Releases without fear
Tests on the paths users take, a staging copy and a release you can roll back, so a new feature does not take the old ones down.
Your AI-built app has its first users
From an AI-built MVP to a product people pay for
The app works. The first users ask for more filters, more data, another platform, and every change breaks something else. The code was the cheap part. What is left is what makes it a product, and that is most of the work.
See price and start date → Book a free 30-min call
First slice, 3 weeks: $4,590–$7,590 excl. VAT · 102–138 h Details in the configurator →
- “measurable changes in some key metrics”client CTO, public LinkedIn recommendation
- “someone you can always count on”senior engineer from my team, on LinkedIn
- 15+ yearsshipping software
- Free call, no pitch deck30 minutes, then you decide
What turns an MVP into a product
Data that holds
A schema that survives the next feature, migrations instead of manual fixes, and sources that do not fall over when a scraper breaks.
Accounts, payments and stores
Sign-up, plans, invoices, App Store and Google Play, written so a stranger can pay without asking you how.
Monitoring, backups and costs
You hear about an error before a user does, yesterday’s data can be restored, and the hosting bill grows slower than the user count.
How it works
A call and a manual review
I go through the app with you and write down what stands between it and a product.
A list with hours
Items in three groups, product, system and running it, each with hours, so you choose what matters first.
A first slice in three weeks
The items that hurt most, done in your code and released, not a rewrite.
Then the next slice, or more
More slices at the same rate, or a longer arrangement as an engineer or a business partner.
Where it fits
- An app built with Claude, Lovable, Bolt or Replit that has real users and keeps breaking.
- A side project people ask to pay for, with no payments or terms yet.
- An app ready for the App Store or Google Play that nobody has taken through review.
Why a product is about 9× the work of a program
Fred Brooks drew this grid in The Mythical Man-Month (1975). Making a program into a product costs about three times the work, making it part of a system about three times again, and a product that is also a system about nine times. Our addition: a third axis, running it (operations, security and compliance, scale), is roughly another three times on top. That is why the honest range is 10 to 90 times what the first version took. AI made the first box cheap. The other boxes are still there.
Program (1×)
Works on the author’s machine, for the author’s data, when the author runs it.
Product (≈3×)
Works for anyone: tested, documented, with the edge cases handled and someone else able to maintain it.
System (≈3×)
Works with other systems: clear interfaces, integrations, the parts tested together.
Systems product (≈9×)
Both at once. This is what users mean when they say they want to pay for it.
Proof
Patriot Mail went from the first commit to the App Store in four months and through Google’s CASA security assessment. Sandtime.io runs on eight platforms from one codebase since 2018. If what you need is a fix of a few hours, start with the rescue.
Patriot Mail: from first commit to the App Store in four months
- The problem
- A greenfield AI-native email client for web, iOS and macOS had to reach real users fast, pass Google’s CASA Tier 2 security assessment and work for older people.
- What I did
- I was the principal engineer. I wrote the delivery plan, shaped the product vision and treated prompt injection through untrusted email as a design constraint before any model touched a mailbox. CASA and OWASP ASVS controls became a Playwright suite that runs on every pull request. WCAG 2.2 AA sits behind an automated axe gate.
- Result
- Public App Store release in four months. CASA Tier 2 passed and the yearly questionnaire turned into a check on every PR. Text scaling to 200% and a calm-email mode shipped for older users.
See also: SaaS & MVP · Mobile & desktop apps
Sandtime.io: founding engineer, eight platforms, one codebase
- The problem
- A time-tracking SaaS had to live where people work: desktop tray, browser, phone and app stores.
- What I did
- I authored the original product vision and architecture in 2018 and made the first commit. React Native wrappers for iOS and Android, Electron for macOS, Windows and Linux, a Chrome extension, multi-tenant routing, SSO, Dockerized services, Paddle and Mac App Store subscriptions, CI/CD.
- Result
- Eight platforms shipped and run in production. The only engineer active in every year of the product, 8,000+ commits and close to half of all merges to trunk.
See also: Mobile & desktop apps · SaaS & MVP
CASA Tier 2 turned into a Playwright suite
- The problem
- OAuth access to Gmail requires Google’s CASA assessment every year. A questionnaire does not stop regressions.
- What I did
- Each CASA and OWASP ASVS control encoded as a Playwright test. E2E and visual regression across six browser and device targets, run on every pull request.
- Result
- CASA Tier 2 passed, Yahoo’s OAuth review passed, and an annual chore became a continuous check.
See also: TypeScript & Node.js · Mobile & desktop apps
From an AI-built MVP to a product people pay for
Your app works and the first users want more, but every change breaks something. I turn an MVP built with Claude, Lovable or Bolt into a product: tests, data that holds, payments, app stores, monitoring. In three-week slices.
FAQ
Questions
What does productizing an MVP mean?
Taking a working prototype to the point where strangers can rely on it and pay for it: tests, durable data, payments, monitoring and support. In Brooks’ terms, the road from a program to a programming systems product.
Do we have to rewrite the app?
Usually not. Most of it stays, and the slices add tests, fix the data model and replace the parts that keep breaking.
What does it cost?
Each slice is priced before it starts, at the rate in the configurator. You see the list with hours first and pick what goes into the slice.
Where do 9× and 10 to 90× come from?
Nine times is Fred Brooks, The Mythical Man-Month, 1975. The range of 10 to 90 times is our own estimate once you add running the product: operations, security and compliance, scale.
Can AI not do this part too?
It writes the code faster, and I use it every day. It does not decide what the product must guarantee, and it does not answer the phone when payments stop.
My project is small. Can you just help?
One small project a month, a few hours, for free or in exchange for a reference: a public review and permission to show the project as a case study.
Let’s find out in 30 minutes
A free 30-minute call. You bring the problem, I bring questions. Want a number first? The configurator shows hours, a price range and the start date.
If I am the wrong person I will say so on the call and point you to someone better.
or write to ciunkos@gmail.com
After you book: a calendar invite, then the call. Nothing else to fill in.
Calls this week · work starts 2 November 2026 · B2B contract or employment · Wrocław, Poland (CET), remote