UnderstudyBuild it together.
Understudy is your AI build partner. I help you discover the idea, build the product, and automate the work that moves your vision forward — starting today for just $150. You lead. We build. Together.
Know exactly what you want, and speak the tech? See the technical breakdown →
Every great dream deserves a great teammate.
Understudy exists to help you build the business you imagine — with an AI that works alongside you, each of you doing what you do best toward the same vision. The future isn't humans versus AI. It's humans and AI, building together.
We Partner With You
You bring the vision. I bring the strategy, the build, and the AI.
We Build Together
Small, transparent steps that ship something real at every stage.
We Help It Run
AI teammates that handle the busywork and support your growth.
You Achieve More
Move faster, scale smarter, focus on what only you can do.
How it works
Three steps, no agency runaround.
Tell me your idea
Type what you want to build. You get a clear plan, the right package, the timeline, and a fixed price — up front.
Pick a package
Transparent, scoped pricing. You know exactly what you're getting — and what isn't included — before you pay a cent.
I build it & hand it over
Live on your domain, fully yours. And if you want it, an understudy — an agent that learns a function and runs the show.
New to AI agents? Here's the plain version.
Think of an agent as an assistant that learns one job and does it for you — drafting your posts, handling routine replies, sorting your data, sending the follow-ups. The difference from "AI that just chats": an agent actually does the work.
And you're always the boss. It checks with you before anything important, keeps a record of everything it does, and you can stop it any time. You stay the lead — the understudy just makes sure the show goes on.
Not sure what you'd even build? That's the normal place to start — pick "Help me figure it out" above and we'll find it together.
Work with me — a consultation
We shape your idea together: I help you scope it, map the phases, and figure out what your budget gets you first. Paid upfront — and it credits toward your build if you move forward.
An understudy learns the role — and supports the lead.
Every founder needs one: something that learns a part of the job and can run it without you. That's the hard, valuable part of AI — not generating text, but doing real work safely, evaluated, and under your control. I've shipped exactly that: an autonomous multi-agent system running live, with a critic that vets every action and a human gate before anything ships. You're always the lead. The understudy just makes sure the show goes on. And because I use my own agents to help build, the prices stay fixed and fair.
What I've shipped
Real, deployed systems — built end to end.
AI Content Engine
This is the engine that runs the marketing for my own book series. It reads my story's codex, writes a week of posts for every platform — Instagram, Threads, Facebook, Bluesky, Patreon, email — and stacks them for me to approve. I just glance and say yes. Give it a goal like "grow my audience this week" and it plans the whole content drop itself; it never posts without my OK, with budget caps and a kill switch behind it.
Cosmic Blueprint
A subscription website that's live and taking payments: people sign up, pay, and get personalized, AI-written reports. Built start to finish.
View live →
Three Mountaintops
A membership platform where one login unlocks the right content across a website and two games — paying members see more, everyone else gets a taste.
View live →
Pulse Desk
A live trading dashboard that pulls real market data, runs the math, and scores how strong a setup is — checked against years of history before it trusts a signal.
Authors Codex
A complete writing workspace that holds an entire book series in one place — every chapter, character and location, a visual story map, and trailers. AI tools answer questions about your own world and turn a raw manuscript into a structured codex automatically.
View live →
Michael
A live AI app that pulls together many data sources and turns them into a single, clear, personalized daily guide — regenerated for each person, every day.
What clients say
"He ships real, working software — not half-done demos. He took my idea and turned it into something live that people actually use. I'd work with him again."
— Tori Indigo · Cosmic Atlas
Where founders start
Every project begins the same way — one small step for $150. These are the shapes a build usually grows into, but you only ever pay for the next step.
MVP Launch
- Next.js + Supabase web app
- Auth & secure data (RLS)
- Up to 3 core features
- Responsive, deployed to your domain
- Repo + walkthrough — you own it all
Operator Agent
An autonomous agent that runs one function — content, support, or ops.
- Tool-using agent + a Critic that vets its work
- Human-in-the-loop — it never goes on without your cue
- Safety rails: kill switch, budget caps, full audit log
- You inherit & own it; monthly support keeps it sharp
AI Feature
- One Claude-powered feature, done right
- Assistant, structured generation, or
- RAG — “chat with your docs,” with citations
- Server-side keys + an eval harness
- Standalone, or added to your app
Straight answers
How does paying work?
You start for $150 and pay step by step — each step has a clear price before I begin it, based on an honest hours estimate at $75/hr. No big upfront bill, no surprise invoices, ever. You only ever fund the next step.
Do I own everything?
Completely — the code, the accounts, and the agent. I hand it over with a walkthrough so you can run it. No lock-in.
Is it safe to let an AI agent run?
It never acts unsupervised by default. Human approval, a kill switch, budget caps, and a full audit log are built in. The understudy supports the lead — it doesn't replace you.
What if my idea doesn't fit a package?
The quote tells you honestly. If it's bigger, we scope it before you commit — and I'll tell you if you shouldn't build it, or if I'm not the right fit.
What about ongoing help?
Every build ships with handoff docs and a walkthrough. Operator Agents come with an optional monthly retainer for support, safety monitoring, and tuning.
See what it costs — instantly.
New idea, not sure yet, or already have a site? Pick a lane — you'll get a tailored, start-small plan in seconds.
Instant, free, no obligation — or it lands straight in my inbox.
Your dream deserves a partner.
Start today for $150 and take the first real step toward building it.