Founding clients · 2026
Three places, a reduced rate, and the founder on the work
Rimaleon is new. Rather than pad this site with logos we have not earned, we are taking on three founding clients at a lower rate — in exchange for the one thing we do not have yet.
3
Founding places for 2026
25%
Below our standard rate
2 wks
From first call to a costed plan
1 day
To a reply on any enquiry
Why we are doing this
Every consultancy starts with no track record. Most solve it by writing case studies about work that belongs to a previous employer, or by leaning on stock logos and a vague “trusted by teams like yours”. We would rather be straightforward about where we are and price accordingly.
What you get
- Our standard senior team at 25% below list rate for the first engagement
- The founder personally on delivery, not just the sales call
- A fixed price on the opening slice of work, agreed before anyone writes code
- Every commitment on the homepage written into the contract
- The rate held for twelve months if you continue past the first engagement
What we ask in return
One written case study at the end — outcome, numbers and your name on it — plus a reference call with a future prospect if the work went well. If it did not go well, we ask for neither.
If we do not hit the outcome we agreed in writing, you do not owe us a case study, a reference, or the final invoice.
Rimaleon founding client terms
Who this suits
Founding client work fits a problem with a clear owner and a decision waiting on it: a system that is holding operations back, a product that needs to reach real users this year, reporting nobody trusts. It suits teams comfortable working with a small, new studio in exchange for senior attention and a rate that will not be available later.
At a glance
Places
3 remaining
Rate
25% below list
First slice
Fixed price
Start
Within 2 weeks
In return
One case study
How it runs
Two weeks to a decision, either way
You commit to the discovery, not the build. The plan is yours whatever you decide at the end of it.
Apply
A paragraph on the problem and who owns it. We reply within a business day.
1 day
Scope call
Ninety minutes with the founder and the engineer who would lead the work.
Week 1
Discovery
Scope, sequence, risks and a fixed price for the first slice — written down.
Weeks 1–2
Decide
Start, pause, or take the plan elsewhere. No pressure and no retainer to exit.
End of week 2
On the discovery fee
The two-week discovery is charged at the founding rate. If you continue into build, it comes off the first invoice.
Straight answers
The questions we would ask in your position
You have no clients. Why should we take the risk?
Because the risk is priced in and bounded. The first commitment is a two-week discovery, not a build — you can stop with a costed plan in hand and nothing else owed.
Who is actually doing the work?
The founder plus one senior engineer, both named before you sign. There is no bench of juniors to hand it to.
Have you built anything we can look at?
Yes — we will walk you through prior work from our careers and the code we have written for Rimaleon itself. We will not claim work done at previous employers as Rimaleon’s.
What happens to the rate after the first engagement?
It is held for twelve months from the start date. After that, standard rates apply — with notice, never mid-project.
Do we have to give you a case study?
Only if the work met the outcome we agreed. You approve every word and every number before it is published.
What if you take on too much?
We cap it at three founding clients for a reason. When those places are gone, the page comes down.
Where we are strongest
The problems we would back ourselves on today
Choose us for these. For anything outside them, we will tell you and point you elsewhere.
Operations systems
Replacing spreadsheets and ageing internal tools without stopping the business.
Product builds
Getting a first version in front of real users on a date you can commit to.
Reporting people trust
One set of numbers, defined once, that survives a board meeting.
Take one of the three places
Send a paragraph on the problem and who owns it. You will get a reply from an engineer within a business day — not a sales sequence.