when you are ready to hire.
When is the right time to move in-house?
After the product is working and you know what it needs next, not before. A useful signal is when you need daily iteration on a validated product rather than scoped phases of new work. Our guide on agency vs in-house after seed funding covers the timing in detail.
What if the engineers do not want to join my company?
That can happen. Engineers decide where they work. The code, documentation and deployment access are already yours, so you are never locked out. We hand the product over clean and documented to whoever you hire.
Do I own the code before I hire anyone?
Yes. You own 100% of the code, docs and deployment access from the start. Hiring the team is a choice, not a condition for getting your code.
Can I keep Hunchbite on after I hire in-house?
Yes. Ongoing maintenance and project work are available. You can keep us on for specific projects after your first hires join.
How much does the build phase cost?
The build phase is priced like any Hunchbite project: one fixed quote after a free discovery call. A focused MVP is ₹3L–₹6L (approx. $3,200–$6,300). See the pricing page for every published range.
Build now. Hire when it makes sense.
Tell us what you are building and when you expect to hire. On a free 30-minute call we will tell you how we would scope the build and what the path in-house looks like.
Related: MVP development · Pricing · Agency to in-house transition guide