About Dandy

The venture studio for founders who can't wait

Our Mission

Enable people who are passionate about their idea but lack the capital and capability to build a technical MVP, to move forward with their vision.

Too many great ideas die because founders can't find a technical co-founder. We're here to change that.

What Makes Us Different

We filter

We say "no" to most submissions. That selectivity means our "yes" actually means something.

We believe

We're partners with skin in the game. We share in your success.

We build

We build the MVP ourselves. You get a real, working product.

We advise

Post-launch, we stay as your fractional CPO/CTO.

How It Works

1

AI-Guided Intake

Our AI mentor walks you through questions covering your problem, solution, market, and vision.

2

Business Case Synthesis

We generate a structured business case covering positioning, market, and go-to-market strategy.

3

Human Review

Real humans review your submission. No algorithm alone makes this call.

4

Honest Feedback

Whether we move forward or not, you get detailed, constructive feedback.

5

MVP Development

If approved, we build your MVP in 8-12 weeks. A real product customers can use.

6

Launch & Partnership

Post-launch, we continue as your technical partner for the long haul.

Who We're Looking For

Ideal founders have:

  • Domain expertise — Deep knowledge of the problem space
  • Customer access — Ability to reach potential buyers
  • Sales mindset — Willingness to sell, not just build
  • Grit — Commitment to see this through
  • Coachability — Openness to feedback

We don't work with founders who:

  • Just want cheap code without partnership
  • Are unwilling to sell or talk to customers
  • Have ideas requiring years of R&D before market testing
  • Want "hands-off" technical partners

What We Build

We build software-based MVPs across a range of business models:

B2B SaaS B2C Apps Marketplaces Internal Tools AI/ML Products Integrations

Examples of what we've built or can build:

  • Web applications — Dashboards, admin panels, customer portals, booking systems
  • AI-powered tools — Chatbots, content generators, document analysis, intelligent automation
  • SaaS platforms — Subscription-based tools with user management, billing, analytics
  • Marketplaces — Two-sided platforms connecting buyers and sellers
  • API integrations — Connecting existing tools (Stripe, Twilio, Salesforce, etc.)
  • Data products — Scrapers, aggregators, visualization tools, reporting systems
  • Workflow automation — Email sequences, approval flows, notification systems

What we don't build: Native mobile apps (web-based alternatives available), hardware products, or anything requiring years of R&D before market testing.

Post-MVP Support

FAQ

How much does it cost?

$0 upfront. We take an equity stake and share in your success. Terms discussed if approved.

How long does the intake take?

About 15 minutes. You can save progress. We review within 48 hours.

What if my idea gets rejected?

You'll get detailed feedback. Many founders resubmit with refined ideas.

How long does it take to build?

8-12 weeks for most projects. We'll give you a timeline before starting.

Who owns the IP?

Worked out as part of the partnership agreement. Our goal is aligned incentives.

Huddle: Brainstorm Room

We also built Huddle—a collaborative AI brainstorm room where you and others can hash out ideas with Claude together. Great for thinking through your intake with a co-founder or friend.

Multi-user

Multiple people in the same AI conversation, real-time.

Web search

AI can search the web for current information.

No signup

Create a room, share the link, start brainstorming.

Toggle AI

Turn AI on/off to chat privately with others.

Start a Huddle →

v0.5.0 Changelog ›

0.5.0 Jan 19, 2025

Bug Tracking & Quality of Life

  • Bug Tracker — Shared Google Sheet for tracking bugs, priorities, QA status. Accessible via short URL.
  • Short URL System — Admin tool at /admin/urls for creating shareable short links (dandy.ventures/s/xxx)
  • Cleaner AI Dialogue — Removed ceremonial phrasing ("Alright, before we dive deeper..."). AI just continues naturally.
  • Question Reorder — Tech dependencies question now comes before ecosystem/partners question
  • Status Detail — Dashboard shows explanation text for each status (what it means, next steps)
  • Always-Changeable Status — Admin can change idea status at any stage, including reverting approved to rejected
  • Build Difficulty Clarity — Scoring rubric now explicitly lists what Dandy builds vs. flags as outside wheelhouse
  • Deployment Sync — New git_push.sh ensures git and GCP deployments stay in sync

0.4.0 Jan 17, 2025

Admin Controls & Founder Experience

  • Admin Lockdown — Admin page restricted to authorized team members only (role-based access)
  • Idea Status Management — 6 statuses with dropdown: submitted, under_review, approved, rejected, deferred, duplicate. Each with feedback capture.
  • Dashboard Lifecycle View — Visual 4-phase progress bar on idea cards: Intake → Submitted → Review → Decision
  • Dynamic Question Referencing — AI checks previous answers and skips/abbreviates questions already covered
  • Huddle Chat Export — Download chat transcripts as markdown via Share menu
  • Content Guardrails — LDNOOBW word filter blocks inappropriate content; non-admin huddles focused on product topics
  • Intake Progress Sidebar — Desktop left sidebar showing Q1-17 completion status
  • Highlighted Questions — AI formats questions in blockquote with purple border for visibility
  • Partner Solutions Question — New Q9 asks about required technologies, APIs, and platform integrations
  • Changelog Moved — Now visible on About page (was hidden behind admin lockdown)

0.3.0 Jan 14, 2025

AI-Powered Analysis & Scoring

  • Background Analysis Engine — AI runs deep analysis after each intake question: competitor identification (10→3), pain theme extraction, urgency triggers, objection mapping, ecosystem analysis, pricing signals, retention drivers, GTM channel assessment
  • 8-Dimension Scoring Rubric — Weighted evaluation: Market Size (1.0x), Willingness to Pay (1.5x), Customer Accessibility (1.0x), Competitive Intensity (0.8x), Differentiation (1.2x), Durability (1.0x), Build Difficulty (0.8x), Founder Fit (1.2x)
  • Admin Scoring Display — Color-coded scores with justifications, weighted totals, and AI recommendations (strong yes → strong no)
  • 17-Question Intake Flow — Spec-compliant questions with Q2 validation step (AI reframes idea and confirms understanding)
  • Enhanced Refine Flow — "Why I wrote it this way" rationale for each section, First Draft/Updated Draft labels, max 5 iterations with counter
  • New API Endpoints — /api/ideas/{id}/analyses, /api/ideas/{id}/scores, /api/ideas/{id}/scores/generate
  • Database Schema — intake_responses table stores Q&A with JSONB analysis data

0.2.0 Jan 13, 2025

Admin Tools & Design System

  • Admin Review Queue — Filter by status (all/submitted/approved/rejected), view full intake conversations, approve or reject with detailed feedback
  • Refine Flow — Section-by-section iteration on business case with real-time AI revisions
  • Stripe Design System — Complete UI overhaul with purple/cyan theme, consistent spacing, modern typography
  • Dark Mode — Full support across all pages with automatic OS preference detection
  • Chat Persistence — Huddle conversations saved to PostgreSQL, survive server restarts
  • Mobile Navigation — Responsive hamburger menu for nav links on small screens
  • User Display Names — Google login name shown in chat instead of random guest IDs

0.1.0 Jan 13, 2025

Foundation & Core Features

  • Google OAuth Authentication — Secure login via Google with session management
  • PostgreSQL Database — 6-table schema: users, ideas, messages, intake_responses, summaries, feedback
  • Ideas CRUD API — Full REST API for creating, reading, updating, deleting startup ideas
  • AI Mentor Intake — 17-question guided flow using Claude Opus with warm, encouraging persona
  • Smart Question Progression — Auto-advance with [NEXT] tag extraction, context-aware follow-ups
  • Business Case Generator — Auto-synthesizes 6-section summary: Positioning, Market, Monetization, Value & Differentiation, Product Strategy, Go-To-Market
  • Collaborative Chat (Huddle) — Real-time group chat with AI, web search integration, participant management
  • User Preferences — Profile page with chat model selection (Haiku/Sonnet/Opus)
  • GCP Deployment — App Engine with Secret Manager integration, auto-scaling
Submit Your Idea

Dandy — The technical co-founder you've been looking for