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Your Custom App, Marketplace,
and Embedded Systems Partner.
Horizon Labs is a boutique software agency in California and Turkey that works with engineering leaders, SMB owners, marketplace builders, and startup founders as their product and technology partner. We guarantee your project's outcome with a team you can rely on.
Clear estimations, milestone-based contracts, and IP protection in the US with 6-12 month warranty on all delivered code. Ship with certainty!
Horizon Labs is a product development agency in California and Turkey.
Quick & Cost-Effective
Led by a YC alum, PhD in Computer Engineering, and an ex-VC, Horizon Labs is a software agency with teams in the US and Turkey. Whether you're still experimenting or have found product-market fit, our developers have the experience and expertise to accelerate your engineering output.
Horizon Labs' Accelerated Flair's Ability To Go-to-Market
"Horizon Labs has strong skills and experience with OpenAI, LLMs, API development, Kubernetes, and cloud deployment. Their engineering support helped us deliver a production-ready application we could roll out to customers fast."
- Samir Sen, Co-Founder & CEO at FlairLabs.ai (YC S22)
We Know Code.
Industries we specialize building software for include SaaS, healthtech, medical devices, manufacturing, e-commerce, marketplaces, and building with AI tools.
Prototyping & MVPs
Do you need a new custom web/mobile app MVP or feature built within the next 1-3 months?
Don't waste valuable time and money building the wrong thing. Focus is a skill, and we'll help you rapidly test your concept with interactive prototypes, gather user feedback, and de-risk your launch. Your code is guaranteed to work so if something breaks after our contract ends, we will gladly fix it.
Embedded Systems Apps
Do you need a custom embedded systems app built or enhanced for your hardware, IoT device, or product?
We specialize in creating custom embedded systems applications that are designed to meet your specific hardware requirements and software objectives with your customers in mind. Our team is happy to join your customer conversations for a better understanding of the problem.
AI-Enhanced Solutions
Do you need help using LLMs or want an experienced team to help finish and launch your vibe-coded app?
We modernize your business with tailored AI solutions powered by leading closed and open-source large language models (GPT, Claude, Llama). Automate tasks, gain data insights, and enhance capabilities with adaptive systems designed specifically for your needs.
Sharetribe Marketplaces
Do you need a Sharetribe marketplace app built, enhanced, or transferred from Wordpress or Shopify?
We recommend using Sharetribe for new and growing marketplaces that want to be able to launch fast, add new features easily, and work with a growing list of experts like Horizon Labs to assist with their Sharetribe development. It does the little things well!
Staff Augmentation
Do you need engineering muscle that can reduce your team's backlog in JIRA, Gitlab, or Linear?
Our engineering teams plug seamlessly into your systems and processes. We can provide skilled engineers to augment your team with on-shore and off-shore talent, including options to recruit full-time engineers after a trial period. Start with a small project to see if we're a fit.
Engineering Recruitment
Do you need to recruit long-term offshore engineers to your team within the next 1-3 months?
Avoid costly hiring mistakes with our Engineering Recruitment service. Horizon Labs sources, trains, and manages top-tier product developers—handling oversight and guaranteeing project outcomes—allowing companies and startups to confidently hire proven talent when they're ready.
Engineering Advisory
Are you an engineering leader, SMB owner, or startup founder who needs advice from a former CTO or an ex-VC?
We've been in your shoes and our team has started, scaled, and exited software startups and small businesses. Sinan, being a YC-alum and CTO, works with founders on an as-needed basis. Saif, being an ex-VC, works with founders on go-to-market (GTM) engineering. For everything else, we make introductions with people we've worked with.
Accelerator Startups
Are you a founder in an accelerator program and need help shipping product to customers before demo day?
We understand what you are going through and are used to changing requirements and deadlines. Our customers are a mix of technical and non-technical, so whichever way you need us to contribute to meet your demo days goals is fine with us. Our team loves working with fast-moving startups and has experience working with startups in Y-Combinator, Alchemist, StartX, and more.
Testimonials.
It doesn't matter what sized project you give us, Horizon Labs is dedicated to providing the very best product engineering experience to teams who trust us to build with them.
Sonny Mo
Co-Founder & CEO @ Bloom (YC W21)
“HorizonLabs Team is one of the most technically gifted leaders and engineering teams I've ever worked with! They are swift executors and also generally very likable people who are fun to work with. We are very fortunate to have worked with them!”
Josh Archer
CTO @ Arketa (YC S22)
"They absolutely nailed it, getting everything done on time and without busting the budget. Seriously, their game was on point! They kept things smooth throughout. Major props to them and can't wait to work on more stuff together."
Dan Lee
Co-Founder & CEO @ Yura Health
“Horizon Labs is a high quality, responsive team with fast turnaround on sprints."
Samir Sen
Co-Founder & CEO @ FlairLabs (YC S22)
"Horizon Labs has strong skills and experience with OpenAI, LLMs, API development, Kubernetes, and cloud deployment. Their engineering support helped us deliver production-ready application we could roll out to customers fast."
Marcus Ellison
Chief Technology Officer @ TrueChoice
“Horizon Labs vastly increased our visibility into technical workflows and capacity to achieve projected outcomes. They have a fast and reliable team with exceptional integrity and commitment to doing a good job. Thanks horizonlabs!”
Victor Tang
Chief Product Officer @ Corros
“We worked with another agency and faced surprising costs because of unthought estimations. Working with HorizonLabs enabled us to work without surprises with well set estimations and expectations.”
Shraysi Tandon
Co-Founder & CEO @ Kidsy
“Horizon Labs feels like part of our company, even though they’re outsourced. They have a strong skill set and are proactive about getting things done.”
Haamid Ali
Founder @ Cresance (Alchemist + StartX)
"They were very collaborative and had excellent communication and technical expertise, keeping me informed on each step of the project through delivery."
Our Clients.
We've worked with companies of all sizes in healthtech, e-commerce, marketplaces, AI, and more. We are tech-agnostic and can work around your stack or recommend ours.
YURA Health helps businesses reduce benefit costs while empowering employees with better healthcare choices and control.
Read more
Kidsy offers affordable, open-box and gently-used kids' gear from top brands, saving your wallet and the planet.
Read moreRareWaters offers exclusive fly fishing access to hundreds of miles of private, scenic waters and a vibrant community.
Read moreFlair Labs empowers real estate teams with AI-powered autonomous agents handling complex voice and text workflows.
Read moreArketa provides modern booking software, seamless client checkouts, and marketing tools tailored for wellness studios.
Read moreBloom helps Americans build wealth through an investing app with interactive financial lessons and gamified rewards.
Read moreWhy Us?
You hire us to make progress. We ship investor-grade software fast and keep it simple: clear milestones, weekly demos, clean handoffs. You own the IP and get a dependable team that moves like an extension of yours.
Estimation Process
We start by defining “done” in numbers: users, dates, and a demoable scope. Then we price by milestone, list the risks in plain English, and show trade-offs if you want faster or cheaper. Unknowns become a short discovery sprint, not hand-waving. You see timeline, budget, and acceptance criteria up front before signing a contract. No surprises later.
Project Approach
We ship in sprints with weekly reviews, CI/CD, tests, and telemetry. Technical teams get architecture docs, task manager access, and code reviews; non-technical teams get outcomes and clear next steps. Change requests are explicit, priced, and scheduled. We use Google Spaces for async communication and are available 24/7 for emergencies.
Our Guarantee
We deliver or you don't pay for it. We invoice coinciding with our 2-week sprints so you will see regular progress. All code and IP are yours from day one. We fix defects found within our original, non-altered cost for six months at no charge. No lock-in, no proprietary frameworks, no hostage code. Just working software you can maintain.
Post-Contract Support
We don’t disappear after launch. You get documentation, handover, and a six-month warranty on what we built. We set up monitoring, alerting, and backups before go-live. Need more help? Keep us on a lightweight growth retainer for small features, performance work, or on-call support. Your team can run it without us; we make sure of that.
SMB, Scaleup, and Startup Experience
We’ve shipped 60+ products across manufacturing, healthtech, marketplaces, and AI. For SMBs and mid-market teams we modernize operations: portals, IoT dashboards, ERP/CRM integrations. For startups we deliver MVPs in weeks that stand up to investor diligence. Different buyers, same playbook: focus the scope, ship a real thing, iterate with customer feedback and data.
American Guarantee
California leadership, US contract law, and US data standards with an offshore team in Turkey. US project management with US and Turkish delivery teams that follow a 6am - 7pm Pacific schedule for customer requests. Clear security practices, background-checked staff, and SOC-friendly workflows. If it breaks within warranty, we fix it. If we say a date, we hit it. That’s the promise.
Our Ideal Client Profiles
We’ve been on your side of the table. The goal is steady progress with no drama. We cut waste, ship the next useful thing, and leave you in control of code, budget, and timing.
SaaS
You want proof that customers care. We build the smallest working product that shows real use, then help you learn from the numbers and conversations. User feedback then dictates next steps. Clear code, simple deployment, and handover your team can own. If something we built fails in warranty, we fix it.
Healthtech
Lives and livelihoods depend on your software. We design for privacy, audit trails, and the way care actually happens in clinics. Small releases, careful change management, and clear records so compliance and clinicians stay comfortable. Useful in the exam room, not just on a slide.
Manufacturing
Your line can’t stop for software. We connect machines and people so everyone sees the same facts: throughput, downtime, and quality. Whether your product is on the floor or in customer hands, we have the hardware-software embedding expertise to improve the experience ten-fold.
Fintech
Every dollar must reconcile. We build ledgers you can trust, identity checks you can explain, and workflows that calm busy days. Transparent logs, repeatable operations, and code your auditors can follow. Integrate with any banking partner that offers an API.
Marketplaces
Two-sided markets live or die on trust and liquidity. We help you onboard supply, seed demand, and control the transaction. Search and ranking, escrow and payouts, reviews and dispute flows, fees you can tune. Launch with the narrowest wedge, then expand once you see repeatable matching.
AI
Use AI where it creates leverage, not theater. We turn messy data into answers with RAG, agents, and fine-tuned models, then watch cost, latency, and accuracy like a hawk. Closed and open-source models, evals, guardrails, and observability. If it doesn’t beat a simple script, we don’t ship it.
Engineering Leaders
You need a partner that raises the average. We join your cadence with small, well-tested changes, clear design notes, and honest trade-offs. We take the hard integrations and unblock releases without noise.
SMB Owners
You want fewer manual steps and fewer surprises. We build straightforward portals and automation that save hours and improve cash flow. Fixed-price milestones, training for your staff, and support that speaks plainly.
Marketplace Builders
Cold start is hard. We help pick the first niche, seed the side that needs more care, and show progress with real transactions. Clear onboarding, messaging that prevents mistakes, and payouts that just work.
Startup Founders
Runway is precious. We build a demo-ready version in weeks, watch the one metric that matters, and iterate without breaking the bank. Clean repo, straight talk on risk, and materials investors can review.
Your Engineering Team.
We are small business owners, startup founders, and engineering leaders who love building products with ambitious teams. Contact us below to talk about how we can help you build products your customers will love.
Sinan Sari
Sinan is based in Irvine, CA and is a systems and processes nut. He was co-founder & CTO of Cuboh (YC S19), a senior software engineer at Tasso then Oscar Health, and a co-founder at Kidsy. He loves working on healthtech & e-commerce/marketplace projects. He does a little bit of everything depending on what our clients need. Sinan has a Bachelor's in Computer Science from Bilkent University.
Serdar Pehlivan
Serdar is based in Turkey and oversees developer output & training. A math Olympiad medalist, PhD in Computer Engineering from the University of Connecticut, Bachelor's in Computer Science from Bilkent University, and ex-Vice Dean of Engineering at Zirve University, Serdar's work ensures our developers deliver quality code on time and on schedule. He prepares every proposal, bi-weekly report, and financial reports for each client personally.
Esra Nur
Esra is based in San Antonio, TX and is our lead Product Manager, bridging the gap between client business objectives and our technical teams. She's responsible for crafting user stories our engineers use to understand each client's customer needs before we begin writing code. Esra has a Bachelor's in Computer Science from Bilkent University, and a Master's in Graphic Design from the Istanbul Arel University.
Gorkem Bendin
Gorkem is based in Turkey and is responsible for overseeing the code we deploy for clients. A full-stack web, mobile, and embedded developer with 9+ years of experience across a variety of startups and enterprises, Gorkem is one of our best coders and project managers ensuring successful client outcomes. He has a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering from Erciyes University.
Basmah Masood
Basmah is based in San Jose, CA and is responsible for providing UI/UX support for our clients and incubated projects. A self-described visual story teller, Basmah has 10+ years of experience as a photographer, videographer, and illustrator before she made the plunge into UI/UX design. She has her Bachelor's in Social Sciences from IBA Pakistan.
Saif Akhtar
Saif is based in San Jose, CA and is responsible for keeping our clients happy (and the lights on). He's been an early employee, co-founder, investor/VC, and advisor to various startups, most recently on the founding team of Cresance (part of Stanford's StartX & Alchemist Accelerator) and Intellus.ai. Saif has a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering from San Jose State University.
Product Development Resources.
We've been in our customers shoes and know how valuable the right communities, tools, and network can be, especially when bootstrapped. Here are a few that we recommend.
Need Developers?
We help companies build ideas into apps their customers will love (without the engineering headaches).