Tom Wild
Founder
Thoughts on building products, AI-assisted development, and shipping fast.
Bespoke software means built specifically for your business — not adapted from a template. But in 2026, traditional bespoke development (6 months, £50K–£150K) has a faster, cheaper alternative. Here's when each approach makes sense, with real UK cost comparisons.
Most service firms don't need new software — they need the workflow they're already drowning in turned into a product. The spreadsheet you built to cope is the blueprint. Here's how to find it and build it the cheapest way.
There's usually a product hiding in your audience — the repeated, painful question they keep asking you. Here's how to find the one worth building, with KeySolved as the worked example.
A sponsor pays once; a co-owned product pays every month. Here's the real maths of monetising an audience — with honest conversion scenarios and a clear four-way comparison.
KeySolved went from a locksmith educator's idea to a live, billing SaaS in 21 days — co-owned 50/50, with paying subscribers across 7+ countries. Here's the full build story.
AI agents are starting to book, compare, and shortlist services on behalf of people. Most service businesses are completely invisible to them. Here's what to do about it — and what I've already built that proves the model works.
Four observations from the trenches of AI-accelerated building this week. The moat isn't code — it's vocabulary. Voice changes everything. Build vs buy has flipped. And the middle of the internet is about to get eaten.
TapReview automates Google review collection for UK tradespeople via WhatsApp and SMS. Here's the full build story — the market gap, the 30-day build, and why this product couldn't have existed two years ago.
Everyone asks how to find the software product inside a service business. Here is the actual diagnostic process I used with RiskPod — not the marketing version, but the real decisions made in real time.
Anthropic published real usage data from millions of Claude conversations, matched against 800 occupations. Software developers are 75% exposed — but actual usage is a fraction of theoretical capability. The gap is where service businesses either build a moat or get disrupted.
BuildKits is a free AI-powered specification generator that turns product ideas into build-ready documents. 9 kit types, Three-Gate Validation, and the Goldilocks Zone framework. Here is how it works and why specifications matter more than prompts.
Four stages. Each earns the next. Free call, Discovery £5K, Build £15–45K, Ongoing £250–2K/month. Here is exactly what happens at every stage when you work with Hello Crossman.
Canny charges $400/month. I built BuildRoadmaps in 40 days with real-time multiplayer presence, four visualisation modes, and anonymous voting — for free. Here is why building your own tools is a business strategy.
Agencies quoted 12 months. We built PulseIQ — a multi-tenant SaaS platform with AI coaching, real-time dashboards, and training management — in 30 days. Here is the full build story.
Hugo was losing SaaS revenue to failed payments and cancellations. We built ChurnZilla in 30 days with dual-Stripe architecture and a 4-step retention workflow. Here is the full build story.
Danny had 30K followers and zero recurring revenue. We built FounderOS as a joint venture. £8K MRR in month one. Here is the full build story of turning a creator's methodology into software.
Mark got quoted £130K+ by agencies for a compliance contractor marketplace. We built RiskPod for £40K in 30 days. It got 550 signups in 48 hours. Here is the full build story.
Copilot predicts the next line of code. Cursor understands your entire project. Both are useful — at different levels. Here is when to use each.
Bolt generates prototypes in your browser. Replit builds and hosts production software. Different tools for different stages. Here is when each one makes sense.
Lovable generates code you own. Bubble locks you into its platform. Both build software without coding. The choice depends on whether code ownership matters for your business.
