Inside Designli: Our Full Development Process, Pricing, and Transparency Promise

At Designli, we’ve always believed that great products come from great partnerships, and great partnerships are built on transparency. For many founders, especially non-technical founders, app development can feel like a black box. You’re asked to trust a process, a price, and a team without ever truly seeing how everything works behind the scenes.

We don’t think it should be that way.

Our philosophy is simple: clarity creates confidence. When you fully understand the steps, pricing, protections, and the people behind your build, you can make more informed decisions, avoid unnecessary risks, and remain entirely in control of your product’s trajectory.

That’s why we’re opening the doors and sharing everything: our exact workflow, NDA process, our pricing structure, how our teams operate, how we support products post-launch, and how our methodologies keep projects stable in the long term.

No mystery. No hidden fees. No vague promises.

Just a straightforward, honest explanation of how we build software so you can see exactly how your idea becomes a real, scalable product.

Why We Always Sign NDAs

Many non-technical founders come to us with the same concern: “I want to share my idea, but I’m not comfortable until I know it’s protected.” We agree your idea deserves protection from the very start.

Designli is happy to sign NDAs before any confidential conversation takes place, even before the intro call, if you prefer. The NDA covers all information you share with us, including product concepts, documentation, designs, user flows, and business strategies. All of this remains strictly confidential between you and our team.

When and How It Happens

Our process is simple and founder-friendly:

• Our sales rep sends the NDA immediately upon request; it’s already pre-loaded into our e-signature tool, PandaDoc, and is able to be sent instantly to any recipient.
• Once signed, every meeting, sketch, prototype, or file exchange is fully protected.
• You never have to hold back during early conversations.

This ensures you can communicate openly from day one, without hesitation or risk.

Internal Safeguards

Transparency doesn’t stop at the contract; we’ve built internal systems that reinforce confidentiality:

• Each Designli Product Team works exclusively on its assigned client’s project.
• No IP or proprietary ideas are ever shared between teams.
• The same NDA protections as our clients legally bind all Designli employees and contractors.
• While we share internal learnings about process or best tech practices, we never share anything client-specific.

You can speak freely with Designli. Your idea is protected from the very first moment, long before any code or design work begins.

The Designli Experience: From Idea to Scalable Product

If you’re a non-technical SaaS founder, one of the hardest parts of building a product is knowing what actually happens behind the scenes. At Designli, our process is intentionally transparent; every phase has clear deliverables, timelines, and pricing.

Our onboarding may take longer than other agencies, but that’s by design. We prioritize accuracy over speed at this stage because clarity early on prevents technical debt, scope drift, and costly rebuilds later.

Below is the journey founders experience working with us, all depending on their goals and needs. 

The Discovery Call

Our 30-minute discovery call marks the beginning of the journey. It’s the moment when we listen to clients’ ideas, thoroughly analyze them, and decide if we are a good fit to help them reach their potential.

Additionally, we showcase our approach to work, including pricing and development details, as well as our frameworks and potential tech stack.

If there’s a match, we schedule a one-hour Next Steps Call, where we can dig even deeper into your project’s specifics and show you tangible outputs of what you'll expect after each step of working with us. 

Purpose: To ensure your idea is feasible, strategically sound, and aligned with our strengths.

Cost: Free

What’s included:

• NDA-protected discussion
• Vision and user exploration
• Early technical feasibility review
• Honest evaluation of fit

Impact Week (For Founders Who Already Have a Product)

If you already have a live product, prototype, or partially built system, and something feels “off” Impact Week exists to help you get unstuck. It’s a focused, 5-day strategic audit designed to diagnose roadblocks, evaluate your current product, and map a smarter path forward.

Our expert team will examine your existing code, learn about your challenges, and set a clear path for improvement. These efforts are meant to guide you in the right direction. It’s not a development sprint; it’s a structured process for evaluating, diagnosing, and planning for better product outcomes.

Purpose: Validate assumptions, uncover opportunities, and build the strategic backbone of your product.

Duration: 1 week

What’s included:

• Deep dives into users, competitors, and workflows
• Mapping value propositions and use cases
• Technical and architectural recommendations
• Prioritization of the initial scope
• A full audit of your existing build (technical + UX)
• Clear recommendations for what to fix, rebuild, or scale next

Deliverables: A strategic foundation document that clarifies what should happen next, whether that’s a rebuild, a refinement, or a roadmap for your next version.

The SolutionLab: Clarity Before Code

With the SolutionLab, you get a 2-week sprint that delivers a fully interactive prototype tailored to your idea: clickable, testable, and ready to share with co-founders, investors, and early users. It includes four design review meetings, where key stakeholders can provide input on the prototype process, including user interfaces, features, and functionality defined in the product workshops. It also includes four product discovery workshops where our multidisciplinary team refines the concept and forms a hypothesis for what the Version 1 MVP should include.

Your team during the 2-week SolutionLab includes three experts. A Product Owner will map out your future business’s real market advantage and define a roadmap to launch. A Lead Developer will ensure all designs are rooted in quality engineering decisions, and that the roadmap to your first version’s launch date is specific and actionable. A Lead Designer will create a navigable prototype of your software so that you can get valuable market feedback before proceeding with Development. 

Before a single line of code is written, we work with founders to define the behaviors they want to reinforce and map how those behaviors will unfold inside the product.

This isn’t a generic mockup or AI-generated filler. It’s a handcrafted experience that looks and feels like your future app. The SolutionLab is designed to impress and built to align everyone around your vision.

Purpose:
Transform your vision into a validated, investor-ready blueprint.

Duration: 2 weeks

What’s included:

• Collaborative product workshops
• UX strategy, flows, and wireframes
• High-fidelity clickable prototype
• Technical architecture plan
• Development-ready feature backlog

Deliverables:
A clickable prototype + detailed roadmap that removes ambiguity and prevents scope creep, giving you a tangible understanding of exactly what it will take to launch your custom software vision.

The Designli Engine: Building the MVP

After a successful two-week sprint with the SolutionLab, founders can optionally move into development with Designli with a Dedicated product Team. When starting from scratch, the first step is to spin up a scalable foundation with the Designli Engine.  

The Designli Engine is designed to help founders launch their MVP rapidly, providing an initial database, admin panel, and code structure foundation that the Dedicated Product Team can build upon.  

The Designli Engine automates the initial backend codebase, including standard functionalities and database creation. It establishes the database, core services, and structural patterns your team will build on, all written specifically for your application and owned entirely by you.

This approach maximizes your budget for developing features that set your digital product apart. Let's accelerate your first deployment, test your ideas, and gain deep, meaningful insights. 

Purpose:
Launch a scalable, real-world MVP based on clean architecture, not a rushed prototype.

Duration: 12–24 weeks

What’s included:

• Backend architecture and database creation
• Frontend development
• Integrations and API setup
• Admin panel + internal tools
• QA testing and iteration
• Deployment + launch support

Deliverables:
A fully functional MVP ready for users, investors, and generating revenue.

Dedicated Product Team: Full-Year Partnership

Launching an MVP is a milestone, but it’s not the finish line. The real work of building a successful SaaS company begins after launch: improving usability, resolving bottlenecks, adding features requested by users, stabilizing performance, and preparing the product for scale.

Most development shops deliver an MVP and then move on to the next project. Designli does the opposite; we embed ourselves as your long-term product arm. We work as an accordion for velocity purposes, allowing us to create bigger or leaner teams based on the momentum, capacity, and objectives required.”

Our Dedicated Product Team model is designed for founders who want predictable momentum, deep technical stewardship, a product team that understands their business, and stable support that doesn’t disappear after version 1.  

This is the way to have a fully dedicated team for your product that understands your code, vision, and goals. 

Purpose: Sustain momentum, accelerate feature development, and evolve the product intelligently.

Duration: 1 year

Team Includes:

• Product Owner - Half-time
• Designer - Half-time or partial allocation
• Developers (frontend, backend, or full-stack, depending on needs) / Full-time
• Engineering Lead - Assigned halftime, as the direct manager of the devs assigned to the team
• QA Specialist - Half-time or partial allocation

What’s included:

• Continuous feature development
• Prioritized releases and sprint planning
• Roadmap management
• UX improvements + user feedback loops
• Infrastructure maintenance and optimizations
• Zero switching cost, same team stays on the product

Deliverables:
Full product development, own 100% of the code, designs, documentation, and IP.

Post-Launch Maintenance & Support: How We Keep Your Product Healthy Long-Term

Launching your MVP is only the beginning. Real products evolve every week in new features, new user feedback, scaling needs, and unexpected edge cases. What happens after launch is often where founders struggle the most.

At Designli, we’ve built a post-launch structure that adapts to your funding stage, revenue, and roadmap, all while maintaining product quality. As mentioned before, our Accordion Model allows your team to expand or contract based on what your business needs at each stage.

Below, we outline the three paths founders can choose from, depending on financial runway and strategic goals.

Best-Case Scenario: A Full, Dedicated Product Team 

This is the preferred and most effective path, used when founders want to continue building momentum after MVP launch.

With a full team, Product Owner, UX Designer, Developers, QA, you maintain:

• High development velocity
• Consistent releases
• Deep product knowledge retained inside the team
• Strong architectural oversight (preventing tech debt)
• Fast turnaround on bugs and improvements

This setup mirrors an internal SaaS product team, providing the highest quality, speed, and long-term stability. It’s what most venture-backed startups pick because it keeps compound progress moving.

When it’s ideal:
When you have runway or incoming revenue, and the goal is aggressive feature expansion, user growth, and staying ahead of the competition.

Lean Team Option: Same Quality, Reduced Velocity

Roadblocks may appear out of nowhere; perhaps the client needs to pull back financially, fundraising is delayed, revenue is still catching up, or internal priorities shift.

Instead of pausing development or bringing in a new outside developer who has to relearn everything, we compress the team into a leaner version.

This usually means:

• Reducing developer count (e.g., from 2 to 3 devs → 1 full-stack dev)
• Maintaining your same Product Owner
• Keeping QA, but in a narrower capacity
• Prioritizing stability and essential improvements over big new builds

Most importantly, you keep the same brain on your project. The people who built your system continue to maintain it. This avoids the biggest risk in software scaling: context loss, which leads to bugs, rework, and architectural mistakes. Velocity slows, but quality remains high. This allows you to navigate financial dips without compromising your product’s integrity.

When it’s ideal:
When you need to conserve capital but want continuity, stability, and a path to ramp back up later.

Support Plan: Flexible, Ticket-Based Maintenance 

If a founder temporarily can’t support a dedicated team, even a lean one, we provide a third option: a structured Support Plan.

This is not our recommended long-term path, but it ensures your product still gets the attention it needs without a full team attached to it.

How it works:

• You receive 24 hours ($3,000) or 48 hours ($6,000) of development/QA time per month, which is billed at $125/hr.
• Work is managed through a ticketing system via Basecamp with our Support Product Owner. Agreed-upon turnaround times (SLAs) define response and resolution windows.
• Bugs, fixes, and small enhancements are addressed in order of priority.
• Our best available developers tackle tasks as bandwidth allows.
• Hourly rate increases (approx. $125/hr) because these devs are coming from the “bench,” not the dedicated team model.

This model ensures your product doesn’t stall, even if you’re between funding rounds.

But it’s important to be transparent: A developer who jumps in occasionally cannot match the efficiency of a developer who’s been embedded in your product for months. Context switching takes time.Work moves more slowly, and architectural decisions require extra review. However, this plan keeps your system healthy until you’re ready to ramp back up.

When it’s ideal:
When you’re preserving cash, bridging to the next investment round, or maintaining while focusing on sales/traction.

We Scale With You, Not Against You

Every founder goes through cycles: raise → build → stabilize → raise again.

We designed our post-launch structure to match that reality:

Big Team → ideal for growth
Lean Team → ideal for capital efficiency
Support Plan → ideal for survival mode without losing momentum

No matter which path you choose, the goal stays the same: keep your product healthy, protect your architecture, and ensure you never lose the people who understand your codebase. This is how we preserve quality through the natural ups and downs of startup life, especially for non-technical founders who rely on us as their long-term product partner.

Here’s a table explaining the Designli experience and post-launch maintenance & support:

Our Methodologies: The Designli Framework

Great products don’t happen by accident; they come from repeatable systems. Designli’s framework was built specifically for non-technical founders who need confidence in what’s being built, why it’s being built, and how it will scale in the long term.

Our methodology combines validation, clean architecture, and ongoing measurement to ensure every decision has purpose behind it.

Validation-First Philosophy

Before a single line of code is written, we validate the product direction. This ensures you never pay for unnecessary features or untested assumptions. Every idea is tested through workshops, prototypes, and user feedback.

Validation prevents feature waste, reduces technical debt, accelerates development, and increases your odds of investor buy-in. It’s the foundation of the SolutionLab and the reason our MVPs are so targeted and effective.

Hypothesis-Driven Development (HDD)

Once your product is live, every new feature must earn its place in the market. HDD makes that possible

Every feature begins as a hypothesis: “If we build X, we expect to improve Y metric for Z user group.”

This replaces guesswork with measurable outcomes.

Our HDD cycle:

1. Define the hypothesis: Tie the feature to a business goal, revenue, retention, activation, or efficiency.
2. Measure performance: Track user behavior and product metrics through your Designli Engine “command center.”
3. Collect qualitative and quantitative data: See how users engage, where they drop off, and what they request.
4. Refine or pivot: Expand what works, remove what doesn’t, and avoid the trap of endless feature additions.
5. Repeat: Continuous iteration keeps your product aligned with market needs.

You always know why a feature exists and whether it delivered the outcome you expected. Nothing is built “just because.”

Scalability by Design

Technical debt is one of the biggest threats to early-stage SaaS products. Our engineering philosophy is designed to prevent it, not patch it later.

Clean, Modular Architecture

• We build your system to evolve, not crumble as your user base grows. Every module, integration, and component is structured to support future development.

Refactoring Cadence

• Regular maintenance prevents “code decay.” Small, ongoing improvements eliminate the need for large, painful rebuilds later.

Full Documentation

• From environment setup to feature workflows, everything is documented clearly so your product remains maintainable years from now even if the team changes.

Built-In Scalability Checks

• Before adding new features, we examine downstream effects on performance, UX, database structure, and long-term flexibility.

Scalability means fewer surprises, fewer rebuilds, and predictable development costs as you grow. It ensures that what you’re building today won’t become tomorrow’s bottleneck.

Why Transparency Builds Trust and Stronger Software

At Designli, transparency is a structural advantage. When every step, cost, deliverable, and responsibility is clear from the beginning, founders gain the one thing early-stage software desperately needs: confidence.

Transparent process → aligned expectations.
You always know what we’re building, why we’re building it, and how decisions are made. No ambiguity, no surprises.

Clear pricing → no budget anxiety.
Fixed costs for SolutionLab, predictable investment ranges for MVP development, and upfront clarity about year-long team structures remove the fear of hidden fees or ballooning scope.

Open communication → better decisions, faster.
When the entire roadmap is visible, non-technical founders can participate fully, not as bystanders, but as partners shaping their product’s direction.

Ultimately, clarity creates trust. And trust creates better software. 

When everyone is aligned from day one, teams move faster, quality stays high, and products scale without chaos. Transparency doesn’t slow down development; it accelerates it by eliminating the friction that usually derails early-stage builds.

For founders, especially non-technical, this isn’t just reassuring. It’s empowering. It means you can move forward boldly, knowing exactly how your product is being built and what it will take to scale.

Designli FAQs

Do you sign NDAs before the first meeting?

Yes. We sign NDAs before any confidential discussion, even before the intro call if you prefer. Once it’s signed, every conversation, document, and idea you share is protected. All Designli team members and contractors follow the same NDA terms to ensure your IP stays secure from day one.

Can I join the SolutionLab without committing to development afterward?

Absolutely. SolutionLab is a standalone engagement. Many founders use it to validate their idea, build an investor-ready prototype, or compare development partners. There is no obligation to continue with Designli afterward, although most founders do, as the process creates momentum and clarity.

Who owns my code and intellectual property?

You do 100%. All code, designs, documentation, and architecture delivered during the MVP phase and the yearlong development partnership belong fully to you. We don’t use templates, shared libraries, or recycled code that could compromise ownership or licensing rights.

How is your process different from traditional dev agencies?

Most agencies sell hours. We sell outcomes. Our process centers on validation before development, scalable architecture, continuous measurement, and transparent pricing. You don’t get a rotating cast of freelancers; you get a dedicated team, clear deliverables, and a partner committed to long-term product success.

Clarity, Confidence, and a Long-Term Partner

From NDAs to SolutionLab, from architecture to maintenance, everything at Designli is transparent. You keep full ownership of your code, your IP, and your long-term roadmap. Our teams communicate regularly, deliver predictable progress, and operate with the stability and structure that non-technical SaaS founders need to make confident decisions.

When you understand the plan, you can focus on the vision and let your product grow with the right partner by your side.

Ready to see your roadmap in full view? Schedule a free consultation and start your journey. 

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