We build it.
We hold a piece of it.
Reduced cash plus a small minority equity stake. We stop being a vendor and start being a partner with real incentive to see you win — well past handover.
- 2–15%
- Minority equity
- $4K+
- Cash floor
- 11
- Systems shipped
- 0
- Board seats taken
Stakeholder, not vendor.
You pay a reduced build fee. We take a small minority stake. Now we're a stakeholder — paid to care about year three, not just the launch invoice. We've done this before. Some of those companies are now in our portfolio.
In every serious field — finance, racing, music — the people who win run custom equipment built by partners with skin in the game. Not a vendor on a quarterly contract. The equity isn't the price; it's the alignment.
Everything in Own It, plus the partner relationship.
01
Reduced build cost
Cash side drops meaningfully against an Own It quote — sometimes as low as $4K — in exchange for a small minority equity stake.
02
The same engineering depth
Same team, same standards, same handover quality as Own It. We don’t take equity to ship junior work.
03
A long-term partner
We stay in the build past launch. New features, fixes, scaling decisions — we’re the team you call, not the contract you renew.
04
Skin in the game
We win when you win. The equity isn’t a fee; it’s how we keep ourselves accountable to outcomes years out.
05
Network access
Other operators in our portfolio, advisors, customers we’ve worked with. The kind of intros that take three years to build.
Who Partner Build is for.
Three profiles tend to fit. None of them want a dev shop they fire on day 91.
Profile 01
Funded early-stage
Pre-seed or seed with $50K–$500K to allocate to a real product without burning the whole round on engineering.
Profile 02
Growth-stage SMB
Doing real revenue, building a serious internal tool, want a partner who’ll still be there in two years.
Profile 03
Founder-led
You’re the operator. You want pushback, alternative paths, and an engineering counterpart who isn’t a sales call.
We're transparent about what we take.
Bluestone takes a minority equity stake — typically 2% to 15% depending on deal structure, build size, and stage. We do not take control. We do not take a default board seat.
We want you to grow because our stake grows with you. If you raise, we get diluted alongside you. If you sell, we sell with you. If you keep building forever, we build with you.
Curious about full ownership instead? Own It keeps 100% on your cap table. Curious about no cash at all? No Capital? No Problem is the equity-only path.
We're your tech partner — not a sales guy trying to sell you a car. The equity is how we make sure we still pick up the phone in year three.
Partner Build, answered plainly.
- What is a Partner Build?
- A Partner Build is a custom software engagement where Bluestone charges a reduced cash fee in exchange for a minority equity stake, typically 2% to 15%. The cash side drops meaningfully against a fixed-price Own It quote — sometimes as low as $4,000 — and Bluestone stays involved as a long-term technical partner after launch rather than handing off and leaving.
- How much equity does Bluestone take in a Partner Build?
- Typically 2% to 15%, depending on deal structure, build size, and company stage. Bluestone takes a minority position only — no control, and no default board seat.
- Who is a Partner Build a good fit for?
- Funded early-stage companies, usually pre-seed or seed with $50,000 to $500,000 allocated to product, that want a real engineering partner without spending the entire round on engineering. It suits founders who want long-term technical partnership rather than a one-off contract.
- What happens to Bluestone's equity if we raise or sell?
- Bluestone gets diluted alongside the founders in a raise, and sells alongside them in an exit. The stake grows only if the company grows, which is the point of the structure.
- How is a Partner Build different from build-for-equity?
- A Partner Build is reduced cash plus a small equity stake, typically 2% to 15%. Bluestone's No Capital? No Problem tier is the pure or near-pure equity path with a larger stake, typically 10% to 30%, for founders with no budget for a build. The Own It tier is full cash with no equity at all.
- Do we still own the code in a Partner Build?
- Yes. The client owns the source, the data, and the IP. The equity covers the partnership; it does not buy the codebase. Engineering standards and handover quality are the same as a full-price Own It build.
Talk through a partner deal.
Book a 30-minute call. We'll walk through how we structure equity, what makes a fit, and decide together whether this is the right move.