FAQ — STRAIGHT ANSWERS
Ask before you have to.
The questions people ask about the studio (the model, the pricing, the ownership) answered the way they get answered on a call. If yours isn't here, ask it directly; i reply within 1–2 business days.
What is Tate Development?
A venture studio. It builds and runs companies of its own (customers, revenue, reputation) and builds for other businesses in the industries those companies live in. Outside those industries it takes a few chosen projects a year. One owner, Lucas Tate, answers for all of it.
Why does a venture studio take client work?
Self-interest with a long horizon. The studio's companies do better when their industries do, so building for the businesses around them is part of the model, not a side business. It also keeps the studio's judgment where it can be checked: the standards that run its own companies get applied to work someone else is grading. The full argument is the first essay in Writings: better companies make better industries.
Would the studio take my project?
Honestly: maybe not, and you'll know quickly. Work comes in three rings, in order: the studio's own companies, the industries around them, then a small number of chosen projects a year outside those. The first decision on any inquiry is whether the studio believes in the work at all, and a fast, straight no is part of how it runs. If it's a yes, you get the same owner-level judgment the studio's own companies get.
How does pricing work?
One fixed number, in writing, before work starts. Never hourly, for anything. The number comes out of a diagnosis of what the business needs, not a rate card. Ongoing support is a flat monthly fee for a maintained state, not a bucket of hours. If scope changes mid-project, the change gets re-quoted in the open.
Do I own what the studio builds for me?
Yes. Everything built here stays portable: if you ever want to take the work in-house or to another developer, you get a clean handoff. Most clients keep the work under the studio's care because it's easier, but that's a choice renewed monthly, not a lock-in.
Who actually does the work?
Lucas Tate leads every engagement, and he's the same person who runs the studio's own companies. He scopes the work, leads the build, and answers for the result from first call through launch and after. Nothing gets handed off to a production queue you've never spoken to.
What happens after launch?
The work can stay under the studio's care for a flat monthly fee: run, watched, and improved by the studio that built it, held to the same standard as the studio's own companies. Bigger improvements get scoped and quoted fixed, like any project. Or take it in-house with a clean handoff; everything stays portable either way.
Do you partner with operators on ventures?
That conversation is welcome. The studio builds and operates companies, and pairs ventures with operators who own distribution and day-to-day growth. If that's you, say so through the contact page. Venture inquiries get read the same way project inquiries do: personally, with a straight answer.