01
What I do
Most products fit everyone a little. This fits you exactly.
Software you can buy is built for thousands of businesses at once, so it never quite matches yours.
- Built to fit you
- Software written around how your business already works, down to the words on the buttons.
- Yours when it is done
- You get the code. There is no seat count or plan tier, and nobody can change the terms on you later.
- Small enough to be worth doing
- Work too specific for a vendor to take on: a spreadsheet that has outgrown itself, a report nobody has time to assemble, or a tool your team would open every day.
02
The process
Keep it simple.
- 01
You tell me the problem
If you can use something off the shelf, I'll let you know.
- 02
You get a quote
One quote covers the build. Hosting and maintenance are priced separately.
- 03
I build it
I show you at least one prototype before the final product, so you can correct course.
- 04
I hand it over
You get the code, the accounts, and the instructions for running it. Hosted options are available too.
03
What it costs
A single price for the work.
Maintenance and hosting are priced separately.
The custom build pays for itself in month 14.
Over three years the subscription costs $9,000 against $3,720 for a custom build.
Try changing the numbers
A custom build is paid for all at once, with hosting and maintenance costs only if you need them. The cost of software as a service never stops growing.
- Building it Get a quote up front
- I'll start with discovery. I'm not here to sell you something you don't need: I want to hear about your problem and work with you on how to solve it.
- Hosting and maintenance Ongoing support if you need it
- If the software needs a server and you don't want to run it yourself, I can run it for you. I'm also happy to quote any changes you need.
- Keeping it Yours forever
- You get the source code and can modify it or run it however you like. I'll export your data for you for a fixed price.
04
Work
What it looks like when it's done.
Client work is mostly private, so the case studies below are my own tools.
Case study
An AI-powered calorie counter
I was tired of managing unreliable food databases, all in different units. So I made a calorie counter that takes plain English and estimates your macros.
calcifer.brickberry.io- Built for
- Myself
- Runs on
- iOS and Android
- Data
- On the device
- Accounts
- None
- Recurring cost
- Inference costs
Case study
A budgeting app for one household
Bank transactions sync into a database on the phone, and the month's reports are computed there. It installs directly on the devices that need it, with no app store and no subscription.
- Built for
- Myself
- Runs on
- iOS and Android
- Stack
- SvelteKit, Capacitor, Hono, SQLite
- Integrations
- Plaid for bank sync
- Recurring cost
- One small server
05
Who you are hiring
Jon Staab
Software engineer, protocol developer, founder.
- I maintain what I ship
- I have shipped and maintained production systems for more than fifteen years in multiple languages, across several domains.
- AI makes me faster, not qualified
- I use AI to accelerate my work, not to replace my expertise. I take pride in and responsibility for my work.
06
Get in touch
Tell me how I can help.
Half an hour on a call is enough for me to say whether a problem is worth solving, what it would require, and whether you should buy something off the shelf instead.