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A remote software agency that lets startup founders fund MVP development with a mix of cash and future equity.
10 customers since launch · one customer left · break-even
Sell ongoing product development, not a disposable build: SeriesCode kept every contract recurring and used a 50/50 cash-equity structure to reach founders short on cash.
Fewer bars = easier, cheaper, or faster for an AI-assisted solo builder. Editorial judgments based on the case details.
John Steele launched the parent company Auxiliary Teams in 2016 and rolled SeriesCode out in 2019 as a focused offer for startups that needed software but could not comfortably fund a traditional agency. The company builds SaaS products for founders rather than selling a software product of its own. Its pricing makes the wedge clear: a published $84 hourly rate can become $42 in cash when the customer accepts a 50/50 cash-equity split. A basic Chrome application is roughly $25K, while a SaaS web-app MVP aimed at a first dollar can be about $50K over 90 days, with half payable in cash. By December 2019, the company had 28 people worldwide, 10 customers since launch, $85K in monthly recurring revenue, and operations around break-even. The unusual financing layer is a SAFE balance with a 20% discount and no cap or interest, giving founders a way to preserve cash while SeriesCode participates if a later financing or sale creates liquidity.
SeriesCode's first-customer channel was a concentrated startup network rather than broad advertising. Steele mentioned founder-heavy places such as Techstars, the Rockies Venture Club, and similar events where people openly discuss the cost of turning an idea into an MVP.
The quick-reference card — acquisition channels, replication playbook, and risk map — is members-only.
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Two production-grade prompts per idea — a full build spec and an SEO growth plan — plus 10 tailored build specs a week. Members only.
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Data credibility: Founder interview; the $85K MRR, customer count, team size, growth, and break-even claim are self-reported and unaudited. The agency's customer and financing examples were described by John Steele, not independently verified.
For SeriesCode, the first dollar should arrive when a startup pays to move a narrowly defined MVP from idea to usable product. The agency's own framing is practical: specify the smallest release that can produce revenue, price that release, and make the cash requirement survivable.
The SeriesCode flywheel came from making the initial build only the first chapter of an ongoing product relationship. Its contracts were recurring statements of work, so the same team could handle maintenance, bug fixes, and feature releases after the MVP shipped.
A blended cash-and-equity agency has to survive the period before any client raises a round or produces a liquidity event.
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