Custom AI, built for a business your size.
The tool your business actually needs probably does not exist as a subscription. I build custom AI solutions with the intelligence where it earns its place, and you own the code when it ships.
Businesses I have built for in Monterey County
- RC Builders
- Revive Beauty Bar
- Fleet Tech of Salinas
- Cortes Express Detailing
- Revive and Thrive Junk Removal
The real problem
Off-the-shelf fits everyone a little and nobody well.
You end up with four tools that each do sixty percent of the job, none of which talk to each other, and a spreadsheet holding the whole thing together. Every month you pay per seat for the parts you do not use, and every year that number goes up.
Custom used to be out of reach at your size. Quotes came back in six figures because a team of eight was billing hours against it, and half those hours went to meetings about the work rather than the work.
That changed. One person with the right tools now builds what a small team used to, in weeks rather than quarters. The price came down with it, and it came down far enough that a $6,000 tool can replace $400 a month in subscriptions and pay for itself inside two years.
What custom AI development actually looks like.
AI goes where it does the work. Everywhere else, ordinary software is faster, cheaper, and more predictable.
Customer-facing assistants
Something on your site that reads your real content, handles the awkward questions, and books the appointment. Not a decision tree with three buttons.
Quoting and estimating tools
Enter the job details, get a priced quote out in your format, sent while the customer is still on the phone.
Intake and routing
Forms that ask the right follow-up based on the last answer, then send the lead where it needs to go with the context attached.
Document handling
Invoices, permits, spec sheets, insurance forms. Pull the numbers out, file them, flag the ones that look wrong.
Internal dashboards
One screen showing what came in, what is booked, what is owed, and what needs chasing. This is what replaces the spreadsheet.
Public calculators and estimators
A tool that gives your visitor a real answer and captures a lead while it does. I have shipped several of these and they consistently outperform a contact form.
Three of those are live and public. Click through and use them.
01
MC Mortgage Calculator
Live rates including ITIN, four questions to a real monthly cost of ownership.
Open the live build
02
TRS Retirement Calculator
A pension estimate teachers can actually run themselves.
Open the live build
03
Roof Measurement Report
A roof measured from the address, priced before the site visit.
Open the live buildWho this is for.
Ideal fit- 1
You have outgrown the spreadsheet.
It works, barely, and only you know how. It breaks when anyone else touches it, and you have started building your week around not breaking it.
- 2
You are paying per seat for software you half use.
A custom build you own has no per-seat fee and no annual increase. Run the two numbers over three years before you decide it is expensive.
- 3
Your process is the thing that makes you money.
You do something specific that no vendor built for. That is worth building around rather than working around, and it is usually the reason customers pick you.
- 4
You want a tool your customers use.
A calculator, an estimator, a portal. Something that does real work for them and turns a visitor into booked work while it does.
Not the right fit if
An off-the-shelf tool already does the job. If Jobber or Housecall Pro covers your workflow, use it. It is cheaper than anything custom and I will tell you so.
Also not a fit if you want AI in the product because it sounds good rather than because it does something specific.
And if you need enterprise compliance work, SOC 2 or HIPAA infrastructure, you want a firm with a compliance team. That is not me and pretending otherwise would cost you more than the build.
How a build runs.
- 1
Scope it properly
What the tool does, who touches it, what it connects to, and what finished means. Written down and agreed before anything gets built. This is where projects are saved or lost.
3-5 days Written scope
- 2
You see it early and ugly
A working version with no styling on it, so you can tell me it is wrong while changing it is still cheap.
1 week Clickable build
- 3
Build
Sprints you can watch. A staging link that updates as it goes, so you are never waiting on a reveal.
3-8 weeks Live staging
- 4
You try to break it
Real data, real awkward cases, before anyone outside sees it. You will find things. That is the point.
1 week Fix list
- 5
Ship and hand over
Live, documented, and yours. Code included, so any developer can pick it up.
Ongoing Handover doc
Every build starts with a conversation.
Fixed price, scoped in writing before anything gets built. Tell me what is eating your week and I will tell you what it would take to fix, including whether it is worth building at all.
Booked through the concierge, against my real calendar. English or Español.
Straight answers.
I am Roberto. I scope every build, write the code myself, and hand it over documented. One person, accountable for the outcome.
How is this different from hiring a developer on Upwork?
You get one person accountable for the outcome rather than the hours. The scope is written and fixed before the build starts. And when it ships you get documented code, so you are not tied to me to keep it running.
How is it different from an offshore AI development company?
Time zone, accountability, and the fact that I am one person you can call. Offshore shops are genuinely cheaper per hour. They are also managing forty projects, and the person who wrote your scope is not the person writing your code. For a build this size that difference costs more than it saves.
Do I own it?
Yes. Code, data, domain. Hosting stays with me unless you want to move it, and if you move it I help.
What if I need changes later?
Small changes come under a care plan. Larger ones get scoped and quoted like any other build. Nothing in the arrangement stops you going elsewhere.
How long does it take?
A small tool is two to four weeks. A full custom build is four to ten. That assumes you can get me decisions and information at the pace the process needs, which is usually what actually sets the timeline.
Is this the same as AI app development?
Mostly, yes. The phrase people search changes every year. What you are buying is software built for your business with AI in the parts where it helps, whether that arrives as a web app, an internal tool, or something on your site your customers use.
Does it work in Spanish?
Yes, and written in Spanish rather than run through a translator. Every screen, every message, every error state.
What if the AI gets something wrong?
The parts that have to be exactly right do not run through a model. AI goes where judgment helps and the answer can be checked. For the parts that do answer questions, the grounding is explained in plain terms in the What is RAG post on the blog.
Not sure it is worth building yet.
That is what the strategy session is for. Two hours, a costed plan, and an honest answer about whether the numbers work. It is $500 and it comes off the build if you go ahead.
- Spanish written, not translated
- 48-hour starter turnaround
- Founder-built in Salinas
- Every number sourced
- Sub-2-second loads
- Owned by you, hosted by us
- Built around your booked job
- One playbook, every city
- Spanish written, not translated
- 48-hour starter turnaround
- Founder-built in Salinas
- Every number sourced
- Sub-2-second loads
- Owned by you, hosted by us
- Built around your booked job
- One playbook, every city