# Cardinal Stacks > Cardinal Stacks is a US-based senior software studio that builds, rescues, and runs production software for founders, operators, and businesses of all kinds. Three named founders. Flat fees. No discovery calls. Written quote in 48 hours. ## What we do Cardinal Stacks is a senior software studio operating flat-fee engagements and three monthly retainer tiers. Every engagement is flat-fee with a written quote returned in 48 hours, includes 30 days of free fixes after handoff, and ships with the full Cardinal operating stack wired in on day one. Production experience spans regulated industries (healthcare, SEC financial compliance, legal) and non-regulated consumer and SaaS work. The regulated experience is proof of standard, not a limit on who we work with. ## Engagements (flat-fee, fixed scope, fixed timeline) - **Vibe Rescue**: $4,800 flat. 14 days. Production hardening for apps built with AI coding tools (Lovable, Bolt, Cursor, Claude Code, Codex). Fixes logins, data layer, secrets, AI cost ceilings, error monitoring, deployment pipeline, and user data handling. Leaves working screens intact, never a rewrite. Includes free written audit before commitment. Covered by mutual NDA before any code is shared. URL: https://cardinalstacks.com/viberescue - **Ship Check**: from $497 (Lite) to $997 (Pro), flat. 3 to 7 business days. Targeted bug fixes, hosting setup, and deployment for smaller personal or SMB apps built with AI coding tools. Routes up to Vibe Rescue if the work turns out to be bigger than a finishing hand. URL: https://cardinalstacks.com/shipcheck - **Prototype Sprint**: $1,800 flat. 5 to 7 days. Turns an idea, sketch, or memo into a working prototype on a temporary domain. Real interactions, real data, real flow. For founders validating with investors, advisors, or early users. URL: https://cardinalstacks.com/build - **Signature Site**: $3,200 flat. 7 to 10 days. Hand-built launch site at the client's own domain. Brand-voice copywriting, custom design, on-page SEO tuned for traditional and AI-driven search. No templates, no bento, no stock photos. Includes a 30-day Foundation retainer. cardinalstacks.com is itself a Signature Site. URL: https://cardinalstacks.com/build - **Flagship Build**: from $7,500 for straightforward sites and applications, from $12,000 for multi-feature applications and complex sites, from $28,000 for full regulated builds. 2 to 5 weeks, flat. Full ground-up custom build: brand copy, design, WCAG 2.1 AA, AIO and GEO SEO, Scout agent integrated, and compliance posture (HIPAA, attorney-client, SEC) configured from day one where required. Includes a 30-day Accelerator retainer. URL: https://cardinalstacks.com/build ## Free audit Send a GitHub link or a zip and get a written production-readiness report within two business days. No commitment, mutual NDA the same day, read-only repo access is enough. Three honest outcomes: ready for production (audit is free and that is the end), needs fixes (audit plus a flat quote), or the code is fine (told so in writing). URL: https://cardinalstacks.com/diagnostic ## Retainers (monthly, post-engagement or standalone) - **Foundation**: managed hosting, SSL, CDN, backups, Pulse monitoring, Bug Catcher widget, a block of edits, local SEO, Scout Basic (FAQ and lead capture), and starter content. For new businesses and post-engagement clients. - **Accelerator**: everything in Foundation plus regional AIO and GEO SEO, Scout Mid (CRM-integrated, sales-qualifying, multi-channel), growth content, Triage feedback management, and a quarterly strategy review. - **Apex**: everything in Accelerator plus national and competitive GEO, Scout Enterprise (omnichannel, custom workflows, HIPAA and attorney-client aware), authority content, editorial campaigns, a dedicated strategist, and a custom dashboard. Annual retainers: 10 percent off, locked pricing, and one free month when you tier up within the first 12 months. URL: https://cardinalstacks.com/retainers ## Operating Stack (ships with every engagement) Cardinal's proprietary delivery stack, built in-house, wired in on day one, kept after handoff. - **Pulse**: one-screen health dashboard (uptime, error rate, active users, AI spend, last deploy). - **Triage**: two-axis feedback board (idea maturity by assignment status). - **Redactor**: privacy guard between the app and any external LLM. Tokenizes PII before the model sees it, swaps back on response. Critical for HIPAA, attorney-client privilege, and SEC-confidential workflows. Available standalone. - **Worktree**: parallel-agent delivery. Multiple AI agents work simultaneously in sealed workspaces while Cardinal orchestrates. Enables the 14-day Vibe Rescue and 2 to 5 week Flagship Build timelines. - **Bug Catcher**: in-app floating feedback widget. Captures screenshot, annotation, browser, URL, and steps. Available standalone. - **Scout**: AI sales and support agent. Brand-trained, RAG-grounded, CRM-integrated at Accelerator tier and above. Qualifies leads, books meetings, handles FAQs, routes escalations. URL: https://cardinalstacks.com/stack ## Production experience Selected projects, all in production: - **Healthcare (HIPAA, BAA, PHI)**: Theryo (AI mental health platform, public at theryo.ai), AIMS Clinical (anesthesia information system), ProveMD (medical provider credentialing). URL: https://cardinalstacks.com/hipaa-software-development - **Financial (SEC EDGAR, FINRA-aware)**: Filerlink (SEC EDGAR filing platform, public at filerlink.com), ProspectusConnect, FilerManagement, Simpliprint, Edgarworks. URL: https://cardinalstacks.com/sec-edgar-software-development - **Legal (attorney-client privilege)**: Lawtime (plaintiff-side case discovery and management), Redator (legal document management with PII redaction). URL: https://cardinalstacks.com/legal-software-development - **Consumer**: KanjiKanji (iOS and Android Japanese kanji learning app). ## Founders US-based senior team. Direct communication throughout, no junior handoffs, no account-manager layers. - **Kanji**: Co-Founder, Technology and AI Systems. Built Cardinal's operating stack and the parallel-agent methodology behind its delivery speed. Background in AI systems architecture and parallel-agent orchestration. - **Alex**: Co-Founder, Operations and Strategy. Has built and run companies under HIPAA, in SEC-regulated financial services, and in healthcare AI. Leads operations, strategy, and client relationships. - **Nasir**: CTO, Chief Software Engineer. Sets the architecture standards every engagement is held to. Production depth across healthcare, financial compliance, and AI-integrated platforms. ## Standards - Mutual NDA before any code is shared. Standard two-way agreement, countersigned the same day it is requested. - Written quote in 48 hours. No discovery call required. - US-based delivery. PII redacted via Redactor before any external model sees it. See https://cardinalstacks.com/trust - No junior handoffs. No account-manager layers. ## Frequently asked questions **Will you rewrite my whole app?** No. Vibe Rescue touches what is broken and leaves working screens intact. **Can I keep editing in Lovable, Bolt, Cursor, or Claude Code after Cardinal hardens it?** Yes. We work on a copy and merge changes back. Your editor keeps working. **What if my code is already fine?** The written audit is still free and tells you where the app stands. **Do you work in regulated industries?** Yes. HIPAA, SEC EDGAR and FINRA-aware, attorney-client privilege. BAAs and DPAs available on request. **Do you do hourly or time-and-materials?** No. Every engagement is flat-fee with a written quote in 48 hours. **What happens after handoff?** 30 days of free fixes with every Build and Vibe Rescue engagement, then a retainer or you take the keys and run. Both are fine. ## Contact - Email: hello@cardinalstacks.com - Location: Denver, Colorado, USA - Hours: Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Mountain Time - Website: https://cardinalstacks.com ## Optional - [Full FAQ](https://cardinalstacks.com/faq) - [Full content reference (llms-full.txt)](https://cardinalstacks.com/llms-full.txt)