Great ideas should not die for lack of a developer or a big cheque
Your idea, built properly. If you have a genuine software idea but not the capital to fund it or the technical team to build it, we can be that team. We build your product properly, real engineering, not vibe coding, in exchange for a fair share of what we help create.
We are building this here on purpose
Too often, when someone in East Anglia has a genuinely good idea, the message is the same: if you want it to go anywhere, move to London or Cambridge. So the talent, and the businesses it could have built, quietly drifts away to somewhere else.
We think that is the wrong way round. There is real ambition all along this coast and across East Anglia, people quietly building good things, and none of them should have to leave to be taken seriously. The Founders programme exists to find that talent and back it properly, putting our engineering behind founders so their ideas can start and grow right here.
No need to move away
A good idea should not depend on a London postcode. We back founders where they already are, so they can build something serious without uprooting their life to do it.
The talent is already here
Founders quietly building good things all along the coast, a growing scene in Norwich, and Cambridge on the doorstep. This corner has more going on than people realise.
People worth staying for
There is real drive here, and plenty of young people with the makings of their own business if they get the chance. We would rather they build it at home.
The best ideas rarely belong to the people with the funding
Every week someone has a genuinely good idea for a piece of software. They know their industry, they can see the gap in the market, and they know exactly who would pay for it. What they do not have is thirty or forty thousand pounds to commission a build, or a technical co-founder to make it real.
So the idea sits in a notebook. Or they pay a no-code tool a monthly subscription and stitch something fragile together that falls over the moment real customers arrive.
We think that is a waste. We have the one thing those founders are missing: a senior engineering team that builds proper software for a living. So instead of sending you an invoice you cannot afford, we back the idea itself and take a stake in it alongside you.
No upfront build cost
You do not need to raise capital or empty your savings to get a proper product built.
Built by people who know the industry
We are software engineers, not a subscription and a prompt. Privacy, compliance and code quality are in from day one.
We win when you win
We take a share, not a fee, so our incentive is a product that actually succeeds in the market.
Proper software, not a prototype held together with hope
Anyone can generate a demo now. Turning that into software that real customers trust with their data, their money and their business is a different job, and it is the one we have done for years.
Built to production standard
The same senior engineering we put into our own products goes into yours. No juniors learning on your idea.
Privacy and compliance in from the start
Data protection, a real privacy policy, and the legal groundwork done properly, not bolted on when something breaks.
Secure and maintainable
Code that another engineer can pick up and build on, designed for the lifetime of the business, not just the launch.
A partner who keeps building
As a shareholder we stay invested in the product long after launch, improving and maintaining it as you grow.
From idea to a working business, four honest steps
You pitch us
Tell us the idea, who it is for, and the gap in the market you have spotted. You do not need slides or a business plan, just a clear thought.
We assess it honestly
We look at whether it is buildable, whether there is a real market, and how much each side would bring. If it is not right for us, we will tell you plainly.
We agree fair terms
We set the equity split based on how much each of us puts in, write it down clearly, and everyone knows where they stand before a line of code is written.
We build and partner
We build it properly and take it to launch. You run the business, we run the technology, and we grow the thing together.
The stake reflects what each side brings
Because we invest our time and engineering rather than cash, our share tracks how much of the venture we carry. These are a guide to how we usually work, not fixed numbers. Every partnership is agreed individually.
A true joint venture
We are your technical co-founder and the engine that keeps the product running. We build it, then keep developing, maintaining and hosting it for the long term. You bring the idea, the industry knowledge and the drive to take it to market.
Best when the product needs constant engineering and we are carrying the technology indefinitely.
Built, launched, supported
We build your product to a proper standard and support it through an agreed window, then you own the roadmap and drive it forward. We stay a committed minority shareholder, not the day to day engine.
Best when you want a strong, well built launch and the confidence to run it yourself.
A small stake or a fair rate
If the idea, the design and the direction are entirely yours and you simply want a senior team to build it well, we can take a small stake or work at a founder friendly rate. Whichever keeps things fair on both sides.
Best when you have most of it worked out and just need proper engineering to make it real.
How we keep the deal honest
A partnership only works if it is fair when things go well and when they do not. So we build these protections in for both of us from the start.
Our time is measured, not guessed
We value the engineering we put in at a clear day rate and keep a simple record of it, so the stake is based on real investment, not a number plucked from the air.
Our share earns out as we deliver
Equity is tied to us actually building and supporting the product. If we ever stopped pulling our weight, you would not be handing shares away for nothing.
The company owns its product
The business owns its code and its intellectual property outright. We never hold your product hostage. Our own reusable tooling stays ours and is simply licensed in.
A clear way to buy us out
If you later want full control, there is an agreed formula to buy back our stake. You are never locked into a partner you have outgrown.
We back people, as much as ideas
We cannot build everything, so we are honest about what we take on. We are looking for founders we would be glad to be in business with for years.
You do not need to be technical. You do not need funding. You need a real idea and the drive to run the part of the business that is not the code.
- A real gap in the market. You can explain who would pay for this and why nothing already does the job.
- A founder who can run the rest. Sales, customers, marketing and the day to day. We handle the software, you handle the business.
- Something we would be proud to build. A space we believe in and want our name attached to.
- Someone we can be straight with. A partnership runs on honest conversations, so we look for people who want the same.
The East Coast comes first
We are based in Lowestoft, the most easterly point in the country, and we will happily work with founders anywhere in the UK. But this stretch of coast is where we are from and where our heart is, so founders here get our attention first.
Bring us the idea. We will bring the engineering. And maybe, in time, we can build something on this coast worth travelling for.
One day, the events should happen here too
Right now, if you want a room full of founders, mentors and people building things, you leave the region to find it. We would love to help change that.
Separate from the build work, our longer term hope is to help bring founder events and a real startup community to the East Coast, so the talks, the meetups and the momentum happen here rather than a few hours down the line. This part is early, and it is as much a personal ambition as a business one, but it is the direction we are pushing in. If you would like to help make it happen, we would love to hear from you.
Questions founders ask
Do I need to be technical?
No. You bring the idea, the industry knowledge and the drive to run the business. We handle the software and the engineering.
What does it cost me up front?
Nothing to build. Instead of an invoice you cannot afford, we take a fair equity stake and back the idea alongside you.
How much equity do you take?
It depends on how much each side brings. As a guide, up to 50% when we are your technical co-founder and ongoing engine, 15 to 30% when we build and launch it and you take the roadmap, or a smaller stake or a founder friendly rate when the idea and direction are entirely yours. Every partnership is agreed individually.
Who owns the software and the code?
The business owns its code and its intellectual property outright. We never hold your product hostage, and if you later want full control there is an agreed formula to buy back our stake.
Is this no-code or vibe coding?
No. It is real engineering, built to production standard, with privacy and compliance in from the start, by the same senior team that builds our own products.
Do you only work with founders in East Anglia?
We back founders on the East coast and across East Anglia first, because that is where we are from. But we are happy to work with founders anywhere in the UK.
Got an idea worth building?
No slides, no jargon. Just the idea, the gap you have spotted, and what you would need from us. If it is a fit, a senior engineer will reply and we will take it from there.
Prefer to read more first? Read our story.