# Custom Software Development: Tools Built Around How You Work

DreamLabs is an AI-powered app development agency in California — a fractional product team for mobile and web apps, from strategy to launch.

Run your business on software shaped around the way it actually works. DreamLabs builds internal tools, integrations and AI features for companies whose work has outgrown spreadsheets and disconnected apps, as an AI-accelerated fractional product team that will also tell you when an off-the-shelf tool will do. The first step is a $4,000 two-week strategy sprint, refunded in full if we don't move forward together; most builds then take about 6 weeks.

By John Krueger and Tomás Quiñonez-Riegos. Updated October 7, 2026.

## Frequently asked questions

### How long does it take to build custom software?

Two weeks for the strategy sprint, then about 6 weeks for most builds, against the roughly 6 months a traditionally staffed build takes. Our own projects show the range: [KPI Dash](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/project/kpi-dash) shipped 15 features in four weeks of development, [Haikuists](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/project/haikuists) got the first version of a mobile app and a desktop web app in eight weeks, and [SimplSurf](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/project/simplsurf)'s no-code automation took two weeks. Larger systems ship in stages, each one usable on its own.

### How much does custom software development cost?

Every project starts with a $4,000 two-week strategy sprint, refunded in full if we don't move forward together. It produces a features table, wireframes for your core flows and the scope of your first release, and we quote the build from that scope. With AI handling much of the repetitive work, builds typically cost a fraction of what a traditional agency charges. Sometimes the sprint shows that your existing tools plus some automation will do, and then the right build is a small one.

### Should we buy off-the-shelf software or build our own?

Buy when a product already fits your workflow and the process isn't what sets you apart, then connect it to your other tools. Build when the workflow is your edge, when your tools can't share data cleanly, or when people spend hours copying between systems. SimplSurf needed no custom code: Typeform, Airtable, Webflow, Stripe, Zapier and Make replaced a pen-and-paper consignment process in two weeks. Haikuists' coordination was spread across HubSpot and various other apps, so a tool built around its workflow made sense. We'll tell you which side you're on in the strategy sprint.

### Can custom software work with the tools we already use?

Yes, and it usually should. We connect through each tool's API or an automation platform and keep the systems your team already likes. Haikuists' event records start in HubSpot, and automation brings them into the app. KPI Dash skips a custom integration for every system a venue might use: a manager forwards an email and the data lands in the dashboard. You own the code and every account it runs on, so nothing is locked to us.

## Who we are

Plenty of businesses run on a stack of tools that don't talk to each other, with people copying data between them. We build the software that ties that work together, as a small fractional product team in the San Francisco Bay Area: Tomás Quiñonez-Riegos leads product and John Krueger leads development. We ask why before we build, and sometimes the answer is that you don't need custom software at all.

[Haikuists](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/project/haikuists) coordinated more than 100 contract poets through conversations spread across various apps. We built it a private tool, a mobile app for poets and a desktop web app for the booking team, with event records flowing in from HubSpot automatically, and shipped the first version of both in eight weeks. [KPI Dash](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/project/kpi-dash) brings a hospitality manager's data out of separate systems with a simple email forward, and shipped 15 features in four weeks of development. And for [SimplSurf](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/project/simplsurf), connecting existing tools replaced a pen-and-paper consignment process in two weeks, with no custom code.

Whatever we build, you own the code, the accounts and the data.

## What we do

Every engagement starts by mapping the work as it happens today: who does what, in which tool, and where data gets copied by hand. From that map we scope the smallest system that removes the copying, then build it in Flutter or React on a Firebase, Supabase or custom back end, with APIs and automations connecting the tools you keep. AI drafts the scaffolding, repetitive code and tests; senior engineers own the architecture and the data model, and review every change.

We use AI inside the product too, where it earns its place. KPI Dash runs forwarded data through OpenAI steps on its way into the database, then explains the numbers in plain language, and [UNALTERED](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/project/unaltered) uses OpenAI and Gemini to suggest meals and workouts. If your team has already built something with AI coding tools, our [AI-generated code audit](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/services/ai-generated-code-audit) guide covers what to check before it handles real data.

**When we're not the right team:** if an off-the-shelf product already covers most of the workflow, buy it and automate the gaps; SimplSurf shows that connecting tools can be enough. If you need a large, multi-team program, a bigger firm will staff it better. And if you already have engineers and need technical leadership rather than a build team, read [fractional product team vs fractional CTO](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/services/fractional-product-team-vs-fractional-cto).

## What's included in Software Development?

- **Internal tools built around your workflow** — Private apps and dashboards for the people who run the business: scheduling, approvals, invoicing, messaging and reporting in one place, on desktop, mobile or both. Haikuists' poets handle event invitations, manage their availability and submit invoices in their app, while the booking team assigns poets and manages invoices from an admin dashboard.
- **Integrations that end the copy and paste** — Connections between the tools you already run, so data moves without anyone retyping it: CRMs, email, payments, spreadsheets and databases, linked through their APIs or automation platforms such as Zapier and Make. Haikuists' event records reach the app from HubSpot automatically, and creating a poet profile sends the email invitation on its own.
- **Back ends, APIs and AI features** — The data model, APIs, access rules and background jobs your product runs on, plus AI features where they help: insights, suggestions, search. We test access rules for every role and review AI-assisted code before it handles real data; our free [Firestore](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/services/firestore-security-rules-checklist) and [Supabase](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/services/supabase-rls-checklist) security checklists show what we check.

## Plan your build

- [How Much Does an MVP Cost?](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/services/mvp-cost.md)
- [How Long Does It Take to Build an App?](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/services/how-long-to-build-an-app.md)
- [Marketplace App Development Cost](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/services/marketplace-app-development-cost.md)

## Related work

- [Haikuists](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/project/haikuists.md): Private, native app for internal contractor management
- [KPI Dash](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/project/kpi-dash.md): AI-powered web app
- [SimplSurf](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/project/simplsurf.md): SaaS-enabled marketplace

> “They delivered on time every single time. They talked us through various options for each request and helped us to understand our problems more intimately. Their forcing us to translate our needs into "app-speak" gave us further clarity on what we were trying to accomplish.”

— Erick Szentmiklosy, Co-founder @ Haikuists

## More ways we build

- [App & Software Development in the San Francisco Bay Area](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/services/software-development-in-san-francisco.md)
- [Flutter App Development](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/services/flutter-mobile-app-development.md)
- [React & React Native App Development](https://www.dreamlabs.pro/services/react-native-mobile-app-development.md)

## Links

- Full page: https://www.dreamlabs.pro/services/software-development
- Offerings & pricing: https://www.dreamlabs.pro/offerings
- Contact: https://www.dreamlabs.pro/contact