Your pilot customer's IT team sent a security questionnaire.
And nobody on your team knows how to answer half of it.
For startup founders
You build the product. We build what it takes to sell it and run it.
Arwen is a Sydney team that builds the data, integrations and systems that turn pilots into paying customers. For startups without a CTO yet, or with one who's stretched.
45 minutes. You leave with a written list of what to fix first. No pitch unless you ask for one.
Sound familiar?
Six problems we see in almost every pilot.
The customer wants it connected to their system.
Their system is fifteen years old and undocumented.
Billing lives in a spreadsheet.
Fine at three customers. A problem at ten.
An investor asked who owns your technology.
The honest answer is "a contractor, mostly."
Your pilot data is in five places.
You can't turn it into the report your customer needs to sign off.
One developer knows how to deploy the product.
If they leave, so does your release process.
If two or more of these are true, the Pilot-to-Paid Check was built for you.
Book the check
The offer
The Pilot-to-Paid Check
- What it is
- A 45-minute working session on your actual setup, not a sales call.
- What we look at
- How customers will connect to your product, what their IT and security team will ask, how data moves and where it's stored, what's manual that shouldn't be.
- What you get
- Within two working days, a one-page written list: what a customer will ask for, what to fix first, what can wait.
- What it costs
- Nothing. If we're not the right fit, we'll say so and tell you who is.
Readiness check
How ready is your pilot to become a paying customer?
Eight yes or no questions. Your result shows on this page. We don't ask for your email and we don't store your answers.
How we work
Three ways to work with us.
Pilot-to-Paid Check
45 minutes plus a one-page written action list.
Fixed-scope sprint
2–4 weeks on one problem: a security review, a customer integration, billing, a data pipeline. Fixed price, agreed up front.
Technical partner
We act as your technical lead and team. Paid part in cash, part in equity that converts at your next round.
You own everything we build: code, IP, accounts. Always.
What changes when we're involved
From our work as fractional CTO for an early-stage startup, and from years of untangling systems for larger organisations.
Simpler
BeforeA tangle of tools and services that only one person understood.
AfterFewer moving parts, documented, that the team can run without us.
Built to grow
BeforeWorked for the pilot, would have broken at the next ten customers.
AfterRebuilt the parts that would have hit a ceiling, without rewriting what already worked.
Cheaper to run
BeforeMonthly cloud and software bills growing faster than revenue.
AfterCut what wasn't needed and right-sized what was.
More reliable
BeforeReleases were risky, and problems were found by customers.
AfterRepeatable releases, and monitoring that flags problems before customers notice.
Why Arwen
Why founders work with us.
We've done the hard version.
Our day job is connecting new systems into large, regulated organisations: insurers, utilities, government. Your customers' IT teams are the people we work with every week.
Senior people only.
The person on your first call is the person who does the work.
Simple over clever.
We'll tell you when you don't need to build something.
Questions founders ask
Are you a Salesforce shop?
Salesforce is one platform we know deeply. For startups we recommend whatever fits your stage and budget. Often that's not Salesforce.
Do you take equity?
Only in our technical partner model, and only alongside cash. We don't work for equity alone. It isn't good for you or us.
Will you rebuild what we already have?
Rarely. We fix what's slowing you down and leave what works alone.
What stage do we need to be?
You have a working product or pilot and at least one customer conversation. Pre-seed to Series A.
Who owns the work?
You do: code, IP, accounts, all of it.
Where are you?
Sydney. We work with founders anywhere in Australia.
Tell us what's slowing you down.
Use the button to open our chat. Leave your name, email and what you're stuck on, and we'll reply to set up a time.
Book a free Pilot-to-Paid CheckNot ready to book? Send us a note instead.