Autor Co-Build
Your vision. Our technology.
Shared success.
Build, launch, and scale your technology product with a long-term technical partner who shares the development investment. You focus on building the business. We help build and evolve the technology.
- 50%
- of the agreed development value, typically contributed by Autor
- 15–20%
- share of qualifying gross platform revenue in return
- MVP
- a real, launchable product — not a demo or prototype
- No equity
- you keep your company and your product-specific IP
What is Autor Co-Build?
A partner invested in your product — not just a vendor
Building a technology company takes product strategy, experienced engineers, reliable infrastructure, and ongoing development. For many founders, the cost of that team is the barrier. Co-Build lets you build a commercially viable product without funding the entire development cost upfront.
You bring
- The product vision and business concept
- Industry expertise and market understanding
- Customer research and commercial strategy
- Sales, marketing, and business operations
- An agreed portion of the development investment
Autor brings
- Product development expertise
- Technical architecture and engineering
- UI/UX design and product planning
- Software and AI development
- Infrastructure setup and technical implementation
- Quality assurance, deployment, and launch support
- Ongoing maintenance and technical guidance
- A contribution toward agreed future development phases
More than traditional software outsourcing
In a conventional arrangement, you pay the full development fee, receive the software, and separately arrange maintenance and future development. With Co-Build, Autor contributes toward the development investment and stays involved in maintaining, improving, and scaling the technology throughout the active partnership. Both parties work toward the same objective: a sustainable product with long-term commercial potential.
How much does Autor contribute?
Typically 50% of the agreed development value
Under our standard model, Autor contributes about half, and the founder or business funds the rest — reducing the cash you need to get your product built. Your portion is generally structured around agreed development milestones.
| Investment component | Traditional development | Autor Co-Build |
|---|---|---|
| Total MVP development value | CAD $60,000 | CAD $60,000 |
| Founder contribution | CAD $60,000 | CAD $30,000 |
| Autor contribution | CAD $0 | CAD $30,000 |
| Revenue participation | None | Agreed 15%–20% |
| Ongoing technical partnership | Separate arrangement | Included as agreed |
Example for illustration only. Actual project value and contribution terms are determined during partnership evaluation. Autor's contribution is normally provided as engineering, architecture, design, and development services rather than a cash investment.
We start with an MVP, not just a prototype
Co-Build is for building an actual product, not a demonstration or proof of concept. The first engagement delivers a Minimum Viable Product with the essential features needed to enter the market, onboard early users, and begin commercial validation.
The exact scope is set through discovery and agreed before development begins. An MVP is functional and suitable for an agreed initial launch — it is not necessarily a fully mature enterprise product with every planned feature.
An MVP may include
- User-facing applications and dashboards
- Core product functionality
- Backend systems and databases
- User authentication and account management
- Business logic and workflows
- Essential API integrations
- AI capabilities, where appropriate
- Infrastructure configuration
- Testing and quality assurance
- Production deployment and initial launch support
How long does it last?
A long-term partnership, with fair exits
Co-Build starts with the MVP and continues while both parties fulfill their agreed responsibilities. It does not end when the app launches, and our preferred model has no automatic expiry date — but nobody is locked in. Every agreement includes defined exit, termination, and buyout mechanisms.
In return, the founder fulfills their agreed financial, commercial, reporting, and collaboration obligations.
While the partnership is active, Autor:
- Maintaining the existing application
- Resolving software defects
- Supporting technical reliability
- Providing technical leadership and guidance
- Supporting approved new development phases
- Helping optimize infrastructure and operating costs
- Participating in technical roadmap planning
- Supporting the product's technical evolution
Revenue participation can end through:
- Exercise of an agreed buyout
- A mutually negotiated termination
- An applicable contractual termination event
- Another agreed restructuring or exit arrangement
The agreement separately defines how revenue rights are treated if Autor stops fulfilling its technical responsibilities or the business ceases operations.
Is ongoing maintenance included?
Yes. Core technical maintenance is included.
You don't need to hire a separate development company just to keep the application running after launch. Autor provides defined core maintenance throughout the active partnership.
Application maintenance
- Investigation and resolution of reproducible software bugs
- Maintenance of existing application functionality
- Routine software dependency updates
- Security patches and fixes
- Compatibility updates for supported frameworks
- Technical troubleshooting of existing features
- Deployment of maintenance releases
Infrastructure & monitoring
- Application availability and performance monitoring
- Server and application error monitoring
- Database health checks
- Backup monitoring and recovery assistance
- Investigation of infrastructure-related technical issues
- Recommendations for performance improvements
- Basic infrastructure optimization
Security & reliability
- Routine application security maintenance
- Remediation of identified application vulnerabilities within scope
- Review of relevant security updates
- Technical incident investigation
- Reliability improvements for existing systems
- Recommendations for suitable security practices
Ongoing technical guidance
- Technology decisions
- Application scalability
- Technical feasibility of proposed improvements
- Architecture considerations
- Infrastructure efficiency
- Product roadmap discussions
Not included in standard maintenance
- Major new product features
- Entirely new applications or platforms
- Complete UI/UX redesigns
- New complex integrations
- Major infrastructure migrations
- Substantial architectural rebuilds
- Dedicated 24/7 support
- End-user customer service
- Business operations or manual data administration
- Third-party hosting, cloud, or API charges
The agreement specifies included maintenance capacity, support hours, response targets, escalation procedures, and service boundaries. Maintenance is defined technical support, not unlimited engineering resources.
What about new features?
We keep building together
As your business grows, the technology needs to evolve — new customer requirements, integrations, and capabilities. Approved future phases can follow the same shared-investment approach as the MVP: Autor typically contributes 50% of the agreed development value for mutually approved new features.
| Example expansion | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total new development value | CAD $20,000 |
| Founder contribution | CAD $10,000 |
| Autor contribution | CAD $10,000 |
Does the revenue-share percentage increase?
Not automatically. Any proposed adjustment must be separately negotiated and approved by both parties.
Is every requested feature automatically covered?
No. Each phase requires mutual approval and is subject to feasibility, available engineering resources, commercial viability, and the partnership agreement — keeping growth practical for both sides.
How new development is approved
- 1
Feature discussion
The founder identifies new requirements and business priorities.
- 2
Technical assessment
Autor evaluates feasibility, dependencies, complexity, and development effort.
- 3
Cost estimation
Both parties review the scope, estimated development value, and investment contributions.
- 4
Mutual approval
The development phase, budget, milestones, and timeline are agreed in writing.
- 5
Implementation
Autor delivers the approved development work.
Who pays for hosting, infrastructure, and AI usage?
Running costs are paid by the business — we help keep them low
Autor contributes to development and maintenance, but the recurring third-party costs of operating the application are generally paid directly by the business. Where practical, these services are set up under accounts your business owns or controls.
Cloud & hosting
- AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, or other cloud platforms
- Web and application hosting
- Database hosting
- Storage and networking
- Backup and disaster recovery services
AI & data services
- AI model and API usage
- Speech and transcription services
- Vector databases
- External data providers
- Usage-based AI infrastructure
Third-party services
- Email and SMS delivery
- Payment gateways
- Software subscriptions
- Domain names
- Monitoring and analytics tools
- Third-party API subscriptions
How Autor helps reduce these costs
Infrastructure planning
We recommend infrastructure that matches the product's actual stage, rather than introducing unnecessary complexity or expensive enterprise services during the MVP phase.
Cost optimization
We may help evaluate suitable cloud providers, serverless or managed-service options, database and storage efficiency, resource allocation, AI API usage and model selection, open-source alternatives, and cost-efficient architectures.
Cost visibility
Where practical, Autor helps establish monitoring and alerts to provide visibility into infrastructure usage and spending.
Beyond the code
Co-Build gives you more than engineering. Where relevant, we collaborate on strategy, startup benefits, and opportunities that strengthen the business.
Cloud credits & startup benefits
We help identify relevant programs — cloud and AI platform credits, startup programs, developer-tool discounts, accelerator benefits — review eligibility, suggest technical configurations, and provide technical information for applications.
Credits, admission, and discounts are entirely subject to third-party eligibility and approval. Autor does not guarantee credits, funding, or any particular level of savings.
Product & technology strategy
Product roadmap planning, technical feasibility assessments, technology selection, scalability, AI opportunities, platform expansion strategy, and technical operating-cost planning.
Strategic connections
Where suitable, we may help you explore connections with technology and integration partners, industry specialists, business partners, cloud providers, startup ecosystem organizations, accelerators, and technical communities.
Autor does not guarantee introductions, partnerships, or commercial traction.
Fundraising & technical due diligence
Technical architecture explanations, engineering roadmap summaries, product demonstrations, infrastructure and development cost projections, technical due diligence documentation, and technical discussions with prospective investors.
Autor does not guarantee fundraising outcomes or investment commitments. Business strategy, fundraising, sales, marketing, and commercial execution remain the founder's responsibility unless separately agreed.
Ownership, funding & exit
The important details, in plain language
The short answer is right under each question. Open any item for the full detail of how it works in the agreement.
Side by side
Autor Co-Build vs. traditional development
| Feature | Traditional development | Autor Co-Build |
|---|---|---|
| Initial development investment | Business pays 100% | Autor typically contributes 50% |
| Starting deliverable | Agreed project scope | Commercially focused MVP |
| Revenue participation | None | Normally 15%–20% |
| Ongoing technical partnership | Separate engagement | Included within agreed responsibilities |
| Core technical maintenance | Usually separately contracted | Included within agreed scope |
| New feature investment | Business normally pays 100% | Shared contribution for approved phases |
| Cloud infrastructure costs | Paid by business | Paid by business, with Autor optimization support |
| Startup credits support | Not necessarily included | Assistance exploring suitable programs |
| Strategic technical guidance | Based on engagement | Continued throughout active partnership |
| Product-specific IP | As agreed | Preferably owned by the business |
| Equity transfer | Not required | Not required |
| Exit and buyout | Project completion or contract termination | Defined partnership exit and buyout provisions |
Who is Co-Build designed for?
Built for people with a product to bring to market
Startup founders
Entrepreneurs with a clear software or AI product vision who need experienced technical resources to develop and launch an MVP.
Non-technical founders
Business-focused founders who understand their market but do not have an internal engineering team.
Established businesses
Organizations looking to launch a new digital product, SaaS platform, or technology-based business initiative.
Industry specialists
Professionals with strong domain knowledge who want to turn their expertise into scalable software products.
Early-stage SaaS businesses
Companies seeking a long-term technical partner to build an initial MVP or significantly expand an existing product.
AI product entrepreneurs
Founders creating AI-powered applications, automation platforms, intelligent agents, or data-driven products.
What we look for in a Co-Build partner
Not every project suits a Co-Build Partnership, so we evaluate opportunities selectively. Existing customer interest, industry expertise, distribution, or early traction all strengthen an application.
Clear business opportunity
The product addresses an identifiable problem or market need.
Founder commitment
You are actively involved in product direction, commercialization, and business execution.
Commercial potential
There is a credible strategy for generating sustainable revenue.
Technical feasibility
The proposed MVP is achievable within reasonable technical and financial constraints.
Shared investment readiness
You can fund your agreed portion of development and the relevant operating expenses.
Long-term alignment
We share compatible expectations on development, commercialization, responsibilities, and growth.
How to become a Co-Build partner
Seven steps from idea to scale
- 01
Submit your product idea
Tell us about your business, product concept, target market, current stage, and what you want to build.
- 02
Initial discovery
We discuss business objectives, technical requirements, development complexity, and commercial readiness.
- 03
Partnership evaluation
We assess technical feasibility, development investment, product potential, and the engineering commitment required.
- 04
Proposal & terms
For suitable opportunities: MVP scope, development estimate, contribution structure, revenue terms, timeline, and responsibilities.
- 05
Partnership agreement
Once both parties agree on the commercial and technical terms, everything is documented in a formal agreement.
- 06
Build & launch
We design, develop, test, and launch the agreed MVP together.
- 07
Maintain, improve & scale
After launch we keep supporting the platform and work together on approved future development.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Autor can provide the engineering capabilities and technical leadership required to build your product without requiring you to recruit a technical co-founder or transfer company equity.
Ready to build your product with Autor?
Apply for a Co-Build Partnership
You bring the vision, industry knowledge, and ambition. We bring product engineering, technical expertise, ongoing support, and a shared commitment to building something commercially valuable.
Tell us what you're building, where you are today, and what you want to achieve. We'll review your opportunity and explore whether a Co-Build Partnership is the right fit.
Co-Build opportunities are subject to technical and commercial evaluation. All development contributions, revenue participation arrangements, maintenance obligations, intellectual property rights, future development commitments, and exit terms are governed by the signed partnership agreement. See also our terms.
Start with a quick chat
Our AI assistant will take you through a few questions and pass your answers to our team. It's the fastest way to apply, and you can ask anything about Co-Build along the way.
Have these ready:
- What you want to build and the problem it solves
- Who your customers are and how the product will make money
- Where you are today — idea, validated, prototype, or live
- Whether you can fund your share of development
Prefer email? Write to hello@autor.ca.