How Aquarel Works & Transparent Pricing
Aquarel operates on a transparent 4-step engagement model designed for Non-Technical Founders: (1) a free 20-minute Triage Call before any repository access is shared, (2) a complimentary 48–72 hour Initial Codebase Audit with a plain-English Loom video, (3) Fixed-Scope Rescue Sprints starting at $1,000–$1,500, and (4) optional month-to-month Fractional TechOps Retainers from $1,000/mo capped at 2 active clients.
From First Conversation to Vibe-Safe Production Handover
Step 1: Free 20m Triage Call (or 1-Business-Day Async Reply)
Tell me what's broken. You shouldn't hand repository access to a stranger, so we talk first—zero sales reps, zero hard sell. We verify my identity and sign a mutual NDA before touching any code.
- ✓ Live symptom review and platform/stack sanity check directly with Dositej Grbović
- ✓ Direct personal LinkedIn verification and mutual NDA execution before repo access
- ✓ Immediate routing to the Free 48h Codebase Audit or 24–48h Emergency Stabilization Fast-Track
Step 2: Complimentary 48h Codebase Audit ($0)
For qualified apps after Step 1, I perform a read-only diagnostic of your authentication, Supabase RLS policies, Stripe webhook integrity, and architectural bottlenecks—at $0 cost and zero obligation.
- ✓ Red / Yellow / Green Risk Scorecard isolating P0 launch blockers from healthy code to keep as-is
- ✓ 10–15 minute plain-English Loom video walkthrough showing root causes without engineering jargon
- ✓ Prioritized Rescue Plan & exact Fixed-Price Rescue Sprint quote (no hourly billing surprises)
Step 3: Fixed-Scope Rescue Sprint ($1,000–$1,500+) or 24–48h Emergency Fast-Track ($1,500+)
A bounded 1–2 week execution sprint fixing your P0 security, auth, billing, and monolith bugs in clean Pull Requests tested on staging—or immediate 24–48h Emergency Stabilization Fast-Track if live production is down.
- ✓ All P0 and agreed P1 fixes shipped via isolated, reviewable Pull Requests verified on staging first
- ✓ Hardened Supabase RLS policies, server-only secrets, and idempotent Stripe webhook synchronization
- ✓ Signature Vibe-Safe Handover: custom CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, .cursorrules, and automated regression checks
Step 4: Fractional TechOps Retainer ($1,000+/mo, capped at 2 active client slots)
Ongoing senior engineering stewardship for founders who want a Principal Engineer guarding production deploys, reviewing AI-generated PRs, and shipping complex integrations month-to-month.
- ✓ Staging-first environment updates, regression monitoring, and async priority planning included
- ✓ Weekly PR and AI-code reviews before production deploys plus complex feature/integration execution
- ✓ Strictly capped at 2 active client slots (1 currently open) to guarantee direct senior execution and founder accountability
Aquarel Senior Software Engineering Practice vs. $30k–$80k Agency Rewrites vs. Marketplace Freelancers
| Criterion | Aquarel Senior Software Engineering Practice | Traditional Dev Agency ($30k–$80k Rewrite) | Random Marketplace Freelancer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default Diagnosis & Scope | Keep the 80% that works; surgically fix the broken 20% in 1–2 weeks | "We need to rewrite this from scratch ($30,000–$80,000 over 3–6 months)" | Patches symptoms directly on live production without a root-cause audit |
| Upfront Discovery & Audit Cost | $0 Complimentary 48h Initial Codebase Audit + 10–15 min Loom Video | $2,500–$5,000 paid discovery phase before quoting implementation | Demands live production & repo keys before understanding the architecture |
| Typical Turnaround & Cost | Fixed-Scope Rescue Sprints from $1,000–$1,500+ (1–2 weeks); 24–48h Emergency from $1,500 | $30,000–$80,000+ open-ended billing with frequent change orders | Cheap hourly rate that balloons as new regressions appear every week |
| Who Actually Writes the Code | Dositej Grbović personally (Principal Engineer, 4+ yrs multi-million-user SaaS Tech Lead & MemberFix veteran) | Senior partner pitches you on the sales call; junior subcontractor writes the code | Unverified solo generalist or anonymous subcontracted agency seat |
| Security Posture & Deployment Safety | Mutual NDA first, read-only audit, isolated staging PRs, strict RLS & webhook idempotency | Heavy process overhead; slow response during live production emergencies | Cowboy edits in production; frequently disables RLS or hardcodes API keys to make bugs disappear |
| Code Ownership & Post-Rescue AI Safety | 100% client IP ownership + Vibe-Safe Handover (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, .cursorrules, CI checks) | Proprietary agency boilerplate requiring an expensive ongoing agency retainer | Raw code dump with zero documentation or AI prompt guardrails |
Why Non-Technical Founders Hand Over Production Keys With Zero Anxiety
Talk First Before Repo Access
Meet Dositej live on a 20-min Triage Call, verify credentials, and sign an NDA before granting repo access.
"Do No Harm" Staging & PRs
No editing live production files. Every fix ships in isolated PRs tested in staging with rollback safety.
10–15 Min Loom Walkthroughs
Every audit and sprint includes a plain-English video walkthrough of the root cause and the fix—zero jargon.
100% IP & Vibe-Safe Handover
You own all code, keys, and custom CLAUDE.md & AGENTS.md guardrails so future prompts never break production.
Process, Pricing & Retainer FAQ
Why do you offer the Initial 48-Hour Codebase Audit for $0? +
Non-Technical Founders have usually already been burned by AI prompt loops, a flaky freelancer, or a high-pressure agency pitch. Offering a complimentary 48-hour diagnostic after a 20-minute Triage Call removes all guesswork: you see the exact Red/Yellow/Green scorecard, watch a 10–15 minute plain-English Loom video of your own repository, and get a fixed-price Rescue Sprint quote before spending a dollar.
What determines whether a Fixed-Scope Rescue Sprint is $1,000, $1,500, or more? +
Price is determined strictly by the number of P0/P1 subsystems that require surgical remediation during your 48-hour Codebase Audit. A focused single-subsystem rescue (such as locking down Supabase RLS policies or fixing a broken Stripe webhook handler) starts at $1,000–$1,500. Multi-subsystem rescues combining RLS, Stripe billing, SSR auth, and decomposing 3,000-line AI god-components into a Vibe-Safe Handover are quoted as a single transparent fixed price before work begins.
How does the 24–48 Hour Emergency Stabilization Fast-Track ($1,500+) work? +
If your live production app is actively bleeding revenue—broken Stripe checkout, locked-out paying members, exposed customer data, or a crashed server—select "Production Emergency" on the /triage page. Your submission triggers an immediate [P0 EMERGENCY TRIAGE] alert to my phone with a 2–4 business hour response window, bypassing the standard audit queue to ship hotfix stabilization within 24–48 hours.
Why is the Fractional TechOps Retainer capped at 2 active client slots? +
Aquarel is a senior software engineering practice, not a volume staffing agency. Capping ongoing Fractional TechOps Retainers at 2 active clients (starting at $1,000/month, month-to-month with zero lock-in) guarantees that I personally review your Pull Requests, maintain your staging environment, and respond rapidly when you need senior architectural stewardship.
Ready to Find Out What's Actually Broken—For Free?
Book a 20-minute Triage Call or send your broken app asynchronously. We talk first, sign a mutual NDA, and if we're a fit, I deliver your 48-hour Codebase Audit and Loom walkthrough at zero cost.