How to buy software when you cannot read the code.
You can buy software safely without reading code: judge the commitments, fix the price and ownership in writing, and start with a small reversible audit. These 14 guides, written by Ego Eimi for non-technical founders, cover vetting an agency, scoping before you hire, real cost ranges, protecting your IP, and what to do when a build goes wrong.
01 / Where to start
Read the one that matches the spot you are stuck on.
If you are at the very beginning, start with building software without a tech team. If you are already in a bad spot with a developer, jump to the signs and the vetting guides. When you are ready to talk scope and price, see our services.
There are fourteen guides here, and they carry their sources with them. The AI-code guide, for example, cites a 2025 Veracode study in which 45% of AI code-generation tasks introduced at least one OWASP Top-10 vulnerability. The guides are written by Felipe Telles, Ego Eimi's founder, and the work behind them is on reviews and references.
02 / The guides
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01
Build software without a tech team
- The fifth option, beyond learning to code, hiring, or gambling on an agency.
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02
How to vet a software development agency
- The questions that surface hidden juniors and subcontract roulette.
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03
Why founders burned by developers choose us
- For anyone who was ghosted, held hostage, or left without the source code.
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04
How to scope software before hiring
- Get to a fixed scope and price before anyone writes code.
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05
Signs you hired the wrong developer
- The early warnings of over budget, over timeline, and going dark.
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06
How much should custom software cost
- Real ranges, what drives them, and the total cost of ownership.
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07
How to protect your idea when hiring developers
- Own the repo, the IP, and the accounts from the first line of code.
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08
Automate a business process with AI
- Where AI cuts admin hours, and how to judge it without trusting a demo.
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09
Best development agencies for non-technical founders
- What to look for, and how to compare the field fairly.
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10
What tech due diligence finds in a business you're buying
- For owners, sellers, and acquirers: what a buyer's engineer finds, and what it does to the deal.
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11
How to take over software from a previous developer
- What to do when the developer, agency, or AI tool that built it is gone.
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12
A customer is asking for SOC 2 or ISO 27001
- Treat it as a deal to close, not a law to fear. What each one needs and how to get there.
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13
Is AI-generated code safe to ship
- Where AI-written code is fine, and where a 2025 Veracode study found 45% of it ships a known vulnerability.
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14
When you should not build custom software
- The honest case against building, when off-the-shelf wins, and who we are not for.
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15
Get your code and accounts back from a developer
- What you are owed, how each account is recovered, and when to stop chasing and rebuild.
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16
Get your software ready to sell your business
- What a buyer's engineer asks for, the order to fix it in, and how much lead time each fix needs.
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17
The first 100 days owning custom software
- You closed, there is no CTO, and the software still has to run. Custody, continuity, then who runs it.
Ready to talk about your own project? Start with a short audit. Start a conversation.
Last updated July 2026 · Talk with Felipe
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