# HOW WE WORK · SENIOR-ONLY · DACH
How we work.
Two senior specialists, no juniors, no hand-offs. Pick a model, understand the process, and know what the first 30 days look like before you book a call. Pricing is per scope — you get one fixed number after the audit, not a surprise at the end.
<90d
sprint to production
2
senior architects — no bench
0
juniors, hand-offs, layers
48h
honest fit answer
# ENGAGEMENT MODELS
Three ways to engage.
Most work starts with a fixed-fee audit, then continues as one of these three. Pricing is per scope — after the audit you get one fixed number, in writing, before any build begins.
Fixed-scope sprint
The problem is clear enough to scope. We take a defined outcome — a data platform, tracking architecture, a production AI workflow — from spec to live in under 90 days. Fixed price, fixed scope, one named release around week three.
price on request
fixed price per scope · < 90 days · to production
Interim & fractional
You need senior architecture ownership for a phase, not a full build. We lead architecture, unblock the team, write specs and keep governance realistic — 2–4 days per week, direct GmbH contract, no CV chains.
Run & observability retainer
The system is live and someone has to own it. Monitoring, drift and cost alerts, retraining cadence, incident response and a standing line to the two people who built it — so production AI does not quietly rot after go-live.
monthly retainer on request
monthly · cancellable · SLA on request
// on-ramp: most engagements open with a fixed-fee architecture audit — 5–10 working days, a written recommendation and roadmap you keep whether or not we build it.
# THE FIRST 30 DAYS
The first 30 days, week by week.
What actually happens after you sign. No onboarding theatre, no six-week discovery phase — you talk to the people building it from day one.
Access, scope & the real constraints
We get read access to the stack, sit with whoever owns the data, and pin the scope down to a written statement of work. EU AI Act risk tier and GDPR data flows are settled here, not later. You get the scope doc by Friday.
Architecture & the thin slice
We agree the target architecture and start building the thinnest end-to-end slice that proves it — one pipeline, one model, one dashboard wired to your real systems, not a slide.
First named release
Something real ships to your infrastructure — usually the thin slice, running against production data behind a flag. You see working software, we see where the integration reality bites.
Harden, document, decide
Monitoring, error handling and the boring parts that make it survivable. We review progress against the fixed scope and agree what the remaining sprint weeks — or a retainer — cover.
# FIT / NO-FIT
Who it's for — and who it isn't.
// built for
- Mid-market DACH companies (roughly 50–2,000 people)
- Regulated or sensitive data — health, finance, industrial, public
- A stalled pilot that nailed the demo but never reached production
- EU data residency and GDPR / AI Act as hard requirements, not extras
- A concrete first use case, not "we need an AI strategy"
- Decision-makers who want the builders on every call
// not for us
- Staff augmentation to fill seats with junior developers
- Offshore-price shopping — we compete on outcomes, not day rate
- Greenfield consumer apps and venture-style product bets
- Fortune-500 multi-year programmes — we are two people, by design
- Body-leasing / AÜG as the default contract model
- "AI transformation" with no first problem to point at
# FAQ
Questions buyers actually ask.
How fast can you start?
We are a two-person team, so it depends on current engagements — but typically we can start scoping within a week and begin delivery two to three weeks after signing. If the timeline does not work, we tell you on the first call rather than stringing you along.Do you work fixed price?
Yes, for fixed-scope sprints — one number, in writing, after the audit. Interim and fractional work is a day rate because the scope is deliberately open, and the retainer is a flat monthly fee. We do not do open-ended time-and-materials with a surprise at the end.Who actually does the work?
Only the two of us — Juri and Oleks. There is no junior bench, no offshore team, no delivery manager relaying messages. The people on the sales call are the people writing the code and the compliance documentation.Why don't you publish prices?
Because every engagement is scoped differently, so a public number would mislead more than it helps. You get one fixed price, in writing, after a fixed-fee audit — before any build begins. Tell us your budget on the first call and we will say straight away whether it is realistic, rather than string you along.What happens after go-live?
Three options: you own it (we document and hand over), we stay on a run & observability retainer, or we come back for a defined follow-on sprint. Production AI that nobody owns quietly rots — the retainer exists so that does not happen to you.How do you handle GDPR and the EU AI Act?
Both are built into delivery, not bolted on. EU AI Act risk classification and the GDPR data-flow map are settled in week one. Juri owns compliance and documentation; Oleks builds the technical controls. Everything runs EU-hosted with no US services in the chain.Do you work outside DACH?
Our focus is Germany, Austria and Switzerland — it is where we are based, where the language and regulatory context match, and where EU data residency is a given. We take work elsewhere in the EU case by case; outside the EU is usually a no.What is a fixed-fee audit and do I have to buy the build?
It is 5–10 working days reviewing your stack, risks and data flows, ending in a written architecture recommendation and roadmap. You keep the document whether or not we build anything. Plenty of clients take the roadmap and run it in-house.We already have a data team — where do you fit?
Usually as senior architecture ownership alongside them: we set direction, unblock the hard parts and review implementation, while your team keeps building. Fractional is the common shape here. We are not there to replace your people.Do you sign NDAs and DPAs?
Yes to both, as standard. We work under a Datascale One GmbH contract with a data processing agreement (AVV) where we touch personal data. You do not need an NDA to see our price ranges — those are on this page.
Know which model fits?
A 30-min call. We will bring an architecture sketch and a rough number — and an honest answer within 48 hours, even if it is a no.
book-call// or write: hello@saloid.com · gräfelfing · de