ZeroHour Engineering
Embedded product engineering — we join your team and ship. Async-first, full ownership, continuous delivery.
Ideal forlean startups
Hiring is broken. So is most outsourcing.
If you've tried to staff a senior product engineer in the last two years, at least one of these is familiar.
The 90-Day Ramp
Three months and a quarter of a salary in before your new senior hire ships their first feature.
The $200K Bet
$180K base, equity, benefits, equipment, manager time — all wagered on someone you interviewed for six hours.
The Wrong-Shape Problem
You needed a product engineer. The market gave you a backend specialist who'd rather not touch the frontend.
The Always-On Pipeline
You're recruiting full-time on top of running the company. The good ones already have offers. The available ones are available for a reason.
The Single Point of Failure
One engineer. One opinion. One context. They take vacation and the roadmap stops.
The Exit Cost
It's not working. You knew it at month two. Now there's a severance conversation, an awkward all-hands, and another six months of rebuilding.
Embedded Product Engineering
Async-first, outcome-focused, continuous shipping. Here's what working with us looks like.
Kick Off
We learn what you're building, align on priorities, and set up your workspace. Start working immediately.
Build
We work through your backlog with focus and speed. One task at a time, daily async updates, no surprises.
Ship & Iterate
Review, refine, deploy. Unlimited revisions until it's right. Then move to the next priority.
How can we help you
The shape of the work we're fastest at — because it's the same shape we ship for our own products.
AI-Native Products
Full-stack AI applications with intelligent agents, copilots, and automation.
MVPs & V1 Products
From idea to shipped product. Fast, focused, production-ready.
Production Features
Add AI capabilities to your existing product — search, recommendations, automation.
Integrations & APIs
Connect AI models, third-party services, and internal systems.
AI-augmented.
Human-led.
We ship at startup speed because we build with the best tools — including AI.
Not the "let AI write spaghetti" way. The smart way. Every line still gets reviewed. Every feature still gets tested. We just don't waste time on the parts machines do better.
The result? We ship 2–3× faster than traditional dev teams — without cutting corners on quality.
Agentic Engineering
Repetitive patterns handled instantly.
Rapid prototyping
Iterate faster than ever.
Automated testing & reviews
Catch issues before they ship.
Instant documentation
Type safety and docs on the fly.
AI integrated deeply into our workflow — not to replace engineering judgment, but to amplify it.
Pick the plan that fits your runway
All plans include the same scope of work. Pause or cancel anytime on monthly.
Trial
See how we work, risk-free
Quarterly
Commit to momentum
Billed quarterly ($33,000)
Support
Keep it running
Six-month commitment
Save $12,000 on the longest plan.
Same engineers. Same scope. Same async-first cadence. The longer you commit, the more you save — without locking yourself into anything you can't pause.
ZeroHour vs. the alternatives
How an embedded engagement compares to the other ways founders staff product engineering.
| ZeroHour | Full-time hire | Agency | Freelancer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time to first ship | 48 hours | 2–3 months ramp | Weeks of scoping | Days to find one |
| Who writes the code | Senior product engineers | One hire, one shape | Junior devs + PMs | Hit or miss |
| Cost shape | Fixed monthly, predictable | $200K+ all-in / yr | Hourly + scope creep | Hourly |
| Communication | Async daily updates | Daily standups | Weekly meetings | When they remember |
| Code & IP ownership | You own everything | Yours | Vendor lock-in | Usually theirs |
| Capacity flex | Pause or cancel anytime | Hire to scale, fire to shrink | Long contracts | Project-based |
| Knowledge concentration | Documented, transferable | Single point of failure | Spread across team | Sole context-holder |
| Exit cost | Cancel anytime | Severance + rehire | Contract unwind | Mostly clean |
← Scroll horizontally to compare →
Why We're Different
Not promises. Not corporate speak. Just the things that actually matter when you're trying to ship.
Product Engineers, Not Code Monkeys
We don't just write code — we build products. You get senior engineers who've shipped at scale, not juniors padding hours.
We Ship When We Say We Ship
Daily async updates mean no surprises. You'll always know where things stand. Because 'soon' isn't a timeline.
No Meeting Could've Been an Email
Async by default. You get updates, not calendar invites. We respect your time because we know it's your scarcest resource.
You Own Everything. Always.
Your code, your repo, your documentation. No hostage situations. Walk away anytime with everything you paid for.
Built by Founders, for Founders
We've been where you are. We know what it's like when dev goes wrong. That's why we do this differently.
AI-Augmented Engineering
We've integrated AI into every part of our workflow — code generation, testing, documentation. One engineer delivers what used to take a small team.
20+ years replacing manual work with systems that move on their own.
Before AgentiveStack, we shipped products and systems for BMW, Allianz, and Hella Gutmann. Then spent 5 years helping startups and founders build and ship. Every engagement taught us the same lesson: the best software does the work, not just hold the data.
From Fortune 500 companies to fast-moving startups
What We Won't Do
Transparency matters. Here's what we don't do. Here's what you won't get from us.
No AI washing
We won't slap 'AI-powered' on a feature that's just if-else logic.
No vague timelines
'A few months, depends on scope' isn't a timeline. We give you fixed weeks.
No surprise invoices
The price we quote is the price you pay. Period.
No PowerPoint-only consulting
We don't deliver decks. We deliver working software.
Common Questions
Why not just hire a full-time developer?+
Full-time senior dev: $180K+ salary, benefits, equipment, 3-month ramp-up. With us, you get senior-level work starting in 48 hours. Pause when you don't need it. No severance.
How fast will you deliver?+
First delivery within 48 hours. Average request turnaround: 48-72 hours. Complex features might take a week. You'll always know the timeline upfront.
How does async work... work?+
Daily updates in Slack or email. Need to give feedback? Drop a Loom, leave a comment, or type it out. We respond within hours. When we need to sync, we schedule a quick call.
What tech stack do you work with?+
React, Next.js, TypeScript, Node.js, Convex, Supabase, Tailwind — the modern stack. AI integrations: OpenAI, Anthropic, custom agents, RAG. We deploy to Cloudflare, Vercel, AWS, self-hosted VPS.
Can I start with an audit first?+
Yes — our Audit service is a great way to understand your codebase before committing to engineering. Many clients do an audit first, then use the findings as the starting backlog.
Who actually does the work?+
Our founder, Hak — 20+ years building software, from enterprise systems (BMW, Allianz) to startup MVPs to AI-native products. Same person who builds Arguz and Klarq.
Who owns the code?+
You do. 100%. Your repo, your IP, your documentation. No hostage situations. Walk away anytime with everything you paid for.
How do I get started?+
Book a 15-minute call. We'll talk about what you're building and whether we're the right fit. You can be shipping within days.
First delivery in 48 hours
Your next release, closer than you think.
Tell us what you're building. We embed with your team and start shipping — most engagements are live within 48 hours of kickoff.