Work

Custom software
for founders.

Built when spreadsheets and no-code tools start costing more than they save.

We build the tools founders reach for after the spreadsheet breaks. Not configuring off-the-shelf software. Not agency-standard project plans that stretch six months. Purpose-fit applications that match exactly how your operation runs — built and shipped in weeks, maintained by people who understood the problem before writing a line.

What we've built

vital registry

VitalRegistry: From Excel to a real CRM

Before VitalRegistry, rental distributors tracked their devices in Excel or Google Sheets. Mum had over ten. Her files multiplied across versions — she'd edit one sheet, forget she'd already updated another, and lose track of which entry was current. Reconciling that at end of month was hours of cross-referencing she didn't have. The breaking point was small and ordinary: she asked us at Christmas whether we could build something that would let her trust her own data again.

Read the VitalRegistry build story

origin

Origin: How the $20 Claude sub changed what felt possible

The first proof landed quietly. We were still in Streamlit. Authentication finally worked, the basic CRM screens rendered without crashing, and mum opened it on a Tuesday morning instead of the spreadsheet. She didn't say anything about it. She just used it. A week later she'd handed it to two friends who ran the same kind of rental operation. They came back with feedback that wasn't polite — it was specific.

Read the origin story

czaban dev site

Building in public: the site that forced us to publish

A two-person agency that builds custom software for founders cannot rely on word of mouth alone. We needed to show up when a founder types 'we outgrew Airtable' or 'custom CRM for medical device rentals' or 'Streamlit hosting cost too high' into a search bar. Those are the moments where a qualified lead is closest to making a decision — and also the moments we can deliver real value with a thoughtful post instead of a generic landing page.

Read the czaban.dev build story

rag setup

Internal tooling: knowledge base for a two-person agency

Three months into running CZ Dev, we kept hitting the same moment. Mid-task in Claude Code, needing to check what a specific clause said in a client contract, or remember what we'd decided on a session handling pattern in a previous project. The information existed somewhere — a markdown file, a meeting note, a Notion page, a chat log. Reaching it meant context switching out, hunting, copying, pasting, and trying to remember what I'd been doing when I started. Two people running an agency cannot keep an entire portfolio of clients, contracts, and patterns in their heads.

Read the RAG setup story

Related reading

Questions we get asked

What does CZ Dev build?
Internal tools, CRM systems, dashboards, and automation workflows for founders who have outgrown spreadsheets and no-code platforms. We built VitalRegistry — a full React + Firebase CRM that replaced Excel for medical device rental distributors across Hungary. Month-end reconciliation that used to take a full day now runs in minutes. That is the kind of problem we exist to solve.
Who is this for?
Founders running real operations on tools that were not designed for them. If your team is copy-pasting between spreadsheets, if a no-code tool started hitting its ceiling, or if a process that used to be manageable is now eating a full day every week — that is the point where a purpose-built tool pays back its cost inside a quarter.
How long does a typical engagement take?
First working version in four to eight weeks, depending on scope. We build iteratively: the first version solves the core problem and puts something real in your hands quickly. We refined VitalRegistry from a Streamlit prototype to a full React CRM in roughly six months of part-time work. Your first version will be leaner and faster because we are not learning the domain from scratch.
What does working with CZ Dev look like?
We start with the problem, not the spec. One conversation to understand what is costing you time or trust. Then a short plan, a first build, and iteration from real usage. We use the same agentic development pipeline we have built for our own products — which means tighter feedback loops and faster delivery than a traditional agency engagement.
Do you work with non-technical founders?
Yes. Most of our best work has been for people whose expertise is in their domain, not in software. Mum did not know what Firebase was when we handed her the first version of VitalRegistry. She knew immediately whether the app did what she needed. That judgment is the most valuable input we can get.

Custom Software for Founders

If you're reading this, you probably already know what it's costing you.

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