Other work · Things we've shipped
We don't just build for clients. We ship our own products.
Before HSNC Tech, and alongside it, we built and launched our own products — hardware, a payments app, an App Store release. Some are still live, some we walked away from. Each one taught us something we now put to work for the shops we build for. Here's the honest version: what we tried, what we learned, and why we pivoted.
A physical desk device that shows your Claude API usage and spend in real-time on a built-in LED display. Our first hardware product — designed, coded, and assembled in-house.
What we tried
We wanted a tangible way to feel API spend instead of checking a dashboard. So we built a small LED meter that sits on your desk and ticks up as you burn tokens.
What we learned
Developers care about cost visibility more than we expected, and a physical object on the desk changes behavior in a way a browser tab never does. Building hardware also forced us to get tight on supply, assembly, and shipping.
Why we pivoted
It stayed a real product — but it taught us our edge is shipping fast and owning the whole stack, hardware included. That lesson now shapes how we build for clients.
A mobile app that lets bar customers open, run, and close a tab from their phone — no card left behind the bar, no waiting to flag down a bartender to cash out.
What we tried
We built the full stack: a consumer app, a venue dashboard, payment auth holds, and the backend to tie a phone tab to a real bar's POS.
What we learned
The tech worked, but the hard part was never the app — it was venue adoption. Bars move slow, the three-tier rules around alcohol are heavy, and onboarding one bar at a time is a grind that software alone doesn't solve.
Why we pivoted
Untabbed proved we could ship a real payments product end to end. It also showed us where the actual pain for local businesses lives — getting found, getting booked, getting paid — which is exactly what HSNC Tech does now.
An AI app we shipped to the iOS App Store. A quick experiment in turning a focused AI idea into a live, downloadable product.
What we tried
We took a single AI use case, wrapped it in a clean mobile app, and pushed it through App Store review — start to live listing.
What we learned
Shipping to the App Store is its own skill: review guidelines, subscriptions, and the cost of acquiring a user who'll never walk into your shop. Consumer AI is crowded and expensive to grow.
Why we pivoted
NattyAI confirmed we love shipping AI fast — but the better business is putting that same AI to work for local owners who already have customers, not chasing app installs.
Now booking · Connecticut
The same builders behind these products will build your shop's stack.
We've shipped hardware, payments, and apps end to end. Now we point that at your business. Book a short intro call and we'll show you what we'd build first.