Weldr for Development Agencies

Deliver MVPs 10x faster, then hand off with full client control

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Why Weldr for Agencies?

You know the pain:

  • Clients want MVPs yesterday - But quality takes time
  • Scope creep is constant - "Just one more feature..."
  • Handoff is messy - Clients hire other devs, break your code
  • Maintenance is a burden - Small changes become expensive projects
  • Traditional approach: Build everything from scratch, lock clients into maintenance contracts, pray they don't customize without you. Weldr approach: Generate MVPs in hours, hand off with Extended mode (their custom code preserved forever), no maintenance lock-in.

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    The Agency Workflow

    Week 1: Discovery & Generation

    Old way (2-4 weeks):
  • Discovery meeting
  • Write requirements doc
  • Create mockups
  • Set up project (Next.js, database, auth, deployment)
  • Build database schema
  • Build authentication
  • Build CRUD operations
  • Build UI components
  • Weldr way (2-4 hours):
  • Discovery meeting (same)
  • Chat with Weldr during/after meeting
  • Watch live preview as app builds
  • Share preview with client for feedback
  • Iterate in real-time
  • Deploy
  • Time saved: 10-15 days per project Example - E-Commerce Client:

    Discovery notes → Weldr chat:
    
    "E-commerce site for handmade jewelry:
    - Product catalog with categories (rings, necklaces, earrings)
    - Shopping cart with guest checkout
    - Stripe payment processing
    - Order management with fulfillment tracking
    - Customer accounts with order history
    - Admin dashboard for inventory management
    - Email notifications (order confirmation, shipping updates)"
    
    [30 minutes later]
    ✅ Complete Next.js app running
    ✅ PostgreSQL database with all tables
    ✅ Stripe integration
    ✅ Auth with customer/admin roles
    ✅ Responsive UI with cart, checkout
    ✅ Admin dashboard
    ✅ Email templates
    
    Client sees it working DURING the discovery call.

    ---

    Week 2-3: Client Customization

    Client inevitably needs custom features:
  • • "We need custom wholesale pricing for bulk orders"
  • • "We have a special loyalty program"
  • • "We integrate with our inventory system (custom API)"
  • Old way:
  • • Rebuild affected sections
  • • Risk breaking existing code
  • • Quote more hours
  • • Extend timeline
  • Weldr way:
    # weldr.ownership.yaml
    version: ownership/v2
    
    surfaces:
      db: managed              # Let Weldr handle schema
      api: extended            # Mix generated + custom
      domain_logic: ejected    # Client owns pricing/loyalty
      ui: managed              # Keep UI automated

    Your team adds custom code in @custom blocks:

    // lib/server/actions/orders.ts (Extended mode)
    /** @weldr surface: api mode: extended **/
    
    // @weldr:begin crud-order
    export async function createOrder(input: CreateOrderInput) {
      // Weldr regenerates this
      return await db.insert(orders).values(input);
    }
    // @weldr:end crud-order
    
    // @custom:begin wholesale-pricing
    export async function createWholesaleOrder(input: WholesaleOrderInput) {
      // YOUR custom code - never touched by Weldr
      const discount = await getWholesaleDiscount(input.customerId);
      const items = await applyBulkPricing(input.items, discount);
    
      const order = await createOrder({
        ...input,
        items,
        type: 'wholesale'
      });
    
      await notifyWarehouse(order);
      return order;
    }
    // @custom:end wholesale-pricing

    Client changes their mind? Regenerate with Weldr - your custom code is preserved.

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    Week 4: Handoff & Future-Proofing

    Old way:
  • • Hand off code
  • • Client hires another dev
  • • That dev changes something
  • • Everything breaks
  • • Client calls you to fix (or worse, blames you)
  • Weldr way:
    # Set up Extended mode for client's future devs
    surfaces:
      db: managed              # Weldr handles migrations
      api: extended            # Client devs can add @custom blocks
      domain_logic: ejected    # Client owns business logic
      ui: extended             # Can add custom components
      styling: ejected         # Client's design system

    Client's new developer:
  • Reads the ownership manifest
  • Sees what's managed vs extended vs ejected
  • Adds custom code in @custom blocks
  • Regenerates with Weldr
  • Custom code preserved, database/routing updated
  • You're protected:
  • • Your generated code has leases (ownership headers)
  • • Client's custom code is in marked blocks
  • • Regeneration never breaks custom code
  • • TypeScript contracts validate everything still works
  • Result: Clean handoff, no maintenance burden, no blame when client customizes.

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    Real-World Agency Use Cases

    Use Case 1: Rapid Prototyping for Sales

    Scenario: You're pitching a $100k project. Client needs to "see something" before signing. Old way:
  • • Build a mockup (Figma, no real data)
  • • Client: "Can we click through it?"
  • • Build a prototype (fake data, no backend)
  • • Client: "Can we test with real data?"
  • • Weeks of back-and-forth before contract signed
  • Weldr way:
  • Discovery call (1 hour)
  • Generate working app with Weldr (1 hour)
  • Deploy to weldr-demo-clientname.vercel.app
  • Client tests with real data during sales process
  • Sign contract
  • Customize with Extended mode
  • Hand off
  • Win rate increase: Agencies report 40-60% higher close rates when demoing working apps vs mockups.

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    Use Case 2: Fixed-Price Projects

    Scenario: Client wants fixed-price quote for a SaaS dashboard. Old way:
  • • Estimate: 8-12 weeks, $80k-$120k
  • • Reality: Scope creep, 14 weeks, $140k
  • • Client unhappy, you're unprofitable
  • Weldr way:
  • Generate MVP in Week 1 (flat $5k)
  • Show working app: "This is included in base price"
  • Client: "Can you add [feature]?"
  • You: "That's Extended mode - here's the pricing:"
  • - Managed features (schema, CRUD, UI): $500/feature - Extended features (custom API logic): $2k/feature - Ejected features (full custom modules): $5k/module
  • Scope creep becomes scope budget (profitable)
  • Agency pricing model:
    Base MVP: $5k-$10k (1 week, mostly Weldr)
    + Extended features: $2k each (your code in @custom blocks)
    + Ejected modules: $5k each (full ownership)
    + Design customization: $3k (eject styling surface)
    + Integrations: $5k each (eject domain logic)
    + Deployment & training: $2k
    
    Total: $15k-$30k for custom SaaS (vs $80k-$120k traditional)
    Profit margin: 60-70% (vs 30-40% traditional)

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    Use Case 3: White-Label SaaS for Multiple Clients

    Scenario: You build the same type of app for multiple clients (e.g., booking systems, CRMs, marketplaces). Old way:
  • • Build template codebase
  • • Fork for each client
  • • Maintain 10 different forks
  • • Bug fix needs to be applied 10 times
  • • Client customizations prevent updates
  • Weldr way: Step 1: Generate base template with Weldr
    # base-booking-system/weldr.ownership.yaml
    version: ownership/v2
    
    surfaces:
      db: managed              # Schema standardized
      auth: managed            # Auth standardized
      api: extended            # Custom per client
      ui: extended             # Branding per client
      styling: ejected         # Design per client
      domain_logic: ejected    # Business rules per client

    Step 2: Customize per client (Extended mode)
    // client-a/lib/server/actions/bookings.ts
    // @custom:begin client-a-pricing
    export async function calculatePrice(booking: Booking) {
      // Client A's unique pricing (hourly + equipment fees)
      return booking.hours * HOURLY_RATE + getEquipmentFees(booking);
    }
    // @custom:end client-a-pricing
    
    // client-b/lib/server/actions/bookings.ts
    // @custom:begin client-b-pricing
    export async function calculatePrice(booking: Booking) {
      // Client B's unique pricing (flat rate + membership discount)
      const base = FLAT_RATE;
      const discount = await getMembershipDiscount(booking.customerId);
      return base - discount;
    }
    // @custom:end client-b-pricing

    Step 3: Update base template
  • • Weldr regenerates for all clients
  • • Each client's custom code preserved
  • • Schema updates applied across all clients
  • • New features added to all clients
  • Result:
  • • 10 clients with custom features
  • • 1 maintained codebase
  • • Updates deploy to all clients
  • • Each client can further customize
  • Revenue model:
  • • Base setup: $5k per client (1 day, mostly automated)
  • • Custom features: $2k-$5k per client
  • • Monthly maintenance: $500/client (includes Weldr updates)
  • • 10 clients = $50k setup + $5k/month recurring
  • ---

    Use Case 4: Technical Due Diligence

    Scenario: Client's existing app is a mess. They want you to rebuild it. Old way:
  • • Audit codebase (billable, time-consuming)
  • • Write detailed report
  • • Quote rebuild: $200k, 6 months
  • • Client balks at price
  • Weldr way:
  • Discovery call: understand current app (2 hours)
  • Generate equivalent with Weldr (2 hours)
  • Show client working replacement (next day)
  • Quote: $20k-$40k to customize + migrate data (vs $200k)
  • Real example - Healthcare Startup:
  • • Legacy app: PHP + MySQL, 50k lines, no tests
  • • Weldr rebuild: Next.js + PostgreSQL, 10k lines (5k generated, 5k custom)
  • • Migration: 2 weeks vs 6 months quoted
  • • Client saved $160k
  • ---

    Agency Business Models with Weldr

    Model 1: Speed-to-Market Agency

    Value prop: "Working MVP in 1 week, guaranteed" Pricing:
  • • Week 1: Generate + deploy ($7.5k flat)
  • • Week 2-4: Customization ($2k/feature)
  • • Optional: Training + handoff ($2k)
  • Margins:
  • • Week 1: 80% margin (mostly Weldr)
  • • Week 2-4: 60% margin (your custom code)
  • Capacity: 4-6 projects/month per developer (vs 1-2 traditional)

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    Model 2: Productized Services

    Offer pre-built templates:
  • Restaurant Booking System - $5k
  • - Table reservations - Menu management - Order tracking - Customer profiles
  • Gym Management - $7k
  • - Class schedules - Member check-ins - Billing/payments - Attendance tracking
  • Real Estate CRM - $10k
  • - Property listings - Lead management - Showing scheduler - Document storage Customization: $2k per Extended feature, $5k per Ejected module Process:
  • Client picks template
  • You generate with Weldr (1 day)
  • Customize branding/styling (2 days)
  • Add custom features as Extended (3-5 days)
  • Hand off with ownership manifest
  • Economics:
  • • 1 week per project
  • • $5k-$15k revenue
  • • $3k-$10k profit
  • • 12-16 projects/quarter per dev
  • ---

    Model 3: Maintenance-Free Handoff

    Value prop: "No lock-in, no maintenance contracts" How it works:
  • Generate MVP (Managed mode)
  • Client signs off
  • Set up Extended mode ownership manifest
  • Train client's team (or their future dev)
  • Hand off with documentation
  • Client's future:
  • • They can regenerate with Weldr (schema changes, new features)
  • • They can add custom code in @custom blocks
  • • They can eject surfaces when needed
  • • They never call you unless they want new features
  • Why clients love it:
  • • No maintenance hostage situation
  • • Freedom to hire other devs
  • • Full source code ownership
  • • Clear boundaries (Managed vs Extended vs Ejected)
  • Why you benefit:
  • • Clean handoffs, no support burden
  • • Reputation for transparency
  • • Referrals from happy clients
  • • Higher-value new projects
  • ---

    Agency Team Workflows

    Junior Developers

    Perfect for:
  • • Generating MVPs (90% Weldr, 10% customization)
  • • Extended mode features (add @custom blocks)
  • • UI customization (styling, branding)
  • • Client communication (show live preview)
  • Training time: 1 week to productive (vs 3 months traditional)

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    Senior Developers

    Focus on:
  • • Architecture decisions (which surfaces to eject)
  • • Complex Ejected modules (pricing, integrations)
  • • Contract design (define TypeScript interfaces)
  • • Code review (ensure @custom blocks are clean)
  • Productivity increase: 5x (no boilerplate, focus on hard problems)

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    Project Managers

    Weldr helps with:
  • • Live previews for client demos
  • • Real-time feature iteration (chat → instant update)
  • • Scope management (Managed vs Extended pricing)
  • • Handoff documentation (ownership manifest)
  • Client satisfaction: Higher (see working app Week 1, not Week 8)

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    Common Agency Questions

    "Will clients know we're using Weldr?"

    Your choice: Option 1: Transparent
  • • "We use Weldr to accelerate development and reduce costs"
  • • Client benefits: faster delivery, lower price, easier handoff
  • • Most clients don't care how, just that it works
  • Option 2: White-label
  • • Weldr supports white-labeling
  • • Generated code looks like you wrote it
  • • Ownership headers can be customized
  • • Client never knows
  • Recommendation: Be transparent. Clients appreciate speed + cost savings.

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    "What if client wants full source code?"

    That's the point. Progressive Ownership means:
  • • Client always owns the code
  • • Full export at any time
  • • No vendor lock-in (ours or yours)
  • • Runs anywhere (Vercel, AWS, their servers)
  • Unlike platforms like Retool or Bubble (platform-locked), Weldr generates real Next.js/React/TypeScript code.

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    "Can we charge the same rates?"

    Yes, and justify them: Traditional: $100/hour × 400 hours = $40k (10 weeks) With Weldr:
  • • Value-based pricing: $40k for delivered app (2 weeks)
  • • Your time: 80 hours (mostly customization)
  • • Your rate: $500/hour effective
  • • Client gets it faster, you earn more per hour
  • Key: Charge for value delivered, not time spent.

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    "What about our proprietary templates/boilerplate?"

    Weldr replaces them. Consider: Your template codebase:
  • • 50k lines of boilerplate
  • • Maintained by senior devs
  • • Updated quarterly
  • • Forked per client (merge hell)
  • Weldr:
  • • Generated fresh per project
  • • Always up-to-date
  • • No maintenance burden
  • • Client-specific from day 1
  • Transition strategy:
  • Generate base app with Weldr
  • Add your custom business logic (Extended/Ejected)
  • Retire old template
  • Redirect maintenance time to client work
  • ---

    "How do we handle client changes mid-project?"

    That's where Progressive Ownership shines: Scenario: Client wants to add a field to database Traditional:
  • Write migration
  • Update schema types
  • Update forms
  • Update validation
  • Update API endpoints
  • Test everything
  • Bill client for 8 hours
  • With Weldr:
  • Chat: "Add 'industry' field to companies"
  • Weldr regenerates (schema, forms, validation, API)
  • Custom code in @custom blocks preserved
  • Bill client for 1 hour (or include in fixed price)
  • Result: Scope changes become profitable, not painful.

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    Getting Started (Agency Onboarding)

    Week 1: Internal Training

    Day 1-2: Core concepts
  • • Progressive Ownership (Managed, Extended, Ejected)
  • • Ownership manifest
  • • Extended merge (@weldr and @custom blocks)
  • • Contract validation
  • Day 3-4: Hands-on
  • • Generate 3 sample apps
  • • Practice Extended mode
  • • Practice Ejected mode
  • • Build agency template
  • Day 5: Process design
  • • Define productized offerings
  • • Create pricing model
  • • Set up white-label (optional)
  • • Create handoff playbook
  • ---

    Week 2: First Client Project (Managed)

    Choose a simple project:
  • • CRUD application (CRM, booking system, directory)
  • • Managed mode only (no custom code)
  • • Fixed price: $5k-$7k
  • • Timeline: 1 week
  • Goal: Prove speed-to-market, build confidence

    ---

    Week 3-4: Extended Mode Project

    Choose a project needing customization:
  • • E-commerce with custom pricing
  • • SaaS with integrations
  • • Marketplace with matching logic
  • Practice:
  • • Writing custom code in @custom blocks
  • • Regenerating with Weldr
  • • Validating preservation
  • • Client handoff with Extended mode
  • ---

    Month 2+: Ejected Mode & Scale

    Advanced techniques:
  • • Ejecting domain logic for complex projects
  • • Contract design for Ejected surfaces
  • • White-label multi-client deployments
  • • Agency template libraries
  • ---

    Agency Pricing Examples

    Simple CRUD App (Managed Mode)

    Scope: Restaurant management system
  • Pricing: $5k fixed
  • Time: 1 week (20 hours agency time)
  • Margin: $4k profit (80%)
  • Delivery: Database, auth, CRUD, admin UI, deploy
  • ---

    Custom E-Commerce (Extended Mode)

    Scope: Handmade jewelry site with wholesale pricing
  • Base MVP: $7.5k (generated)
  • Custom wholesale API: $3k (Extended mode)
  • Custom email workflows: $2k (Extended mode)
  • Brand customization: $2k (Ejected styling)
  • Total: $14.5k
  • Time: 2 weeks (60 hours agency time)
  • Margin: $10k profit (69%)
  • ---

    Complex SaaS (Mixed Mode)

    Scope: Construction project management with custom workflows
  • Base MVP: $10k (generated)
  • Custom project scheduling: $8k (Ejected domain logic)
  • Integrations (QuickBooks, Procore): $10k (Ejected integrations)
  • Mobile-responsive UI: $5k (Extended UI components)
  • Total: $33k
  • Time: 4 weeks (160 hours agency time)
  • Margin: $20k profit (61%)
  • ---

    Success Stories

    "From 6 Weeks to 6 Days"

    DevShop Agency, Austin TX

    "We rebuilt our entire productized services model around Weldr:

    Before:
  • • 6 weeks per project
  • • 2-3 projects per quarter per dev
  • • $60k revenue/dev/quarter
  • After:
  • • 1 week base MVP + 1-2 weeks customization
  • • 6-8 projects per quarter per dev
  • • $120k revenue/dev/quarter
  • We doubled revenue per developer while improving client satisfaction. Clients get working apps in Week 1, not Week 6."

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    "White-Label Booking Systems at Scale"

    BookIt Solutions, Remote

    "We build booking systems for gyms, salons, restaurants. Before Weldr, each client was a fork nightmare.

    Now:
  • • 1 base template (Weldr generated)
  • • Custom per client (Extended mode for branding, Ejected for pricing)
  • • 30 active clients
  • • 1 shared codebase
  • • Updates deploy to all clients
  • • $500/month per client maintenance
  • • $15k/month recurring revenue
  • We went from firefighting bugs to actually growing the business."

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    Next Steps

  • Sign up at weldr.com/agencies
  • Book agency onboarding (free white-glove setup)
  • Generate first client MVP (we'll help)
  • Define productized offerings
  • Scale to 4-6 projects/month per dev
  • Agency Program Benefits:
  • • White-label options
  • • Volume discounts
  • • Dedicated support
  • • Co-marketing opportunities
  • • Case study support
  • ---

    Questions?
  • • Email: agencies@weldr.com
  • • Agency Slack: agencies.weldr.com/slack
  • • Docs: weldr.com/docs/for-agencies
  • ---

    "We 10x'd our project capacity without hiring. Weldr handles the boilerplate, we focus on the custom logic that clients actually pay for." - Sarah K., Agency Owner