Define the boundary before asking for a proposal
Write down the component, the surrounding product and the result the client expects. Identify who provides the data, who owns authentication and the interface, and who can approve changes. Make dependencies explicit: a backend cannot be accepted against a source system that nobody can access yet.
Ask the supplier to return a short responsibility map with its proposal. For each deliverable, you should be able to identify an owner, an input and a review point. This is especially useful when several vendors are working on the same release.
Ask for evidence that resembles your difficult part
A polished AI demo may show presentation quality without answering your delivery question. If you need document retrieval, discuss document handling and answer evaluation. If you need semantic search, discuss ranking, data updates and integration. If the problem is an unreliable prototype, ask how the team would diagnose it before proposing a rebuild.
Use a relevant case as the start of a technical conversation. Ask what the team actually built, what another party supplied, what constraints shaped the solution and what they would verify on your data. Respect confidentiality; useful evidence does not require access to another client's private systems.
Agree what “done” means before development
Describe the user workflow and acceptance examples in language both teams can review. Include failure cases and the route for reporting issues. A component that produces a plausible answer on a demonstration screen may still be missing permissions, usable error handling or deployment instructions.
A first stage should leave you with reviewable work and a decision about the next stage. Agree how scope changes are priced and how unresolved questions affect delivery. A fixed price is useful when its boundaries are equally clear.
Protect the working relationship
Decide who attends client calls, whose name appears in documentation and whether work is presented under your agency's brand. Clarify confidentiality, solicitation of your client, ownership of code and the accounts in which the work will run. These details belong in the engagement, not in assumptions made by either team.
At Indext, NDA and no-poach terms are the default for studio engagements, with white-label delivery available on request. Your team can lead the product while we deliver the agreed data or AI component.
Use a short supplier comparison that leads to a decision
You do not need a complete technical specification to start. A free 20–30 minute call with Indext is followed by a written scope and fixed price for stage one within two business days. First stages start from $5,000. Use that first proposal to assess the clarity of the working relationship as well as the price.
- Scope: can the partner explain the deliverable and what is excluded?
- Evidence: is there relevant implementation work and a credible discussion of its limits?
- Collaboration: are client communication, dependencies and change decisions assigned?
- Acceptance: can your team review the result against agreed examples?
- Continuity: will you receive code, access and instructions sufficient for the next stage?
Define a useful first stage.
Start with a free 20–30 minute scoping call. Bring your workflow, a few examples and the decision you need to make.
Discuss a component in your client projectWritten scope and fixed price for stage one within two business days. First stages from $5,000.