Fit call
$0 · 15 min
- bring the app, the repo, or the process you want automated
- I tell you whether I am the right person for it
- you leave with the first three things I would look at
- a slide deck
The plan comes beforethe price. Always.
Three separate steps, and you can stop after any of them. Step 1 is a free 15-minute fit call. Step 2 is a paid discovery session, $500, that ends in a written plan. Step 3 is a fixed quote for the work, or you take the plan and build it yourself. The $500 is credited toward the build if you hire me for it.
01 · How an engagement runsthree steps, in order
I do not quote work I have not read.
A quote written before anyone reads your code is a guess. The first two steps replace the guess with a written plan. The price of the work is inside that plan, and every step is one you can stop after.
Discovery + plan
$500
- 60 to 90 minute working session on your real system
- written plan within 48 hours: what is broken, what is risky, what to do first, what it costs
- paid when you book the session, refundable for 7 days after the plan lands
- proposals written before anyone read your code
Build or harden
fixed quote
- take the plan and do it yourself, or
- I take it to production at a fixed price and timeline
- every architectural decision logged and explained
- bench developers you never met
02 · What fixed quotes look likepublished bands
The bands a fixed quote lands in.
Single workflows from $2,500; most engagements land between $2,500 and $15,000; larger builds are phased at $10,000-$25,000 per phase.
| Rung | Price | What it covers | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery session + written plan | $500 | A 60 to 90 minute working session on your real system (or a read-only repo review), then a written plan within 48 hours: what is broken, what is risky, what to do first, and what it costs. Paid when you book. | Credited once into the next rung you buy within 90 days. |
| Production-readiness audit | $1,500 to $2,500 | A full review of an AI-built app, or an AI readiness audit across several workflows: severity-ranked findings with the effort to fix each, delivered in 5 business days. | Half of the audit fee is credited into a hardening sprint. |
| Production hardening sprint | $4,500 to $8,000 | $4,500 fixed for up to 5 critical or high findings in 1 to 2 weeks; $6,000 to $8,000 for 6 to 10 findings in 2 to 3 weeks. | Scoped from the audit finding count. Fixed price means fixed. |
| One workflow or agent | $2,500 to $5,000 setup, plus $300 to $1,500 per month | One production chatbot, voice agent, or back-office workflow connected to the tools you already pay for, with a human approval step. A voice receptionist for a 2 to 9 person shop starts at $700 to $1,000 setup plus $150 to $375 per month. | Month one of the monthly fee is refunded if it does not land. |
| Custom build | $10,000 to $25,000 per phase | A multi-system integration or a full application, delivered in fixed-price phases with a go or no-go at each, behind a prototype phase sized at 5 to 10% of the build ($1,500 to $5,000). | The prototype phase is credited 50% into the first build phase. |
| Production owner retainer | 15 to 30% of the build cost per year | Monitoring and alerts, prompt tuning as models shift, bug fixes, dependency and security updates, and a regression pass on each release. Owning a whole production app runs $1,500 to $3,000 per month. | Sold at go-live or renewal. Month one is refundable. |
Discovery only
$500
Discovery, then the audit
$1,500 to $2,500 (the $500 is credited into the audit)
Discovery, audit, then a hardening sprint
$5,250 to $8,750 (the $500 credited into the audit, half the audit credited into the sprint)
03 · Guarantees and paymentin writing, every time
What I stand behind, and when you pay.
Guarantee · the plan
The written plan
If the written plan is not worth $500 to you, say so within 7 days and I refund it.
Guarantee · monthly fees
Any monthly fee
Month one of any monthly fee is refundable.
Payment · the plan
The discovery session
The $500 is paid when you book the session. Cancel at least 24 hours before and I refund it in full.
Payment · fixed-price work
Builds, sprints and agents
50% deposit and 50% on delivery for work under $10,000; 25% milestones above that. Scope changes come with a written number before any work starts.
Questionsstraight answers
What people ask on the first call.
Do you charge by the hour?
No. The fit call is free, the discovery session is a flat $500, and everything after that is a fixed quote written into your plan.
What happens on the free 15-minute call?
You bring the app, the repo, or the process you want off your plate. I tell you whether I am the right person for it and name the first three things I would look at. No deck, no pitch.
What do I get for $500?
A 60 to 90 minute working session on your real system, then a written plan within 48 hours: what is broken, what is risky, what to do first, and what it costs, with a fixed quote inside it. The plan is yours to keep, whoever does the work.
What if the plan says I should not build?
Then the plan just saved you the build. It is still yours, and if it was not worth $500 to you, say so within 7 days and I refund it.
Who owns the code and the accounts?
You do, at handoff: the code, the phone number, the calendar, the transcripts, and the off switch. Every architectural decision is logged and explained so the next engineer, or you, can follow it.
How do payments work?
The $500 is paid by card when you book the discovery session. If the plan is not worth it, say so within 7 days and I refund it. Fixed-price work is 50% deposit and 50% on delivery under $10,000, and 25% milestones above that.
Do you take on work above $25,000?
Yes, in phases. Larger builds start with a prototype phase sized at 5 to 10% of the expected build, then fixed-price phases with a go or no-go decision at each one.
Will you maintain it after launch?
If you want that, yes: a production owner retainer at 15 to 30% of the build cost per year covers monitoring, prompt tuning, fixes, and updates. Month one is refundable.
Fifteen minutes to find out if I am the right person.
Bring the app or the process. I will tell you what I would look at first, and whether the discovery session is worth your money.
Book a 15-minute fit call
or email david@nexaiadvisors.com with a link to the app