Pre-seed capital & product build
Cash, or a technical team. Often both.
Mote Software backs early-stage startups in two ways. We write a small pre-seed cheque, and we build your product for a fee you only settle once you've raised. Take either route, or run them together.
The model
We build, we invest, and then we leave.
Most arrangements like this take something that is hard to get back — the agency keeps the code, or the early stake keeps a permanent slice of the cap table. Ours is designed to finish. You keep what you own, and we get paid for the work we actually did.
Founder
- 01We build
- Day-to-day product and engineering, split into milestones. You pay nothing, or a reduced monthly rate. The rest is deferred until you raise. Code, repositories, domains and accounts are in your company's name from the first commit.
- 02We invest
- A small pre-seed cheque on an ASA or a priced round, often alongside other angels. Technical advice when you want it, a quarterly update when you don't. No board seat required.
- ——And then we leave
- The buyout is the point. We get paid for the work we did, you keep the equity you would otherwise have given away, and your cap table stays founders and investors — not your old dev team.
At a glance
Two routes, run separately.
They are documented on their own terms, so taking one never obliges you to take the other.
| Term | Route 1: Capital | Route 2: Build to Buyout |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | A small pre-seed cheque | Your product built by us |
| What it costs you upfront | Shares, via an ASA or a priced round | Nothing, or a reduced monthly rate |
| How we are paid | We hold shares long term | You buy us out later, usually from a funding round |
| Best for | Founders who need runway | Founders who need a technical team |
Route 1: Capital
- What you get
- A small pre-seed cheque
- What it costs you upfront
- Shares, via an ASA or a priced round
- How we are paid
- We hold shares long term
- Best for
- Founders who need runway
Route 2: Build to Buyout
- What you get
- Your product built by us
- What it costs you upfront
- Nothing, or a reduced monthly rate
- How we are paid
- You buy us out later, usually from a funding round
- Best for
- Founders who need a technical team
How a build runs
Six steps, and an exit built in.
Every build is scoped into milestones. Either side can stop at the end of any one, and the fee only ever covers work actually done.
We agree the scope
We build
You own everything
Either side can stop
We hand over properly
You buy us out
Who we work with
We are selective, on purpose.
We take on a small number of builds at a time, and offer fully deferred builds to fewer still. When we are carrying the cost of the work, the fit has to be right.
- 01You are building software where the product is central to the business.
- 02You can sell — through customers, investors, or both.
- 03You have a credible route to revenue or a funding round within 12–18 months.
- 04You want a real technical partner, not a dev shop.
Next step
Send us the one-paragraph version.
What you are building, who it is for, and what is in the way. If there is a fit we will come back with a scope, a day rate and an indicative set of terms — usually inside a week.
Prefer the detail first? The FAQ explains every term, and why it is set the way it is.