Software development for startups that respects your runway.
Hoop Interactive is a software development company for startups and non-technical founders. Fixed-price MVPs paid in milestones, investor-ready documentation, and one team that builds your product and helps you launch it.
Most startups don't fail on code. They run out of runway.
The expensive mistakes are building too much before learning, choosing a team that disappears after launch, and arriving at investor meetings unable to explain the tech. Our startup software development process is built to avoid all three.
Our approach: small, fixed-price steps, each ending in something you can show users or investors.
- Features nobody uses
- We validate first and keep the MVP to one thing users must love.
- No CTO to make calls
- Fractional CTO support covers stack and vendor decisions.
- A prototype you throw away
- We build the first version on a stack your future team can hire for.
- Launching to silence
- Our marketing team plans launch campaigns with you.
Where is your startup right now?
Pick your stage to see what we'd recommend, and roughly what it costs.
| Stage | What you need | Typical starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Idea (pre-seed) | User interviews, a clickable prototype, MVP scope and roadmap, architecture you can show investors. | from $4,000 — a two-week discovery sprint, fee credited if you build with us |
| Building an MVP (pre-seed / seed) | UX/UI design, fixed-price build paid in milestones, weekly demos, app store or web launch support. | from $15,000 — most MVPs launch 8 to 16 weeks after discovery |
| Launched (seed) | Small dedicated product team, activation and retention tracking, launch campaigns, investor update support. | from $9,000/mo — two developers, part-time QA and a PM |
| Scaling (Series A+) | Larger dedicated team or staff augmentation, performance and security work, hiring help and handover. | Team-based — priced per role, free replacement, 30 days notice |
Everything a startup needs to build and launch.
Custom software development for startups, plus the strategy and marketing around it.
MVP development
The smallest launchable product, built to grow rather than be thrown away.
Startup web apps
Next.js web applications with accounts, payments and dashboards.
Mobile app development
iOS and Android from one Flutter codebase, to save time and budget.
SaaS products
Subscription products with Stripe billing, onboarding and admin tools.
Fractional CTO
Technical leadership for decisions, vendors and investor questions.
Prototype to production
Take a no-code or AI-built prototype and make it production-ready.
AI features
LLM features and AI agents that make your product stand out.
Launch marketing
Launch pages, ASO, SEO and paid campaigns from our marketing team.
Built around how startups actually work.
Cash is tight and plans change. Our terms are designed for that, not for enterprise procurement.
- Fixed prices
- Discovery and MVP quoted at a fixed price before work starts.
- Milestone payments
- Pay as each milestone is delivered and approved, not a big sum up front.
- Investor-ready docs
- Architecture, roadmap, cost forecast and security notes for due diligence.
- Your IP from day one
- NDA before you share the idea, IP assignment in the contract.
- Scale up or down
- Teams run month to month with 30 days notice, so spend follows your runway.
- Clean handover
- When you hire your own team, we hand over with documentation and support.
Startups we've built with, from idea to launch.
QalbSync's founder needed a habit-tracking app with weekly, monthly and yearly views.
FOUNDER APP · FLUTTER · ASO
4 core tracking modules, launched on both app stores
We designed the brand, built it in Flutter from one codebase and handled app store optimization for launch.
Read the case studyFreelancer, agency, or startup partner?
An honest comparison for founders choosing who builds their first product.
| What founders need | Freelancer | Typical agency | Hoop for startups |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost control | Low rate, open-ended hours | Big upfront deposit | Fixed price, paid per milestone |
| Technical guidance | Builds what you ask for | Sells what they build | Fractional CTO advice included |
| Design and QA | Usually not included | Included | Included |
| After launch | Moves to the next gig | Maintenance retainer | Product team plus launch marketing |
| Investor questions | Not their job | Extra cost | Investor-ready docs as standard |
| Flexibility | High, but no backup | Long contracts | Month to month, 30 days notice |
Startup software development, priced by stage.
Start small, prove value, then grow. Every stage has a clear price. Prices are in USD and exclude hosting, app store fees and paid tools, which are billed to your own accounts.
- Investment
- from $4,000
- Timeline
- 2 weeks
- Output
- Clickable prototype
- Included
- MVP scope & roadmap
- Credited
- Fee credited on build
- Investment
- from $15,000
- Timeline
- 8–16 weeks, milestone payments
- Build
- UX/UI, web or mobile MVP
- Included
- Analytics built in
- Support
- 30 days of post-launch fixes
- Investment
- from $9,000/mo
- Term
- Month to month
- Team
- Two developers, QA & PM
- Cadence
- Sprints driven by user data
- Notice
- 30 days
How we work with startups.
The same stages as our software product development process, scoped and priced for a founder's runway.
Discovery sprint
User and competitor research, a clickable prototype, MVP scope and a fixed quote.
2 weeks · Investor-ready architectureFixed-price MVP
UX/UI design and a milestone-paid build, with weekly demos on staging.
8–16 weeks · Live MVPLaunch
App store or web launch, with our marketing team running the first campaigns.
Launch week · Live productLearn & grow
A small product team ships on what activation and retention data says.
Ongoing · Monthly product reviewScale or hand over
Grow the team as you raise, or hand over to your own in-house hires.
Your call · Full documentationExplore more Software Development services.
Software development for startups pairs naturally with these services from Hoop Interactive.
MVP Development
The fastest credible path from idea to a testable product.
ExploreSoftware Product Development
The full lifecycle once you move past the MVP.
ExploreSoftware Development Consulting
Fractional CTO advice before you commit to a build.
ExploreSaaS Development
Subscription platforms built for scale.
ExploreMobile Apps
iOS, Android, React Native & Flutter.
ExploreHire Dedicated Developers
Add a team as you raise and scale.
ExploreVibe Coding Agency
AI app builders, for testing an idea even faster.
ExploreApp Store Optimization
Discoverability once your MVP ships.
ExploreStartup software development questions
About software development for startups. Ask us anything else.
A two-week discovery sprint starts from $4,000, an MVP from $15,000, and an ongoing product team from $9,000 per month. Discovery and MVP are fixed-price and paid in milestones, so you always know what the next stage will cost.
Most startup MVPs launch 8 to 16 weeks after discovery. We keep the first version small on purpose so you can learn from real users sooner.
Yes, most of our startup clients are non-technical founders. We explain decisions in plain language, write everything down, and can act as your fractional CTO until you hire one.
Yes. We provide an architecture overview, product roadmap, cost forecast and security notes that answer the technical questions investors ask during due diligence.
No-code and AI app builders are great for testing an idea quickly. Custom software makes sense once you need scale, security, complex logic or investor confidence. If you already have a no-code or AI-built prototype, we can take it to production.
You do, from day one. Code lives in your repositories, accounts are in your company's name and the contract assigns all IP to you. We sign an NDA before you share your idea.
You can keep a small product team with us month to month, scale it up as you raise, or hand over to your own developers with full documentation. Our marketing team can also run launch campaigns, SEO and app store optimization.
Before product-market fit, most startups move faster with an outsourced team plus fractional CTO advice. Once the product is proven and funded, hiring a CTO and in-house team makes sense, and we help with that handover.
Yes. Small businesses use the same fixed-price approach for custom software, CRMs, portals and websites.