Capabilities / Digital products
Bringing your ideato the world.
SaaS platforms, mobile apps and customer portals, shaped around a real opportunity, built to get into people's hands and designed to keep getting better.
Start withwhat matters.
Great products rarely arrive fully formed. We find the part of the idea that matters most, get it into people's hands and learn from what happens next, so less time goes on guessing and more on building what real customers need.
We find the opportunity
Who the product is for, what they need from it, and why they would choose it over whatever they do now.
We build the first useful version
A first release built around the things that need to work brilliantly, without trying to fit the whole roadmap into day one.
We learn and improve
Once people are using it, we can see what works, what does not and where the biggest opportunities are. That is where the next version comes from.
What we build here
Whatever shape it needs to take.
Most products end up as more than one of these. Which comes first depends on who you need to reach soonest.
SaaS platforms
Products people sign up for, subscribe to and use every day, with the accounts, permissions, billing and operational tools you need to run the business behind them.
Mobile apps
iOS and Android apps built for the moments your customers or your team are away from a desk, and still working on a bad signal.
Customer portals
A secure place for customers to see their information, manage their account, get things done and deal with your business on their own terms.
A product is not a project.It does not finish.
A project has an end date. A product has customers. People use it, depend on it, ask more of it and show you things you had not thought of, and we build for that from the first release.
Four things are in every one:
Ready to make money
Sign-ups, plans, upgrades, failed cards, invoices and VAT, in place from the first release. The half of a product nobody demos, and the half that lets you charge for it.
Built for more customers
Designed from the start to serve many customers, not adapted from one customer's system later. It is the difference between a product and a very good bespoke build.
You can see how it is being used
Analytics and error tracking from the first release, so the roadmap comes from what people actually do with it.
Built to outlive the people who made it
Documented, tested and in your own repository. A product only one person understands is not an asset, it is a risk with revenue attached to it.
How it works
Launch. Learn. Keep going.
Working together usually looks like:
One conversation
Bring us the idea, the problem or the product you already have. We will work out where things stand and where it makes sense to start.
One focused release
We agree what it has to achieve, decide what belongs in the first release, and get something real into people's hands - agreed as one number before anything starts.
Then we keep going
Products get better through use. We work in a steady rhythm of releases, learning from customers and improving the product as the opportunity grows.
When you are ready
Got an idea? Let’s see where it goes.
Whether it is still an idea, already taking shape or out in the world with customers, show us what you are working on and we will help you work out the right next step.
Technologies
Boring where it counts.New only where it pays.
Good product engineering is not about using the newest technology everywhere. We use proven tools for the foundations and save the interesting decisions for the places your customers will actually notice.
Where it runs
Built to be relied on.
Once people depend on a product, the infrastructure behind it matters. We choose where and how it runs around what the product needs: performance, resilience, security, compliance and room to grow.
Vercel
For the parts customers touch. Deploys in seconds, rolls back in one, and serves from close to whoever is asking.
AWS
When there is real scale or a compliance regime behind it. Multiple regions, automatic failover, and recovery times you could put in a contract.
Krystal
UK based and renewable, for products where the data should stay in the country and the load is steady enough to be predictable.
Before you ask
The questions we always get asked.
We have an idea but nothing built. Where does that start?
With a conversation about who it is for and what it needs to do first. Sometimes that points straight to a first release; sometimes the right first step is a short piece of work to shape it, test it with a few people, or put a prototype in front of investors. We will suggest whichever fits.
How small should the first version actually be?
Small enough to get into people's hands soon, and complete enough to do its main job well. For some products that is one feature done properly; for others, anything less than the full service is not worth launching. We will help you draw the line.
What if nobody wants it?
Most products change shape once real people use them, and that is normal rather than a failure. A focused first release means you learn it while it is still quick and affordable to adjust, and the usage shows where to take it next.
Can you take over something that is half built?
Often. We look at what is there first and show you the reasoning: usually that means building on it, and occasionally it means replacing the parts that would cost more to work around than to redo.
Do we need to raise money first?
Not necessarily. Plenty of products are funded by the business that had the idea, and plenty raise first because the proposition needs real investment before it can be tested. We work either way, and shape the first release around the budget you have.
What happens with support once it is live?
We agree it before launch: who looks after it day to day, how quickly issues are picked up, and how new releases go out. That can be us, your own team, or a mix of the two.
Keeping you in the loop on the technology changing how work gets done.
Read our hot takes on the technology changing how people work, and find out a bit about the nerdy things our team have been doing.
Read the latest issueNo pitch, no deck
Tell us what isactually happening.
Describe the problem in your own words. You do not need it worked out first - an honest conversation usually gets further than a tidy brief.
Unovo LimitedSteel City Stadium, Olympic Legacy Park
Worksop Road, Sheffield S9 3TL
Registered in England and Wales, company no. 16375453