Software development consulting that ends in a clear decision.
Hoop Interactive's software consulting services help founders and teams decide what to build, how to build it and who should build it. Fixed prices, written deliverables, and advice you can take to any development team, including ours.
Expensive software decisions deserve a second brain.
The costliest mistakes in software happen before anyone writes code: the wrong scope, the wrong stack, the wrong vendor. A few weeks of senior advice is cheap insurance against months of rework.
- No CTO yet
- Turn an idea into a scope, budget and plan you can trust.
- Late and over budget
- An outside view on whether to continue, reset or switch.
- Choosing a vendor
- Someone who has built with these tools, comparing honestly.
- Investors asking questions
- Credible architecture, roadmap and diligence answers.
What we help you decide.
Each service has a fixed scope and a written output, so you know exactly what you're paying for.
Product discovery & roadmap
Turn an idea into prioritised features, user flows, a budget and a phased roadmap.
Technical audit & code review
An independent review of code quality, security, performance and technical debt.
Architecture & tech stack
System design, data model and the right languages, frameworks and cloud for your needs.
Build vs buy & vendor selection
Compare custom software, SaaS tools and vendor proposals on cost, risk and fit.
Software project rescue
Find out why a project is failing and what it will cost to get it back on track.
Fractional CTO
Part-time technical leadership for decisions, vendor oversight and hiring.
Mobile & web app consulting
Native vs cross-platform, backend design and realistic budgets before you build.
AI strategy consulting
Which AI use cases are worth it, what they'll cost to run and how to start.
What you walk away with, in writing.
No slide decks full of buzzwords. Practical documents a developer, investor or board can act on.
- Prioritised roadmap
- Features grouped into phases, with what to build first and what to leave out.
- Architecture document
- System diagram, data model, integrations and hosting, explained in plain language.
- Estimate with ranges
- Cost and timeline for each phase as a low-to-high range, with assumptions behind it.
- Risk register
- What could go wrong, how likely it is and what to do about it before it happens.
- Audit findings
- Issues in code, security and performance ranked by impact, with fix estimates.
- Recorded readout
- A walkthrough of every finding with your team, recorded for anyone who missed it.
Consulting that isn't a sales pitch in disguise.
Many "free consultations" exist to sell a build. Ours are paid, scoped and honest, even when the answer is "don't build this".
| What matters | Typical software consulting firm | Hoop Interactive |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Hourly, open-ended, hard to budget. | Fixed price per engagement, agreed up front. |
| Output | Workshops and a slide deck. | Roadmap, architecture, estimate and risk register you keep. |
| Independence | Advice that always leads to their build. | Deliverables written for any team to use. |
| Experience | Advisors who no longer ship code. | Engineers who build and run software every week. |
| Honesty | Rarely says you don't need custom software. | We'll recommend an off-the-shelf tool when it fits better. |
| Speed | Months of discovery. | Most decisions answered in one to two weeks. |
How a consulting engagement works.
Two weeks for most engagements, from first call to recorded readout.
Intro call
A free 30-minute call to understand the decision you’re facing and which engagement fits.
Day 1 · Scope & fixed priceAccess & questionnaire
NDA signed, then access to code, documents and tools, plus a short questionnaire.
Days 2–3 · Agreed questionsInterviews & review
We talk to founders, users and developers, and review code, contracts and data.
Week 1 · Interim notesAnalysis
Options compared on cost, time and risk, with estimates and architecture drafted.
Week 2 · Draft deliverablesReadout
A live session walking through every finding and recommendation, recorded.
End of week 2 · Final documentsYour next step
Build in-house, hire another vendor, or work with us. Your choice, with no pressure.
After readout · 30 days follow-upWhere good advice changed the outcome.
Our assessment showed patching BeesApp's platform would cost more than starting again.
ASSESSMENT · REBUILD · RETAIL TECH
99.9% uptime, after an honest 'rebuild' recommendation
BeesApp's platform was a fragile mix of PHP, Django and Vue.js from earlier vendors. We recommended and delivered a rebuild on Next.js, Flutter and FastAPI.
Read the case studySoftware consulting at fixed prices.
Pick the engagement that matches your decision. Not sure? The intro call is free. Larger or enterprise engagements are quoted after the intro call.
- Investment
- from $500
- Duration
- 2 hours
- Who
- Senior engineer or architect
- Prep
- From your documents
- Output
- Written summary after
- Investment
- from $4,000
- Timeline
- 2 weeks
- Output
- Roadmap & MVP scope
- Included
- Architecture, estimate, risk register
- Credited
- Fee credited on build
- Investment
- from $3,000/mo
- Term
- Month to month
- Included
- Weekly strategy call
- Oversight
- Vendor & code oversight
- Support
- Hiring & roadmap help
Consulting for teams without a CTO, or with a busy one.
The people we help most often.
Non-Technical Founders
Turn an idea into a plan, budget and the right team to build it.
Startups Raising Money
Architecture, roadmap and technical answers investors expect.
Businesses Replacing Tools
Build versus buy decisions for CRMs, portals and internal systems.
Teams With a Struggling Vendor
An independent second opinion on code, contracts and progress.
Product Teams Adding AI
Use cases, costs and risks before you commit to a build.
Growing SaaS Companies
Scaling, performance and tech debt plans for the next stage.
Explore more Software Development services.
Software consulting pairs naturally with these services from Hoop Interactive.
Custom Software
The build that follows most consulting engagements.
ExploreSoftware Product Development
From validated idea to paying users.
ExploreSoftware Development Outsourcing
A full team once the decision is made.
ExploreSecurity Audits
A deeper look at code and infrastructure security.
ExploreWeb Design & UX
Where product and UX decisions become screens.
ExploreCloud & DevOps
Infrastructure decisions, made concrete.
ExploreGenerative AI Development
Where AI strategy consulting usually leads.
ExploreGrowth Consulting
The marketing-side counterpart to this service.
ExploreSoftware consulting questions
About our software development consulting services. Ask us anything else.
A two-hour expert session starts from $500, a technical audit from $2,000, a two-week discovery sprint with roadmap and estimate from $4,000, and fractional CTO support from $3,000 per month. Every engagement has a fixed price and a defined set of deliverables.
A consultant helps you decide what to build, how and with whom. A development company builds it. We do both, but our consulting stands on its own: you get written deliverables you can use with your own team or any other vendor.
Depending on the engagement: a prioritised product roadmap, architecture document and diagrams, tech stack recommendation, cost and timeline estimate with ranges, risk register, audit findings with fix priorities, and a recorded readout session.
Yes. The deliverables are yours and written so any competent team can use them. If you do choose Hoop to build, the discovery fee is credited against the first build milestone.
An expert session is a single call, a technical audit takes 1 to 2 weeks, and a discovery sprint 2 weeks. Fractional CTO support runs month to month.
A fractional CTO is a senior technical leader who works with you part-time. It suits founders and small companies who need technical decisions, vendor oversight and hiring help, but not a full-time executive yet.
Yes. We advise on native versus cross-platform choices such as Flutter and React Native, app architecture, backend and API design, app store requirements and realistic budgets before you commit to a build.
Yes. We review the code, backlog, contracts and team setup, then give you a clear recommendation to continue, reset scope, change vendor or rebuild, with the cost of each option. For BeesApp, this assessment led to a full rebuild that reached 99.9% uptime.
Yes. We sign an NDA before you share code, contracts or business plans.