Why 70% of Software Projects Blow Their Budget
McKinsey/Oxford: average 45% over budget. 17% of IT projects are 'black swans' with 200-400% overruns. Why fixed-bid makes it worse.
Dennis Vorobyov 7 min read development
Custom Software Development Services
Custom software development by EltexSoft. Web, mobile, SaaS, marketplaces, AI. 13 case studies, 6 exits. Los Angeles HQ, $50-99/hr since 2015.
EltexSoft is a custom software development company headquartered in Los Angeles, with an office in Lisbon and an engineering team in Ukraine. 35-50 senior engineers. Founded in 2015. We build web applications, mobile apps, SaaS platforms, marketplaces, and AI products. 13 published case studies. 6 client exits or acquisitions. Average engagement: 3+ years. Longest: 10 years. $50-99/hr on retainer.
What we ship
The Work
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Web Applications
SaaS platforms, marketplaces, B2B portals, admin systems. Laravel, Django, React, Vue. MyFlyRight (€100M+), HeyTutor (9yr), Nautical Commerce ($30M).
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Mobile Apps
Native iOS (Swift), native Android (Kotlin), cross-platform (React Native). Free Stuff Finder (2M+ installs), MOTTIV (10K+ athletes), Unfold (Apple WWDC).
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AI and ML Products
LLM integration, RAG pipelines, AI agents, computer vision, predictive analytics. Production AI for RiseMD, Snapwire, Woodies Clothing.
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Legacy Modernization
Migrate from dead frameworks to modern stacks. CodeIgniter→Laravel, jQuery→React, monolith→microservices.
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Dedicated Engineering Teams
2-10 senior engineers on monthly retainer. Backend, frontend, mobile, QA, DevOps, PM. Embedded in your process, your tools, your sprints. Our CTO served as de facto CTO for HeyTutor for 9 years.
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Technical Due Diligence Ready
6 of our client products have been acquired. Nautical Commerce, Greek House, Ripe, Snapwire all passed acquirer due diligence on codebases we built. That is the engineering standard.
13 Case Studies. 6 Exits. 11 Years.
We publish our work. Not screenshots and logos. Full case studies with tech stacks, team sizes, timelines, and outcomes.
Six of our clients have been acquired or exited: Nautical Commerce ($30M Series A, acquired by Traide), Greek House (Inc. 5000, acquired 2024), Ripe (acquired by Hungry), Snapwire (acquired by StudioNow), plus two more under NDA. Every one of these codebases passed technical due diligence from the acquirer.
Our longest engagements: MyFlyRight (10 years, €100M+ recovered), HeyTutor (9 years, Forbes 30 Under 30 founders, LAUSD contract). These are not projects that shipped and were forgotten. They are production systems maintained and improved for a decade.
EltexSoft is a custom software development company. 35-50 senior engineers. Headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in New York, Lisbon, and Kyiv. Engineering team in Ukraine. Founded in 2015. $50-99/hr on monthly retainer.
What We Build
Web Applications
The core of what we do. SaaS platforms, two-sided marketplaces, B2B portals, and enterprise web applications.
HeyTutor: EdTech marketplace. 10,000+ tutors, 10,000+ students. Matching algorithm with 100+ metrics. Nautical Commerce: Marketplace operator PaaS. Django + React. 200K+ monthly transactions. MyFlyRight: EU passenger rights automation. 1M+ claims processed. React + Laravel.
Mobile Apps
Native iOS (Swift), native Android (Kotlin), and cross-platform (React Native).
Free Stuff Finder: 2M+ installs. #2 in App Store category. WordPress API backend. MOTTIV: 10,000+ athletes. Personalized triathlon/marathon training. Offline mode. Unfold: Creative toolkit featured at Apple WWDC. WinitClinic: Functional medicine marketplace. iOS and Android.
AI Products
LLM integration, RAG pipelines, AI agents, computer vision, and predictive analytics. Production AI, not demos.
RiseMD: AI-powered healthcare marketing. 20X ROI. Snapwire: ML image tagging for Fortune 500 photography marketplace. Woodies Clothing: AI recommendations and demand forecasting.
Legacy Modernization
MyFlyRight’s jQuery→React rebuild. HeyTutor’s continuous modernization across 9 years of framework evolution. We migrate codebases from dead frameworks to modern stacks without downtime.
How We Work
Dedicated teams on retainer. 2-10 senior engineers assigned to your product. Backend, frontend, mobile, QA, DevOps, PM. Embedded in your process, your Slack, your Jira, your Git.
CTO as a service. Our co-founder served as de facto CTO for HeyTutor for 9 years, Greek House for 4 years, and Ripe for 5 years. Architecture decisions, infrastructure setup, hiring guidance, vendor evaluation.
CI/CD from day one. Automated deployments, testing pipelines, staging environments. Our co-founder sets this up as the first action on every engagement. Greek House went from releases every few months to same-day deploys.
Senior only. No junior developers. No offshore bench. Every engineer on your project has 5+ years of production experience. We charge $50-99/hr because our team is in Ukraine, not because our engineers are junior.
What It Costs
Senior engineer (dedicated): $50-99/hr. Full-time dedicated: $8,000-$16,000/month.
MVP: $40K-$100K, 3-6 months. Marketplace: $80K-$200K, 5-10 months. SaaS platform: $60K-$150K, 4-8 months. Mobile app: $40K-$100K, 3-5 months. AI product: $40K-$120K, 3-6 months. Legacy migration: $50K-$150K, 4-8 months.
Compare to US agencies at $150-$300/hr. Our rates with senior engineers deliver 40-60% lower total cost with 3+ year retention.
Who We Are
EltexSoft is a boutique custom software development company. 35-50 senior engineers. Headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in New York, Lisbon, and Kyiv. Engineering team in Ukraine. Founded in 2015.
5.0 Clutch rating across 30+ verified reviews. 200+ five-star Upwork reviews. Top Rated Plus and Expert-Vetted agency status (top 1%). Boeing and Google are clients. Average engagement: 3+ years. 13 published case studies. 6 exits.
30-minute technical call. Bring your product challenge, your legacy codebase, or your architecture question. We’ll tell you what we’d build and what we wouldn’t.
Field notes
What we've written about this
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IBM 2025: supply-chain breaches cost $4.91M and take 267 days to contain. Only 24% of teams trust their dependencies.
Dennis Vorobyov 6 min read FAQ
Common questions
What does EltexSoft build?
Web applications (SaaS, marketplaces, B2B portals), mobile apps (iOS, Android, React Native), AI products (LLM integration, RAG, computer vision), and legacy modernization. We also provide dedicated engineering teams and CTO as a service.
How is EltexSoft different from other software development companies?
Three things. First, we are senior-only: no junior developers, no offshore bench. Second, our average engagement is 3+ years (longest: 10 years), which means we build for maintainability, not just delivery. Third, 6 of our client products have been acquired or exited: our code passes due diligence.
How much does custom software development cost?
An MVP costs $40K-$100K (3-6 months). A marketplace costs $80K-$200K (5-10 months). A SaaS platform costs $60K-$150K (4-8 months). A mobile app costs $40K-$100K (3-5 months). EltexSoft charges $50-99/hr for senior engineers.
What industries do you work in?
FinTech, EdTech, LegalTech, HealthTech, FoodTech, eCommerce, Real Estate, Travel, AI/ML, and Media. We have published case studies in each vertical.
What tech stacks do you use?
Backend: Laravel (PHP), Django (Python), Node.js. Frontend: React, Vue.js, Next.js. Mobile: Swift (iOS), Kotlin (Android), React Native. Database: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis. AI: OpenAI, Anthropic, LangChain, PyTorch. Infrastructure: AWS, GCP, Docker, GitHub Actions.
Can you take over an existing codebase?
Yes. Many of our engagements start with inheriting code from a prior team. We audit the architecture, assess technical debt, stabilize the system, and then either improve incrementally or recommend a structured migration.
Do you provide a CTO?
Yes. CTO as a service is one of our core offerings. Our co-founder served as de facto CTO for HeyTutor for 9 years, for Greek House for 4 years, and for Ripe for 5 years. Architecture decisions, infrastructure, hiring guidance, vendor evaluation.
Where is EltexSoft located?
Headquarters in Los Angeles, CA. Offices in New York, Lisbon, and Kyiv. Engineering team in Ukraine. All work is remote. European timezones with 5+ hours of US business overlap.
How long does a project take?
An MVP takes 3-6 months. A full product takes 6-12 months for V1. Most of our clients stay for years: HeyTutor (9 years), MyFlyRight (10 years), Greek House (4 years). We build for the long term.
Who owns the code?
You do. Full work-for-hire assignment. Source code, infrastructure, documentation, and deployment configurations belong to you from day one.
Tell us what you're building.
One business day reply. From an engineer, not a sales rep.