you have an idea. you need it built. you don't write code.

you have two paths. hire a dev agency and pay them to build it. or find a technical cofounder and build it together for equity.

the right answer depends on what you're building, what you bring, and how long you plan to be in the game.

the dev agency path

you pay a flat fee. they build the thing. you own 100%.

this makes sense when you know exactly what you need. the scope is defined. you have a spec, a timeline, and a budget. you're not exploring. you're executing.

it also makes sense when you need a system, not a company. automations, internal tools, AI workflows. these are builds, not businesses. pay for the build. own the result. move on.

the risk: dev shops charge $150-$300/hour. projects run 3-6 months. costs hit $50K-$150K before you have anything live. if the scope changes (and it always does), the budget changes with it. and when the project ends, they leave. you're on your own for maintenance, bugs, and iteration.

the technical cofounder path

you share equity. they build with you. nobody gets paid until the company wins.

this makes sense when you're building a product, not a project. something that will have users, revenue, and a life beyond the first version. a cofounder cares about what happens after launch because their equity depends on it.

it also makes sense when you have domain expertise but no technical skills. you know the industry, the customer, and the problem. they know how to build the solution. that's a real partnership. neither side has everything alone.

the risk: you give up equity. if you pick the wrong person, you've given away a piece of something and gotten nothing back. finding the right technical cofounder is hard. most founders spend 6-12 months looking.

the venture studio option

there's a third path nobody talks about.

a venture studio is a team that cofounds companies repeatedly. they have the technical team, the process, and the infrastructure to go from idea to product. they take equity. they build with you. but they've done it 10, 20, 50 times before.

this matters because you get a cofounder AND a team. not one engineer. a full stack: product, design, engineering, deployment. all from day one.

you skip the search. finding a technical cofounder takes months. a studio evaluates your idea and either commits or passes within weeks.

the model is proven. venture studios have a 30% higher success rate than traditional startups. over 1,000 studios operate globally. the equity model aligns incentives the same way a cofounder does, but with more infrastructure behind it.

how to decide

if you need a system built for your existing business, hire a dev team. pay the flat fee. own 100%.

if you're building a company and need a long-term technical partner, find a cofounder or a venture studio.

if you have domain expertise, distribution, and a validated idea but no technical team, the studio model eliminates the biggest risk: spending months searching for someone to build with.

we run both sides. dev services for companies that need systems built. equity partnerships for founders who need a cofounder.

the call is the same for both. you tell us what you need. we tell you which path makes sense.

book a call → agentintegrator.io