— / CompareThe three kinds
The three kinds
you've already met.
Every founder shopping for an AI or software build talks to the same three kinds of firms first. Here's the direct comparison — and where Michai fits.
| — | Agency | Dev shop | Big 4 | Michai |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core output | Marketing sites | Ticketed dev work | Decks + diagrams | Production systems |
| Owns strategy | No | No | Yes — at $$$ | Yes — at fixed fee |
| Writes production code | Subcontracts | Yes, staff-augmented | Subcontracts | Yes, in-studio |
| Claude-native depth | No | Generic AI | Advisory only | Yes, shipped |
| Engagement model | Hourly / retainer | Hourly / retainer | Time + materials | Fixed scope, fixed fee |
| Typical engagement | $10K – $75K | $50K – $500K | $250K – $5M | $2K – $1M+ |
| Time to first ship | 4–8 weeks | 8–16 weeks | 20+ weeks | 7 days – 24 weeks |
| Post-launch posture | Upsell | Ticketed backlog | Retainer | Tuning + coverage |
| Equity alignment | Never | Rarely | Never | When it fits |
Pick an agency when…
You need a marketing site, a brand refresh, or a performance-marketing campaign. Agencies are great at the surface layer of the business.
Pick a dev shop when…
You have a fully-formed spec, an engineering leader inside your company, and you need bodies on keyboards. Dev shops scale ticketed execution.
Pick Michai when…
You need to ship production AI or software, you want the strategy and engineering in one room, and you want fixed price so your CFO sleeps at night.