What a realistic MVP budget looks like in 2026
The line items that decide the cost of a first release, and the ones founders usually leave out.
Product engineering
A managed team,
shipping every sprint.
A delivery lead, engineers and QA working as one team, accountable for what ships. You set the priorities. We run the sprints and send you a written report every week.
10 yearsBuilding software
250+Projects delivered
90%Client retention
NDA before we talk
Code in your repos from day one
“They work like part of our own team. Same standups, same board, and they push back when a decision is wrong.”
Shape your pod
Takes 2 minutes
What should the pod work on?
Tick all that apply.
Suggested first step
You get:
Not sure a pod fits? Book a free 30-min call →
Trusted by teams in the US, UK, Canada & Europe
What you get
Six things every pod includes
You set the priorities and approve what ships. The pod handles the planning, engineering, testing and reporting.
01
A delivery lead in every pod
One person plans the sprints with you, removes blockers and answers for what ships.
In practiceYour single point of contact, every day
02
Engineers, QA and DevOps in one team
The skills the roadmap needs, working together from the first sprint instead of handing work between teams.
In practiceTesting and releases handled inside the pod
03
Two-week sprints with recorded demos
You agree the sprint goal, then see the working software at the end of every sprint.
In practiceA demo recording you can share upward
04
A written report every week
Progress, risks, decisions needed and next week’s plan, in plain language your stakeholders can read.
In practiceOne page, every Friday
05
One monthly rate for the whole pod
No timesheets to check. The rate covers the team, its tools and its management.
In practiceOne invoice in USD, CAD, GBP or EUR
06
A clear escalation path
If something slips, the delivery lead tells you first, and one of our founders is one call away.
In practiceFounder review every quarter
Why Leapstrat
Why teams choose a Leapstrat pod
Building and running your own team compared with a Leapstrat dedicated pod. Both ship your roadmap. The difference is who carries the delivery work.
Compare
Running your own team
Leapstrat dedicated pod
Time to startSix months or more to hire a lead, engineers and QAKickoff 2–3 weeks after we agree the team shape
Who runs deliveryYour managers, alongside their day jobsOur delivery lead, reporting to you
ReportingBuilt from scratch by your teamA written report every week and a demo every sprint
TestingOften added late, after bugs reach usersQA in the team from the first sprint
Changing team sizeNew hires or redundanciesResized with a month’s notice
Who owns the codeYouYou, in your repositories from day one
01
A founder on every engagement
One of our two founders joins the shaping workshop and stays your point of escalation.
02
Hours that overlap yours
Our team is on shift 09:00–23:00 IST: 4.5 hours with US Eastern, a full working day with the UK and Europe.
03
Handover planned from day one
Code, decisions and runbooks are documented in your repositories, so your own team can take over at any time.
Taking over from another vendor? We start with a two-week review of the code and open work, then plan the handover before the first sprint.
How a vendor takeover works →How a pod starts
First sprint demo within 5 weeks
From the first call to the first sprint demo. The bar shows a typical start, week by week.
01Days 1–3
Brief
A 30-minute call on the product, the roadmap, your current team and how you want to work with us.
You get: A written team shape and rate02Week 1
Shaping workshop
We agree the first sprint goals, team roles, tools, reporting and who signs off each release.
You get: A sprint plan and ways of working03Weeks 2–3
Team setup
You meet the pod. We set up access, environments and the board, and review any existing code.
You get: A pod ready to build04Weeks 3–5
First sprint
The pod builds against the agreed goal and demos working software at the end of the sprint.
You get: The first sprint demo05Every 2 weeks
Ongoing
Sprint planning with you, a demo each sprint, a weekly report and a roadmap review every month.
You get: A steady release rhythm
Every sprint:
Sprint planning with you
A recorded demo
A weekly written report
A monthly roadmap review
Ways to work with us
Compare the three ways to work
A dedicated pod suits ongoing work where you want us to run delivery. If you lead engineering yourself, staff augmentation fits better. For one build with a clear scope, choose a fixed scope project.
Dedicated podA managed team accountable for shippingThis page
Staff augmentationEngineers inside your team
Fixed scope projectA defined project with milestones
Best for
Ongoing product work without an in-house lead
Teams with their own engineering lead
A build with clear acceptance criteria
Pricing
Monthly rate for the whole pod
Flat monthly rate per engineer
Fixed price, by milestone
Led by
Our delivery lead, reporting to you
You. Engineers report to your leads
Our delivery lead, against milestones
Team
Lead, engineers and QA, sized to the roadmap
From one engineer, month to month
Set by the scope
How it works →
How it works →
How it works →
Dedicated pod
A managed team accountable for shipping
This page- Best for
- Ongoing product work without an in-house lead
- Pricing
- Monthly rate for the whole pod
- Led by
- Our delivery lead, reporting to you
- Team
- Lead, engineers and QA, sized to the roadmap
Staff augmentation
Engineers inside your team
- Best for
- Teams with their own engineering lead
- Pricing
- Flat monthly rate per engineer
- Led by
- You. Engineers report to your leads
- Team
- From one engineer, month to month
Fixed scope project
A defined project with milestones
- Best for
- A build with clear acceptance criteria
- Pricing
- Fixed price, by milestone
- Led by
- Our delivery lead, against milestones
- Team
- Set by the scope
Client result · Healthcare · United States
26
Sprints in a row shipped on schedule in the first year
A five-person pod that took over a patient platform roadmap
ChallengeA US healthcare company had no in-house engineering lead, and its patient platform roadmap had stalled after its previous vendor left.
ApproachA five-person pod (delivery lead, three engineers, QA) reviewed the code for two weeks, took over the backlog and moved releases to a two-week sprint cadence.
Result26 sprints in a row shipped on schedule in the first year, with a written report every week for the client’s board.
React.NETAzurePlaywright
See all client results →
No engineering lead in-house?
Tell us the product and the roadmap. On a 30-minute call we suggest a team shape, a sprint plan and a monthly rate.
Team shapes
A pod shaped around your roadmap
Every pod has a delivery lead and QA. The rest of the team is set by the roadmap, and you meet every person before the first sprint.
Pod size
Small pod: 3–4 peopleStandard pod: 5–7 peopleLarge pod: 8 or more Need a different shape? Book a call →
Always in the podDelivery lead · QA engineer
EngineeringFront end · Back end · Full stack · Mobile
ArchitectureTech lead · Solution architect · Security reviews
PlatformDevOps · Cloud · Monitoring and on-call
Design and dataUI and UX design · Data engineering · AI engineering
Tools we use with youJira · Linear · GitHub · GitLab · Slack · Teams
Contract and ownership
✓ NDA signed before we talk✓ IP assigned to you in the contract✓ Work done in your repos and accounts✓ Access removed at handover
FAQ
Questions about a dedicated pod
Cost, control and how a pod works with your team. Anything else, ask on the call.
A monthly rate for the whole pod, based on its size and roles. Most pods fall between $15k–$35k a month. After a 30-minute call we send a written team shape and rate within one working day.
Yes. We start with a two-week review of the code, infrastructure and open work, then plan the handover with you and the outgoing team before the first sprint.
You set the priorities. The delivery lead plans each sprint with you, demos the work at the end of it and sends a written report every week.
Yes. Add or release people with a month’s notice as the roadmap changes.
You do. The pod works in your repositories and cloud accounts, and IP assignment to you is part of the agreement from day one.
With staff augmentation, engineers join your team and report to your leads. A pod is a complete team with its own delivery lead, accountable to you for what ships.
Insights
All articles →
Read before you start
Hiring
Dedicated team or fixed-price project: how to choose for your next build
Most software engagements fail the brief before anyone writes code, because the commercial model does not match how the work will actually change. A dedicated team and a fixed-price project are both valid. They answer different questions. Choose a dedicated team when the roadmap will move A dedicated team is the right shape when you […]
Engineering
Shipping an MVP in 12 weeks with a distributed team
Twelve weeks is enough to put a product in front of real users. It is not enough to build the version you will be embarrassed to throw away later if the first month is spent negotiating the backlog. Week 0 is a decision, not a workshop Before the first sprint, name the user, the job […]
Tell us the roadmap. We will shape the team.
Send the details for a team shape and monthly rate within one working day, or talk it through with one of our founders first.