Custom Software & Mobile Apps
iOS and Android apps, internal tools, and AI-powered products — built by HopperCat Apps, our software studio, and launched with the marketing team that will take them to market.
The gap most software projects fall into
A studio builds the app. It works. It ships. Then the client — who has spent months and a real budget — discovers that shipping was the easy half. Nobody knows the product exists, the store listing was written in an afternoon, the analytics were never wired, and the first install campaign starts from zero three months after launch.
We build the other way around. HopperCat Apps writes the software; HopperCat takes it to market. Because both live under one roof, launch is a phase of the project instead of a problem that starts when the project ends.
What we build
- Mobile apps — iOS and Android, native or cross-platform depending on what the product actually does
- Custom business software — internal tools, dashboards, portals, and systems that replace the spreadsheet everyone is quietly afraid of
- AI-powered products — assistants, search over your own documents, extraction and automation, built where a model earns its place
- Integrations and back ends — APIs, data pipelines, and the connective work between systems that were never designed to talk
- Immersive builds — VR, MR and 360° experiences, through the same studio
The launch is part of the build
This is the part external studios leave to you.
While the product is being built, we define the analytics event map, so the day it launches you can already see activation, drop-off and cost per install. We write the store listing in both languages as marketing copy, not as a form field. And the acquisition campaign is ready to run on launch day.
On the Quini app launch, that campaign delivered 154 installs at a $0.28 cost per install with a 6.2% CTR. The reason those numbers exist at all is that measurement was scoped before the app was finished, not retrofitted after.
Bilingual is a build decision, not a translation task
Adding Spanish to a finished product is expensive and it shows. Text expands and breaks layouts, dates and currency get formatted wrong, error states stay in English, and the store listing reads like it was run through a translator — because it was.
We decide the bilingual structure at the data model and the copy layer, before any of that is expensive to change. Spanish written in Spanish, including the parts nobody demos: notifications, empty states, validation messages, support flows.
Who this is for
- Businesses that need a product built, and know the build is only half the job
- Teams running operations on spreadsheets and manual work that a real tool would absorb
- Founders who need a first version scoped honestly instead of an open-ended hourly engagement
- Anyone with software someone else built and abandoned, who wants a straight answer on whether to continue it or replace it
How we price
By scope, quoted after discovery. A first build is a defined project with a timeline and a number; ongoing product work runs as a monthly arrangement, month to month, no lock-in. We do not quote before we understand what we are building, and you should be suspicious of anyone who does.
Next step
Fill out the diagnostic and describe what you have in mind — even loosely. You get a scoped plan and a cost within 48 business hours, no call required.
FAQ
Who actually writes the code? HopperCat Apps, our sister software studio — same company family, same leadership, a team that builds software full time. You deal with one point of contact across both.
How is this different from your web development service? Web development builds marketing sites and landing pages, whose job is to be found and to convert. This builds products: things people log into and return to. Need both? We scope them together.
iOS, Android, or both? Both. Native versus cross-platform depends on the product — device-heavy and graphics-heavy apps push native, most business and content apps ship faster cross-platform. We decide with you during discovery and write down the trade-off.
Can you take over a build someone else started? Usually. We review the code and infrastructure first, then tell you honestly whether continuing or rewriting is cheaper over the next year. Sometimes the answer is to stay where you are.
Do you help us get users, or just ship it? Both — that is the whole point of building it here. Store listing, install campaigns, and the analytics to read them are part of the launch.
What does it cost? It depends on scope. Fill out the diagnostic and we send a scoped plan and cost within 48 business hours.
Why HopperCat?
Built and launched by one family
Most studios hand you a finished app and wish you luck. HopperCat Apps builds it; HopperCat launches it. The store listing, the install campaign, and the measurement are scoped while the product is still being designed, not after nobody downloads it.
Bilingual from the data model up
Spanish and English are decided at the schema and copy layer, not bolted on with a translation file three sprints before launch. That includes store listings, push copy, error states and support flows — the places translated apps give themselves away.
Measurement is part of the build
Analytics events are defined alongside the features, so on launch day you can already answer which screen loses people and what an install actually costs. We wire the same GA4 and attribution discipline we use for campaigns.
AI where it earns its place
We build AI into products when it removes real work — search, extraction, assistants, automation. We will also tell you when a feature does not need a model, which is more often than the current market implies.
A studio with a decade behind it
HopperCat has been building for clients since 2010 and has worked with more than 300 of them. The software studio is not a side experiment we opened last year.
Process
1. Scoping and technical discovery (Week 1-2)
What the product has to do, who uses it, what it integrates with, and what the first shippable version actually is. Output is a scoped build plan with a timeline and a cost, not an open-ended hourly arrangement.
2. Architecture and design (Week 2-4)
Data model, stack, integrations, and interface design reviewed with you before anyone writes production code. Bilingual structure and the analytics event map are decided here, while changing them is still cheap.
3. Build in visible increments
You get working builds on a regular cadence, not a silent quarter followed by a reveal. Each increment is something you can open on a device and react to, and scope moves with what you learn.
4. Launch: store, instrumentation, campaign
App Store and Play Store submission, analytics and attribution verified end to end, and the acquisition campaign ready before launch day rather than a month after it. This is the step external studios leave to you.
5. Iterate on real usage
Post-launch we read what people actually do — activation, retention, where they drop — and turn that into the next build cycle. Ongoing work runs as a monthly arrangement, month to month.
Frequently asked questions
Who actually writes the code?
HopperCat Apps, our sister software studio. It is the same company family and the same leadership, with a team that builds software full time instead of splitting attention with campaigns. You deal with one point of contact across both.
How is this different from your web development service?
Web development covers marketing sites and landing pages — pages whose job is to be found and to convert. This service covers products: apps people log into and use repeatedly, internal tools, and software with its own data model. If you need a product and the site that sells it, we scope both together.
Do you build for iOS, Android, or both?
Both. Which approach we recommend — native or cross-platform — depends on what the product does. Apps that lean on device capabilities or heavy graphics push toward native; most business and content apps ship faster and cheaper cross-platform. We make that call with you during discovery, with the trade-off written down.
Can you take over software someone else built?
Often, yes. We start with a code and infrastructure review so we can tell you honestly whether continuing the existing build or rewriting it is cheaper over the next year. Sometimes the answer is that you should stay where you are, and we will say so.
Will you help us get users, or just ship the app?
Both, and that is the point of building it here. Store listing optimization, install campaigns, and the analytics to read them are part of the launch, run by the same team. We launched the Quini app this way and delivered 154 installs at a $0.28 cost per install with a 6.2% CTR.
What does it cost?
It depends entirely on scope, and anyone quoting a number before discovery is guessing. Fill out the diagnostic with what you have in mind and we come back with a scoped plan and a cost within 48 business hours, no call required.
Ready for a diagnosis?
Tell us what you need in two minutes. We review your site and your setup, then send a diagnosis with scope and cost within 48 business hours. No call required.