A real estimate before you commit to a build
Discovery
Most estimates come from a sales call. Ours come from Discovery. In 1 to 2 weeks we interview your team, read your codebase and data, map the risks and write a build plan with milestones and a fixed quote.You own every document at the end. Take the quote to us or to anyone else. It is the entry point to a Fixed-price project and the fastest way to scope an AI sprint.
Our approach
Discovery is a short paid engagement, 1 to 2 weeks, with a fixed fee agreed up front. It turns a rough idea or a stuck project into a scope document, an architecture outline, a timeline, and a written quote for the build.
Most bad software projects go wrong before the first line of code. The scope was a guess. The estimate came from a sales call. Nobody read the old codebase. Discovery fixes that in two weeks, before you commit real money.
Discovery is not a free proposal and it is not a sales call. It is real work by senior engineers, and you keep everything we produce.
Here's what backs every engagement
You want a real estimate before you commit to a build.
You have a Lovable or Bolt prototype and need to know what it takes to make it production-grade.
Your last vendor failed and you need an honest read of what they left behind.
You run an agency or a Shopify store and want to know which parts of your stack are worth automating first.
Your team has a budget to approve and needs a written plan to approve it against.
You are not sure if the idea is a fixed-price project, an AI sprint, or something smaller.
At the end you hold a scope, a plan, a risk list, and a quote you can take to anyone. Build with us, build with someone else, or do not build at all. Your call.
Discovery at a glance
What we need from you is small. Access to the code, the data, and the tools we need to read. One decision maker who can answer questions and sign off. About two hours of interview time spread over the engagement. We do the rest.
What you own at the end is everything. The scope document, the architecture outline, the risk list, the milestone plan, and the quote are yours. There is no obligation to build with us. We sign an NDA before we see anything, and we are happy to sign yours.
Founders
Bring a Lovable, Bolt, or v0 prototype. We map what is real, what is fake, and what has to be rebuilt before it can take paying users.
Ecommerce brands
Bring your Shopify store, apps, and support stack. We find where cart recovery, support, and content automation would pay off first.
Agencies and SaaS teams
Bring your reporting stack, your CRM, or your product codebase. We scope the AI feature or the internal tool and tell you what it will cost to ship.
With great AI comes great responsibility, and TechEmulsion takes that responsibility seriously.
Why it's different
What Makes Discovery Different
01
Senior engineers do the work
Discovery is not run by sales. The people who read your code and write your plan are the engineers who would build it. The estimate comes from people who will be held to it.
02
We read the code, not the pitch
We open the repo, the database, and the integrations. For a prototype we test what actually works. For a failed project we find out what is salvageable. Nothing in the plan rests on a guess.
03
A quote you can take anywhere
The scope document and quote are written so another vendor could bid on them. That keeps us honest. You are paying for clarity, not for a pitch that only we can deliver.
04
Risks on paper before money moves
Every discovery ends with a risk list. Missing data, shaky integrations, unclear ownership, compliance gaps. You see them in week two, not in month four.
05
Fast to start, fixed to finish
We agree the fee and the dates up front. Kickoff is usually within a week of signing. The readout lands on the date we said, with every deliverable in the list.
Across the SDLC
Two Weeks, Six Steps
From discovery and architecture through development, integration, and optimization:
01
Kickoff
- One call to agree goals, constraints, and what a good outcome looks like.
- We sign the NDA and get access to code, data, and tools.
- We confirm the one decision maker and the interview schedule.
02
Interviews
- Short calls with the people who use, sell, or support the product.
- We capture the real workflow, not the one on the slide.
- About two hours of your team's time in total.
03
Technical review
- We read the codebase, the data model, and every integration.
- Prototypes get tested for what is real and what is mocked.
- Findings go into the risk list as we go.
04
Architecture and plan
- We draft the target architecture and the stack we would use.
- The scope is split into milestones with a clear order.
- We list what we would build, what we would buy, and what we would drop.
05
Estimate and quote
- Each milestone gets an effort estimate and a timeline.
- We write a fixed quote for the build and the assumptions behind it.
- The quote is written so any vendor could price against it.
06
Readout
- One session to walk through the scope, plan, risks, and quote.
- You get every document in editable form.
- You decide the next step. A Fixed-price project, an AI sprint, or nothing.
Client outcomes
Sales Call Estimate vs Discovery
The difference between an estimate from a sales call and an estimate from discovery shows up later, in the build. Here is where it shows up.
| Task | Before | After | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope changes after the build starts | Estimate from a sales call: scope shifts as the team learns what the product really needs | Estimate from discovery: scope is written down and agreed before the build starts | Fewer change requests, because the unknowns were found first |
| Surprises in the existing codebase | Estimate from a sales call: nobody read the code, so problems show up mid-build | Estimate from discovery: the code, data, and integrations are reviewed in week one | Problems land on the risk list, not in the sprint |
| Budget approval | Estimate from a sales call: a range with wide error bars and no paper behind it | Estimate from discovery: a fixed quote with milestones and stated assumptions | A number your team can approve against |
| Choosing a vendor | Estimate from a sales call: every vendor quotes a different scope, so bids do not compare | Estimate from discovery: one scope document any vendor can bid on | Bids compare like for like |
Discovery does not make a project cheap. It makes the price honest. You know what you are buying before you buy it.
Tools & platforms
What We Read During Discovery
We work inside whatever you already have. Discovery needs read access, not a new tool. Every deliverable is handed over in a format your team can edit.
- Your repo on GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket, read-only access is enough
- Lovable, Bolt, or v0 prototypes for founders
- Shopify admin, apps, and support tools for ecommerce brands
- Reporting and CRM stacks for agencies, such as HubSpot, Google Analytics, and ad platforms
- Supabase, Postgres, or whatever holds your data
- Figma, Notion, or Google Docs for the scope, plan, and quote
Why TechEmulsion
Why Scope with TechEmulsion
1 to 2 weeks
From kickoff to readout, with dates fixed up front
1 decision maker
All we need from your side, plus about two hours of interviews
Written quote
A fixed price for the build that any vendor could bid against
30+ AI products
Shipped since 2023, so the estimates come from people who have done it
Top Rated Plus
On Upwork with 100% JSS on the agency profile
US LLC
Registered in Wyoming, contracts and NDAs under US law