§ CoLab Studios Custom software · Automation · Engineering

The engineering
team you can't
justify hiring.

CS COLAB · STUDIOS · 01

CoLab Studios builds the software, automation, and brand systems small businesses actually need. Logos and identity that hold up in production. Workflows that run without you. Custom applications that replace spreadsheet duct tape. Integrations that make your existing tools work like one system.

Start a project How it works
Make.com n8n QuickBase Next.js Supabase Cloudflare HubSpot Stripe Twilio Claude API Make.com n8n QuickBase Next.js Supabase Cloudflare HubSpot Stripe Twilio Claude API
§ 01 — Who it's for

The right-fit client

If you're wiring things together instead of running your business, we should talk.

Studios is built for operators who have outgrown no-code duct tape but can't justify a full-time developer yet. Or who have a full engineering team and just need specialized help on the systems we know cold.

The common thread: you need real technical work done, you want it done right the first time, and you'd rather not manage a marketplace freelancer or wait three months for a contract agency to kick off.

F.01 Solo operators $500K–$10M businesses that hit the ceiling of what Airtable and Zapier can do
F.02 Ops teams Operators inside growing companies who need internal tools but don't have IT capacity
F.03 QuickBase shops Companies running QuickBase that need custom code pages, pipelines, or integrations
F.04 CoLab members Operate and Scale tiers get monthly Studios hours bundled in
§ 02 — What we build

Five practice areas

Five things we do exceptionally well.

Practice 01

Brand & design

Logos · Identity · Systems

The visual foundation your business runs on. Logos, brand identity systems, color palettes, typography, and the guidelines that keep everything consistent as you grow. Built to hold up in production — not just look good in the pitch deck.

  • Logo design & identity systems
  • Brand guidelines & style guides
  • Marketing & collateral design
  • Social & digital asset libraries
Practice 02

Automation & integration

Make.com · n8n · Zapier

Workflows that handle the repeat work your team shouldn't be doing. CRM syncs, lead routing, document generation, inter-tool orchestration. We self-host n8n on Hetzner when it makes sense and build on Make.com when it doesn't.

  • Lead enrichment & routing pipelines
  • Document and contract generation
  • Multi-tool syncs (HubSpot ↔ QuickBase ↔ Gmail)
  • Self-hosted workflow infrastructure
Practice 03

Custom applications

Next.js · Supabase · Cloudflare

Internal tools, customer portals, and full SaaS applications when no off-the-shelf product fits. We build on a modern stack — Next.js, Supabase, Cloudflare Workers — that stays maintainable long after we hand it off.

  • Internal operations dashboards
  • Customer-facing portals
  • Full SaaS products (MVP to production)
  • Mobile apps (React Native / Expo)
Practice 04

QuickBase engineering

Code pages · APIs · Pipelines

Deep QuickBase expertise — we've built and maintain a 13-app ecosystem serving 60+ operators with 200+ monthly deals. Custom code pages, pipeline automations, API integrations, and role-based permission systems.

  • Custom JavaScript code pages
  • REST and XML API integrations
  • Pipeline automation & webhooks
  • Audits, performance tuning, migrations
Practice 05

Infrastructure & ops

Self-hosted · Edge · Monitoring

The unglamorous work that makes everything else reliable. Self-hosted VPS deployment, Cloudflare Tunnels, monitoring, Git-based deploy pipelines, and the kind of infrastructure that lets you sleep at night.

  • Hetzner / Cloudflare deployment
  • Monitoring & uptime (Uptime Kuma)
  • Git-based auto-deploy pipelines
  • Cloudflare Tunnel & Zero Trust setup
§ 03 — Process

How engagements run

No six-week discovery phase. We start shipping week one.

DAY 0 Intro call 30 minutes. You describe what's broken or what needs to be built. We tell you honestly whether it's something we should take, something you should handle with a different vendor, or something you could do yourself with the right tool.
DAY 1–3 Scope & proposal Written scope with deliverables, timeline, and pricing. Flat project fees for defined work, hourly retainers for ongoing. No proposals longer than two pages.
WK 01 Kickoff & first ship First working piece of the system live within the first week. Always. If we can't ship something real in week one, the scope is wrong and we'll tell you.
WK 02+ Build & iterate Weekly check-ins, async progress logs, and a shared Notion or Linear workspace. You always know what's done, what's in flight, and what's next.
HANDOFF Documentation & transfer Every engagement ends with working documentation, repo access, and a walkthrough. The goal is that you can maintain and extend what we built, or bring us back on retainer — your call, not ours.
ONGOING Retainer (optional) Most clients roll into a monthly retainer after the first project. Same team, same systems, same speed — just a standing engagement.
Built for us first. Then for everyone who asked how we did it.
— The Studios approach
§ 04 — Stack

What we work in

Modern tools, used correctly.

Stack 01

Frontend

Modern, fast, maintainable.

  • Next.js 14+
  • React
  • Tailwind CSS
  • React Native / Expo
  • Astro (for marketing)
Stack 02

Backend

Typed, tested, production-ready.

  • Node.js / TypeScript
  • Supabase (Postgres)
  • Cloudflare Workers
  • Prisma / Drizzle
  • Zod validation
Stack 03

Automation

Self-hosted when it matters.

  • n8n (self-hosted)
  • Make.com
  • Zapier
  • Retool
  • Custom webhooks
Stack 04

Platforms

Deep integration expertise.

  • QuickBase
  • HubSpot
  • Stripe & Twilio
  • Google Workspace
  • Claude & OpenAI APIs
§ 05 — Engagement

How you work with us

Three ways to work together. Pick the one that fits.

Model 01

Bundled

Engineering hours inside your CoLab membership.

Incl. with membership
  • 2 hrs/mo on Operate tier
  • 6 hrs/mo on Scale tier
  • Same engineering team
  • Monthly usage reviews
  • Overage billed at $175/hr
See memberships
Most Common Model 02

Project

Fixed scope, fixed fee, defined deliverable.

$2K–$50K+
  • Written scope & timeline
  • 50% upfront / 50% on delivery
  • Typical range 2–12 weeks
  • Weekly progress updates
  • Full documentation & handoff
  • 30-day bug fix window included
Start a project
Model 03

Retainer

Ongoing engineering capacity, monthly.

$2.5K/ mo+
  • Starts at 20 hrs/month
  • Priority queue on your requests
  • Shared Notion / Linear workspace
  • Weekly sync call
  • Month-to-month, 30 days notice
  • Rolls unused hours up to 25%
Discuss retainer
§ 06 — Why Studios

What makes this different

We build our own products. So we think like founders, not contractors.

01

We ship our own software.

Telosi, HoliX, and a handful of other products run on the same stack we build client work on. Every pattern we use is one we use ourselves. No contractor-grade shortcuts.

02

Deep, not wide.

QuickBase. Make and n8n. Next.js and Supabase. We work in a deliberately narrow stack because depth beats breadth for the problems we solve. If your work doesn't fit, we'll tell you early.

03

Built to be maintained.

Typed code. Real documentation. Infrastructure-as-config. You can maintain what we build without us. We consider that the whole point.

04

Honest pricing, honest scope.

If a project isn't the right shape, we say so. If you'd be better served by a tool you can buy for $50/mo, we tell you that too. The number of projects we've talked clients out of is a stat we're weirdly proud of.

13APPS
Production systems shipped & maintained
60USERS
Active operators on systems we've built
200DEALS
Processed monthly through our workflows
7DAYS
Typical time from kickoff to first ship
§ FAQ

Straight answers

Before you start a project.

No. Most of our Studios clients are not CoLab members. Membership gives you bundled hours and priority access, but standalone project and retainer engagements are open to anyone.
Most projects land between $5K and $25K. Automation builds tend to be smaller, custom applications tend to be larger. We occasionally take on enterprise QuickBase work that goes significantly higher. Under $2K is usually better served by a membership's bundled hours.
Typically within one to two weeks of a signed scope. We don't take every project — when we say yes, we can start fast because we've already built the capacity around it.
The CoLab Studios team — led by our senior engineer who ships in production at Yardi and has built every one of our in-house products. Depending on scope, we pull in specialized contractors we've worked with for years. No outsourcing to unknown teams, ever.
We'll tell you directly, and often point you to someone who does. Our referral network includes designers, content teams, SEO specialists, and mobile-focused studios we trust. We'd rather send you to the right vendor than pretend we can do everything.
Rarely, and only in select cases where the strategic fit is strong. Most engagements are straightforward cash. If you're exploring an equity arrangement, tell us up front and we'll have an honest conversation about whether it makes sense for both sides.
Ready to build

Tell us what's broken. We'll tell you honestly if we can fix it.

Thirty-minute intro call, no pitch deck, no sales engineer. Just a direct conversation about what you're trying to ship.

Start a conversation Email directly