Comparison
BlakeIQ vs. a Software Dev Shop
BlakeIQ builds you a truly custom operational system, designed around how your company actually runs and integrated with the tools you already use — it works with your operation instead of replacing it. On full payment, it's yours. A software dev shop writes bespoke code from scratch: months of build and a custom stack you depend on them to maintain. For small to mid-market operations with a real process worth tracking, the difference shows up in how fast it ships, what it costs to keep, and who controls it.
| BlakeIQ | A software dev shop | |
|---|---|---|
| Build approach | Custom-built for your operation and integrated with the tools you already use | Custom code written from scratch |
| Who builds it | An operator who's run the business, embedded with your team | Generalist engineers learning your process from a spec |
| Timeline | Weeks | Months of spec → build → QA → revisions |
| Ownership | Yours on full payment; runs on tools you keep | A bespoke codebase you rely on them to maintain |
| Pricing model | Fixed project price, no per-seat fees | Large bespoke build, often plus a maintenance retainer |
| Maintenance | Standard platforms your team can run without us | Locked to their stack and their availability |
| Guarantee | 100% satisfaction or your money back. Guaranteed. | Typically billed for the build regardless of fit |
Why not just hire a dev shop?
A dev shop writes bespoke software from scratch — months of discovery, build, and revisions, and a custom codebase only they or an expensive successor can maintain. BlakeIQ builds a custom system designed around your operation and integrated with the tools you already use — so it ships in weeks, works with what you've got instead of replacing it, and your team can run it without us. You get the custom fit without the custom-code liability.
Who actually builds it — and do they understand my operation?
BlakeIQ is run by an operator who spent a decade running an import company, not a generalist engineer learning your business from a written spec. The work is done embedded with your team, in your terminology, around how your operation already runs. A dev shop bills a discovery phase to learn what an operator already knows walking in — and still hands the build to engineers a step removed from the floor.
How long does it take, and what does it cost?
Because BlakeIQ builds on existing platforms instead of coding from zero, a system ships in weeks at a fixed project price with no per-seat fees. A bespoke dev-shop build is typically months and a far larger budget, frequently followed by a maintenance retainer to keep the custom code alive. For a small to mid-market operation, owning a system on standard tools costs less and arrives sooner than commissioning bespoke software.
What happens after launch — who maintains it?
On full payment BlakeIQ hands over the keys: the Airtable base, the automations, the documentation. Because it lives on standard platforms, your team — or any operator — can run and extend it. A bespoke build ties you to their stack and their schedule: every change goes back into their queue and their billable hours, and if they move on, you inherit a codebase no one in-house can maintain.
Who is BlakeIQ right for — and who should hire a dev shop?
BlakeIQ fits small to mid-market operations that need a real operational system — tracking, alerts, KPIs — built fast on tools they keep. If you need genuinely novel software no existing platform can support — a consumer app, a proprietary algorithm, something to patent — a dev shop is the right call. For running and tightening an operation, a system you own on standard tools beats bespoke code you rent the upkeep of.