---
title: Technical Co-Founder Without the Equity Split @ Varstatt
url: https://varstatt.com/x/founders
description: No technical co-founder? A founding engineer on weekly retainer makes the technical calls and builds your product. No equity split. $997/week, cancel anytime.
section: Services (https://varstatt.com)
---
# Founding Engineer On Weekly Retainer

Your first engineer: I make the technical calls and build the product, from the first prototype until you hire a team. $997/week.

**What's included:**

- ✅ Senior developer
- ✅ Full code ownership
- ✅ Continuous progress
- ✅ Stop anytime
- ❌ Meetings overhead
- ❌ Scope creep
- ❌ Agency markup
- ❌ Billing surprises

**Get started:**

- [Start a Project](https://varstatt.com/start?cta=agent)
- [Ask Jurij](mailto:jurij@varstatt.com)

## Portfolio

- **Redesign & V2 development of SOAPNoteAI, an AI charting assistant for busy clinicians** — [soapnoteai.com](https://soapnoteai.com)
- **Initial launch of TenderPilot, an AI-powered tendering software for Australian SMEs** — [tenderpilot.ai](https://tenderpilot.ai)
- **Fidder, a free & simple RSS reader that cuts through the noise and works everywhere** — [fidder.app](https://fidder.app)
- **MVP & initial launch of MyCointainer, an ultimate crypto staking platform** — [mycointainer.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20200423203535/https://www.mycointainer.com/)

## A Co-Founder Does Two Jobs

| Route | Covers | The Catch |
|---|---|---|
| Technical Co-Founder | Both, for a share of the company | Few take that deal, and the match must last years |
| Freelancer or Agency | The build, to a spec | Someone still writes the spec and makes the calls |
| Advisor or Classic Fractional CTO | The calls, often advice only | The build goes to someone else |
| No-Code Tools | A first test of the idea | Not enough once the product needs its own backend |
| **Varstatt** | Both, paid in cash by the week | One person: when I'm full, a later start date |

## Eight Ways to Start

- **[Fractional CTO](https://varstatt.com/x/founders/fractional-cto)** "No one makes the technical calls." The calls and the code, every week.

- **[Prototype](https://varstatt.com/x/founders/prototype-development)** "An idea nobody has clicked." The core flow on a live link in one week, one payment.

- **[MVP Development](https://varstatt.com/x/founders/mvp-development)** "An idea, ready to test with paying users." The smallest real product, launched in week 6.

- **[SaaS Development](https://varstatt.com/x/founders/saas-development)** "Ready to build the whole product." Launched in week 6, then built on real feedback.

- **[PWA Development](https://varstatt.com/x/founders/pwa-development)** "Phones, without three separate apps." One app that installs from a link.

- **[Vibe Coding Rescue](https://varstatt.com/x/founders/project-rescue)** "An app stuck, unsafe, or left by its developer." The bleeding stopped and a plan, in one paid week.

- **[App Modernization](https://varstatt.com/x/founders/app-modernization)** "A V1 that holds the product back." V2 built beside it, until every user moves.

- **[Tech Due Diligence](https://varstatt.com/x/founders/tech-due-diligence)** "A raise or a purchase on the calendar." What diligence will find, ranked, in one paid week.

## Who It's For

**Right For**

- Non-technical founders with an idea or a first version

- Technical founders who want an architecture partner

- An AI-built or inherited app that needs an owner

- Founders about to raise or buy a codebase

**Better Elsewhere**

- A team of engineers that needs a manager *A full-time CTO*

- Stacks outside JavaScript and TypeScript *A developer of that stack*

## How It Works

A simple, predictable and transparent process that eliminates development headaches.

1. **Subscribe** — After subscribing, you get a dedicated task board. It becomes your roadmap.
2. **Setup** — Week one goes to the biggest unknown: the tech choice, a test build or a review of your code.
3. **Plan & Develop** — You set the order. I ship small tasks one by one.
4. **Review & Refine** — You review the live app. I revise until you're satisfied.
5. **Progress** — You approve finished work. I move to the next priority.
6. **Maintain** — You report issues anytime; I handle them first.

## Pricing — Retainer

$997 a week, or $997 once for a one-week job. Your shares stay yours.

- **Price:** $997 / week
- **Plan:** A technical co-founder's calls and code, paid weekly, not in shares.
- **Includes:**
  - 🧑‍💻 10+ years shipping software
  - 🗣️ Direct access to developer
  - 🗂️ Dedicated task board
  - 📦 1 task at a time, unlimited revisions
  - ⚡ Each task in ~72 hours on average
  - 🪪 Full code & assets ownership
  - 🩹 Bug fixes & ongoing maintenance
  - 🎁 Free week 0: onboarding and setup
  - 🛑 Pause or cancel anytime
- **CTA:** [Get Started](https://varstatt.com/start?cta=agent)
- **Questions:** jurij@varstatt.com

## FAQ

### How do I find a technical co-founder?

Through people you've worked with, each tested on a small piece of real work first. Need the product now? Hire the work by the week and keep looking.

### Do I have to give up equity?

No. The retainer is cash by the week; your cap table stays as it is.

### What does a founding engineer do?

Everything technical before there's a team: the stack, deploys, [monitoring](/principles/diligence/monitor-day-one), the first build. Here, that's me.

### How much does it cost?

$997 a week; the prototype, the rescue and the due diligence read are one payment of $997 each. The free [build cost tool](/discovery/build-cost) turns your scope into weeks.

### How will I know the work is good?

By using it: working software every few days, with a note on what needs your call. The board and repository are [open to you](/principles/partnership/transparency).

### What if I need a team?

Hire one. I stay as the senior engineer or hand over: [access, docs, history](/jurij/p/isnt-a-solo-developer-a-bus-factor-of-one).

### What if it doesn't work out?

You [pay a week at a time](/principles/partnership/weekly-accountability), and I redo work that misses. If it still doesn't fit, [cancel with no penalty](/principles/partnership/exit-freedom).

### What's the tech stack?

JavaScript and TypeScript on the [default stack](/principles/delivery/default-stack): React, Next.js, Node.js, Firebase. For other stacks, I say no rather than learn on your dime.

### How do I get started?

Fill in the [project form](/start?cta=founders-faq), about a minute. I reply the next working day; if it fits, with a first plan and a call invite.

## Testimonials

> "Jurij understand the core problem, insists on building the right experiences for the customers."
> — [Kunal Modi, Founder @ SOAPNoteAI](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jurijtokarski/details/recommendations/)

> "Working with Jurij is an absolute joy, consistently exceeds expectations."
> — [Janis Ozolins, Content Creator](https://x.com/OzolinsJanis/status/1875168034249146609)

> "Consistently delivered quality code in great time, very hard working & precise."
> — [Bartosz Poźniak, CEO @ MyCointainer](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jurijtokarski/details/recommendations/)

> "The kind of engineer that every company on the planet would be lucky to have."
> — [Hosam Mazawi, COO @ LemonUnit](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jurijtokarski/details/recommendations/)

## About

Varstatt is run by [Jurij Tokarski](https://varstatt.com/jurij), product engineer since 2011.

Contact: [jurij@varstatt.com](mailto:jurij@varstatt.com) / [X](https://x.com/jurijtokarski) / [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jurijtokarski/)

Sole proprietorship headquartered in Rzeszów, Poland. VAT ID: PL8133854722.