Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
Smalkworks is an independent Mobile App Studio run by Pete Christianson.
Because so many people have asked us about our creation process and who built our apps, Pete now offers 1-on-1 consulting and referral services alongside the app publishing business.
Smalkworks builds a wide variety of mobile apps. Our goal is to eventually have an app available for every major app store category.
If you’ve never created an app before, we recommend that you start with a simple game as it’s the most likely to end up being profitable.
Yes, all of our development partners are required to offer services for the both platforms.
While we typically recommend starting with an iPhone app, it’s also recommended to build the backend of your app in a way that the data can be utilized by both iOS & Android.
Smalkworks helps businesses of all sizes, from Solo Founders to Unicorns.
But please be aware that it’s difficult to build a high-quality custom app for less than €5000 these days. If you’re on a tight budget, you may want to consider starting with a no-code platform to test out a basic version of your idea first.
No, Smalkworks is run by a very small team. All of our app development is outsourced to vetted partners around Europe.
The nice thing about this setup is that at least one of our partners can typically start on your project immediately.
Our partner network currently includes development agencies in The Netherlands, Romania, Moldova, and the United Kingdom.
Available Services
Yes, one of our Partner Project Managers will be available to assist you.
No, our partners work on app projects of all shapes and sizes. Whether you’re a solo entrepreneur who has an app template that you want improved or a larger corporate who wants to do a complete refresh of your mobile portfolio, we can connect you with the right team!
Pete, the Founder of Smalkworks, screens every app idea that is submitted. After learning more about your idea, requirements, and budget, he will connect you with the App Development Agency that he thinks is best for your project.
This introductory service is offered completely free of charge. Smalkworks is only compensated if you move forward with the agency we refer you to.
Not only will this save you lots of time scouting websites like Upwork, we stand 100% behind the work of our partners. If you are unhappy with the final outcome of your project, Smalkworks will refund our commission back to you.
Yes, we require all of our partners to at a minimum offer ongoing support of your app after launch.
Support plans are typically offered on an hourly basis, but it varies by partner.
Quotes & Process
Our partners generally work on a fixed cost budget that is based on an agreed upon product specification document. If additional features are added during development, extra costs can typically be negotiated at an hourly rate.
As Smalkworks is a very small team, we do not typically co-invest financial resources to build new apps. Some of our partners are open to profit sharing in special cases where they strongly believe in the potential of your idea. But for nearly all projects, you should plan on paying the full amount.
Timing & Process
It depends on the complexity of your specifications and whether or not there is already existing code in place. But on average, you should expect final delivery of the app between 1-3 months after you officially start work with one of our partners.
Getting Started
The best place to start is to share your high-level idea with us via our Contact Page.
We’ll then reach out to you with some follow up questions or to set up an initial call. We also want to make it clear that we never hard sell and are here primarily to help fellow app developers succeed like we did.
We can’t promise that every app we help build will be a chart-topper. But if you come to us with a great idea, there’s still a very good chance we can help you make it successful, even if you’ve never done it before.
We also can help promote your new app by advertising it within our growing portfolio of apps.
Of course! Pete reserves time every week to speak with up to 3 aspiring app entrepreneurs.
Legal Stuff
We typically don’t sign NDAs, but will occasionally agree to one with corporate clients.
In general, we prefer to keep our initial conversations with you pretty high-level. We primarily want to learn enough about your idea to determine which one of our vetted partners is the best fit for you.
Once you reach a contracting stage, an NDA is then typically put in place between you and the partner.
This is primarily because of NDAs in place between previous clients and our partners. If you do move forward with building your app with one of our partners and are interested in listing it on our website, we would love to feature it and help you get more downloads via our own in-app advertising network!
Regardless of the partner you work with in our network, you will retain all legal rights to the technology and code that you have paid to develop.
Partner Opportunities
In some cases, yes. Please use our Contact Form to share your business or cross-marketing proposal with us.
Yes, we are always open to accepting high-quality partners.
However, before we accept a new partner, it is required that we work on one app development project together to experience the same process our referrals will.
Please contact us to see which upcoming Smalkworks product specs are currently available for you to bid on.
Note: In an effort to maintain a reasonable number of the partnership requests, all partner “test-run projects” with Smalkworks are done on a profit sharing basis. We will pay you 25-50% of total project costs upfront and then 1.25x the repayment of your costs with future app proceeds.
We also do it this way as we are looking to build a network of committed partners, not a directory of development agencies looking for one-off deal flow.
Thanks for your understanding and interest.
Have more questions?