An independent studio that ships software you can operate.
We are an independent digital studio founded in 2019. We design, engineer, and ship products across payments infrastructure, operations software, and project-shaped SaaS. We also work with selected teams on product development, engineering, and technical consultation — the same practice that produced Vellum's treasury stack and Halcyon's night desk.
Practice
Since 2019
Independent studio. Products first, selected builds second.
In production
28 systems
Catalog products and commissioned software still being operated.
Catalog
3 products
StablePay, Northframe, and Meridian — each with a public job.
First release
6-week median
A focused cut in a real environment, then a second cut from use.
Built from the systems people still operate by hand.
The studio began when a payments rebuild refused to fit a hosted processor. The team that owned the risk wanted software they could deploy, inspect, and hand to the next engineer. That engagement became StablePay. The next few years kept rhyming: freight exceptions living in a workbook, a creative studio invoicing from inboxes, a field company paying contractors through a vendor they could not explain. We kept the same shape — a product you can run, and a build only when the problem is written down.
- 2019
Studio opens
Independent practice. First commissioned products for operators who were tired of rented platforms.
- 2021
StablePay takes shape
A self-hosted gateway, sold as software. The catalog stops being a slide and becomes a deploy.
- 2023
Northframe ships
Halcyon's night desk becomes the first public proof that operations software can respect the after-hours shift.
- 2025
Meridian enters beta
Project-shaped firms get a workspace and a billing surface that can survive a change order.
Four things, one practice.
Products first. Everything else exists to keep the products honest — and to help selected teams make the same kind of decisions well.
Products
StablePay, Northframe, and Meridian: software you deploy, operate, and own. The catalog is the long-term asset and the reason the rest of the studio stays honest.
Explore the catalogEngineering services
Product development, frontend engineering, Web3 integration, and custom operational software for selected teams — with a written scope and a handover.
See the practicesTechnical consultation
Independent advice on architecture, payments, build-versus-buy, security readiness, and scope. Delivered as a written recommendation, not a slide deck.
Book a consultationWriting
Guides, engineering notes, and tips drawn from real deployments — the essays we would send a serious buyer before the first message.
Read the journalWhat we believe.
- Products are the proof
A studio is judged by what it ships. Catalog software and named engagements — not a slide of logos — are how we ask to be evaluated.
- Ownership beats rental
Where it matters, customers should control their infrastructure, data, and operational environment — especially for payments and core systems.
- Clarity is a feature
APIs, dashboards, and copy should be understandable. Complexity is allowed only when the problem requires it.
- After the demo matters
Deployment, backups, upgrades, monitoring, and support paths are part of the product. Shipping a screen is not the same as shipping a system.
Product-first means the catalog comes before the services page. Engineering-led means interfaces, APIs, deployment, and operations are designed as one system. Client work is how the catalog stays honest — Vellum's treasury, Halcyon's night desk, Aperture's change orders. We would rather own a focused catalog and take on the engineering required to keep it real.
Small on purpose.
We take a small number of engagements so the work stays focused. The sequence is deliberately short, and every step leaves a written artifact.
- Selected engagements
We take on a small number of projects so the work stays focused. Fit matters more than volume.
- Direct collaboration
You work with the people designing and building the software. No account-layer theatre.
- Written decisions
Architecture notes, trade-offs, and scope live in writing so the product can be maintained after the first release.
- Honest scope
If something is not a good fit, or is not ready to build, we say so. We do not invent a programme to fill a calendar.
- 01
Frame the problem
We start with the use case, the constraints, and who the software has to serve. Features come after the problem is clear.
A written problem, operator, and non-goals — not a feature dump.
- 02
Design the smallest complete product
A focused scope that can ship. Interfaces, data model, and operational shape are designed together — not as afterthoughts.
A bounded scope: screens, data, and how the system is run.
- 03
Engineer for production
Architecture, authentication, deployment, observability, and documentation are part of the build, not a later phase.
Software that can be deployed, observed, and handed over.
- 04
Ship, then iterate
We prefer a working system in a real environment over a long sequence of demos. Feedback from use drives the next cut.
A release in the environment that matters, then a next cut from use.
The people who build and write.
Engineers, product leads, and designers who operate the software they write about.
Layla Haddad
Principal Engineer, Payments Infrastructure
View profileDaniel Whitfield
Staff Engineer, Platform & Reliability
View profileEmily Sinclair
Head of Product
View profileOmar Farouk
Engagement Lead, Services
View profileMohamed Hasan
Design & Frontend Lead
View profileMohamed Saad
Smart Contract Developer
View profileEl Sayed Abd Almohaymen
Mobile Developer
View profileSystems people still run.
- Digital assetsVellum Markets
Vellum needed stablecoin settlement they could operate themselves — not another hosted processor with a black-box ledger.
Time to first live payment: 17 daysManual reconciliation: −64% - LogisticsHalcyon Freight
A regional freight operator replaced four shared workbooks with an exception-first operations layer their night shift could actually use.
Workbook usage after 30 days: RetiredMorning close time: 41 min → 12 min - Creative servicesAperture Collective
A forty-person studio needed client workspaces, entitlements, and invoices that matched how productions actually run — not how SaaS billing assumes they run.
Invoice cycle time: −38%Unbilled approved extras: Near zero
What this studio is not.
- Generic agency retainers with no product outcome
- Staff-augmentation benches disguised as a studio
- Hosting or custodial services presented as if they were the product
- Legal, tax, or compliance advice
- Unbounded 'digital transformation' programmes
The studio does not hold customer funds, run customer wallets, or act as a bank, and it does not provide legal, tax, or compliance advice.
Questions we get asked.
Is this a product company or an agency?
A product-focused digital studio. The catalog is the primary long-term asset. Services are a secondary channel for selected engagements — not the whole brand.
Do you only build Web3 products?
No. We work across SaaS, developer tools, business software, and Web3 where the problem actually requires it.
Can we hire you for a custom project?
Yes, for selected teams. Write what you are building, what you need help with, and any hard constraints. We respond when it is a good fit.
Do you offer technical consultation?
Yes. We advise selected teams on architecture, payments and Web3 integration, build-versus-buy decisions, security readiness, and scoping — as written Q&A, asynchronous reviews, and decision briefs that end in a written recommendation. We work entirely in writing over the text channel you choose — no calls — and agree scope and fee in writing first.
Where do product pricing and docs live?
With each product. Studio pages introduce the software and its status. Pricing, licenses, and documentation belong to the product experience as they are published.
Is StablePay a hosted payment processor?
No. StablePay is self-hosted software. You deploy and operate it. The studio does not hold customer funds or run customer wallets as a service.
Can we read client work before we talk?
Yes. Start with Vellum Markets, Halcyon Freight, and Aperture Collective on the Work page. Each study names the team, the problem, the stack, and what changed after handover.
Do you provide hosting, legal, or compliance services?
Not as part of the standard studio offering. Customers are responsible for infrastructure, legal, tax, and regulatory requirements in their own jurisdiction.
Have something worth building?
Whether you're looking for a software product or need a team to help build one, let's talk.