Decide what to build before you build it
For a new product or internal system. We list what it must do, plan the build option and the buy option, then tell you which one wins.
Technology consulting
Make the right technical decisions before they become expensive mistakes: build versus buy, feasibility, and an architecture that scales without a rewrite.
Senior engineers plan both options in Gnar Discovery and Design, then tell you which one wins, even when the answer is to buy. The first call is free.
Software architecture consulting at The Gnar Company: senior U.S.-based engineers plan two options, building custom software or buying a product, then tell you which one wins. If building wins, you get a build plan with a fixed price for each milestone. If you should not build it, we will say so.
Buying can win
We plan the product you could buy the same way we plan a build: where it runs and what it connects to.
The plan is yours
Take it to your own engineers or another firm. You do not have to build with us.
Prices you can see
Gnar Discovery and Design has three set prices, posted on its own page. Most clients pick the middle one.
What you get
We put the product you could buy next to the software you could build, and compare cost and fit. AI has made custom code cheaper, so it is a closer call than it used to be.
We work out what the build takes: the tools, the connections to your other systems and where it runs. Clickable models of the key tasks show workflow problems early.
We plan for how much the software will be used, and we plan it around the systems you are keeping.
If building wins: what it must do, how the parts fit, and a build plan split into milestones, each with a fixed price. Yours to hand to your own engineers.
Two ways in
The first step depends on which one you have. Have both? Bring both to the first call.
For a new product or internal system. We list what it must do, plan the build option and the buy option, then tell you which one wins.
For software that already runs the business, or that a vendor wants to replace. Gnar’s code audit tells you what shape your current system is in and which parts are worth keeping. No fee, no obligation.
Proof
The right tool, before any code

The audit said don’t rebuild it all

Built to scale

How it works
For a new build, all three steps happen inside Gnar Discovery and Design, our planning service. For software you already run, we audit the code before anything else is planned.
We talk to the people who will use the software and the people who pay for it. Then we write down what it must do and what is off the table.
We plan how each option would work, build or buy, so you can compare them side by side.
You get one recommendation. If building wins, you also get a plan with a fixed price. Build it with us, with your own team, or not at all.
Common questions
Still have questions?
It tells you how software should be put together, or whether to buy it instead, before anyone builds. At The Gnar Company, software architecture consulting means senior engineers write down what the software must do, plan the tools, the connections and where it runs, and build clickable models of the key tasks. At the end you get one clear answer, and a fixed-price build plan if building is the answer.
Pick a firm that plans both options before it picks one. The Gnar Company’s software architecture consulting plans the product you could buy and the software you could build, including where each runs and what it connects to. Then we compare cost and fit, and give you one answer. If you should not build it, Gnar will say so, and the plan for the product you buy is yours to keep.
A technical feasibility assessment tells you whether software can be built as planned, and what it will take, before you sign for the build. In Gnar’s software architecture consulting, that means checking what it will be built with, what it must plug into and where it will run. Clickable models of the key tasks catch workflow problems while they are still cheap to fix.
Plan for how much use you expect and the systems you are keeping. The Gnar Company’s software architecture consulting picks the tools, how the parts fit together, the third‑party services it relies on and where it runs, before anything is built. Gnar built Qeepsake’s mobile app to scale. Qeepsake’s case study reports 20x growth in its user base and 700,000+ families served. For software you already run, Gnar’s no‑fee code audit comes first.
Yes. Gnar’s software architecture consulting is a fit for mid‑market companies that run on software nobody inside can change. Some have engineers who are busy with the day job. Some have no engineers at all. The Gnar Company has published 20 case studies with the client’s name on them, including Vermont Mutual, eZcater and the AARP Foundation.
Only if a rewrite is the right call. The Gnar Company’s software architecture consulting starts with a code audit for software you already run. It shows whether you need a rewrite at all. For First Line Technology, Gnar’s audit found that rebuilding the system behind the app would cost more than it was worth, so Gnar built a new version of the app on top of it. If your own engineers have the time and the direction, they should do the work.
Gnar’s no‑fee code audit is an outside review of software you already run, and the first step of software architecture consulting for an existing system. Under a non‑disclosure agreement, senior engineers at The Gnar Company read the code, how it is put together and what it connects to. You get the problems ranked, worst first. There is no fee and no obligation, and the audit can come back saying your code is in reasonable shape.
No. Gnar’s software architecture consulting ends with a recommendation, plus a plan with a fixed price when building wins. Your own engineers can build from it, or The Gnar Company can. You decide who builds it after you have seen the plan.
Start here
Build or buy, new or existing. If your own team has the capacity and the direction, you do not need us, and we will say so.
Talk to us about your decision