How we partner
One phase at a time.
You climb from idea to live product one phase at a time. Each phase has a fixed fee agreed before it starts, produces something you own, and you decide after each one whether to go on.
If your review says build, the first paid step is R5,000. You decide then.
The road
From idea to live product.
At today's prices, R55,000 takes a venture from idea to build-ready. Each phase opens only when the one before it is signed off.
- 0
Conceptualise
A free Idea Score: your idea, scored and explained.
- 1
Ideate
Brief, scorecard and a kill sheet: the criteria that would stop the venture.
- 2
Validate
Business model, value proposition, customer personas and a market assessment.
- 3
Define
Business, functional and technical requirements.
- 4
Design
Functional, technical and solution design, with acceptance criteria.
- 5
Plan
The venture is ready to build. A build is quoted separately, at Plan.
- 6
Build
Starts only on an approved specification, a signed agreement and a fixed quote.
- 7
Deploy
Your product goes live.
- 8
Support
We run it with you, if you want us to.
- 9
Evolve
We grow it with you, if you want us to.
The terms
Fair questions. Straight answers.
- What does it cost?
- Each phase has a fixed fee, agreed before it starts. The Idea Score is free. If your review says build, the first paid step is R5,000. At today's prices, the paid phases from idea to build-ready total R55,000. The build itself is a fixed quote, given at Plan. FiftyKnots is not registered for VAT, so no VAT is added.
- Do I have to commit to the whole thing?
- No. You pay for one phase, we deliver it, and only then do you decide about the next. You can stop after any phase, and you keep what it produced.
- When does building start?
- Never before the design is approved, the agreement is signed and the build has a fixed quote. Nothing is built on an open-ended estimate. Changes you ask for after that are quoted and agreed with you before we make them.
- Do you take equity?
- Almost never, and never as a condition of working with us. A handful of ventures may be offered a build-for-equity partnership. It is selective, negotiated openly, and always your choice.
- Who owns the work and the code?
- Once a phase is paid for, what it produced for your venture is yours, to take anywhere. When you pay for the build in full, you own 100% of your venture's code. Our platform and the tools we build with stay ours.
- How involved are you?
- Our AI-native platform does the work in every phase, which is how the fees stay fixed. A person is available on top whenever you want one, quoted separately, never in place of the work.
Proof
56 days from NDA to a live marketplace.
Khaya Crew climbed this road from its first conversation to a live product in 56 days. Every venture we have worked on, including the ones that did not make it, is on our portfolio page.