Frequently Asked Questions

Traditionally, an outsourcing model consists of delegating entire projects to an external team, which can result in a loss of visibility and usually erodes trust. With team augmentation, you get temporary professionals who follow your lead but often lack long-term alignment or ownership.

Our solution brings the best of both worlds. It was designed to solve common problems we encountered often as founders:

1. Not having strong leadership
2. Leaders or key elements of a team leaving at critical stages of the projects
3. Technical or product knowledge being held hostage
4. A critical need to internalise people, for whatever reason, and not being able to
5. In a world where AI and agents makes IPs a lot more nuanced, we needed to make sure that ownership was secured

As such, Cleverbit delivers dedicated, embedded teams that combine the integration of augmentation with the accountability of a full product squad, but without the black-box delivery or long-term lock-in. With us, you get technical partners that understand the business and are ready to deliver, while also having full transparency and control of the process, just as you would with any internal team.

It means that whenever you decide to go your own way for whatever reason, you can take your team with you. You can also decide to keep us on board to manage them – it’s fully up to you. All the code, knowledge, processes, and infrastructure are set up to be fully transferable and transparent from day one. There are no artificial dependencies, proprietary blockers, or hidden barriers, just a clear path to ownership and flexibility whenever you’re ready.

An SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) is a dedicated legal entity we can create to house your software development team. It is initially owned by Cleverbit and key people in the team that are critical to business success, thus ensuring that all our interests and objectives are aligned. The SPV can then be acquired if the client so wishes, for a pre-agreed value.

It enables:

• Full IP and process ownership, including any AI agents developed specifically for the team
• Direct contracts and billing
• A clear path to team transition or acquisition

You get the benefits of an outsourced team with the control and transparency of in-house staff.

That’s absolutely fine. You’re under no obligation to do so. We offer this possibility as a way to build trust and ensure we are all working towards the same goals.

While working with Cleverbit, the teams you’ll be working with are working for you, not us. Yes, we employ them, train them and manage them, but they are rewarded for and incentivised to achieve your business outcomes, not ours.

So while we’re working together, it’s a win-win situation. And, if things change in the future, you have options: take the team with you, keep us on board to manage or consult, or walk away entirely.

And don’t worry - no matter the path you choose, your intellectual property always stays yours. We design every line of code to be hand-over ready and you’ll always have full visibility of the entire process.

No problem. If an SPV is not needed the team and people stay with Cleverbit and the work proceeds as usual, with the same level of quality. We can even accommodate similar benefits to an SPV without necessarily setting one up. Just reach out and we’ll help you determine what the best course of action is for you.

The SPV model is ideal when:

• You want low-risk, high-quality, long-term outsourcing
• You plan to internalise the team at a later date
• IP and compliance concerns require segregated legal ownership
• You want a clear exit or acquisition strategy
• You are already working with a large (8 to 10 people) team with us

This model is especially useful for venture-backed scaleups and regulated industries.

Cleverbit manages the SPV on your behalf:

• We set it up as a legal entity in Malta, where Cleverbit is based; this could provide tax advantages for the client, although we may consider other alternatives if necessary
• We handle payroll, HR, training, and operations
• We ensure compliance with local and EU regulations
• We manage the people to ensure that employee context is right for performance
• We manage and train the team to our high-performance standards, rewarding them for outcomes in your business
• We quality control people decisions

All with full transparency, control, and access for you as the client.

• Access to the Cleverbit way of hiring and managing top-tier engineers
• Access to high-performance teams
• Clear real-time transparency and control over development and operations
• All the advantages of an outsourced team with the level of commitment and ownership of an in-house department
• Increased trust
• Clear IP ownership, including all AI agents and AI agent output built for the team or SPV
• Easier compliance with data and security standards
• Flexibility for future mergers, acquisitions or team transitions
• Transparent cost structure
• Full integration, with no need to micromanage or worry about providing exact specs – we become part of your business

No, you don’t have to buy the team at all. Our model is built for full client control and flexibility.

We mainly focus on dedicated, long-term partnerships with flexible team models. While we occasionally handle scoped projects, our strength is in forming high-performing delivery teams embedded in your business.

If you’re unsure whether your project is a fit for our model, get in touch - we’re happy to explore how our teams can support your goals.

Yes. Our model fully integrates with your existing processes and teams. We complement, not compete with, your existing capabilities. Many of our clients choose to partner with us when they need to scale quickly, enter new markets, or drive innovation but lack the internal bandwidth to do so. Beyond additional capacity, we also offer strategic guidance and technical consultancy to ensure your technology efforts are fully aligned with your broader business goals.

We work across a multitude of sectors. However, we have particular experience in Enterprise SaaS, Big Data, FinTech, RegTech and Banking sectors. Regardless of industry, we specialise in building custom software that solves specific operational inefficiencies.

We’re technology-agnostic but especially strong in:

• .NET / C# / Azure
• Node.js / TypeScript
• React / Vue / Angular
• Python
• PostgreSQL / MongoDB / SQL Server
• AI integrations (OpenAI, Langchain, RAG pipelines)

Although our core clients are scaling businesses and mid-to-large enterprises, we occasionally support startups, especially when working with external partners may be seen as a risk by potential investors. Since our model breaks away from traditional team augmentation, it’s better suited to support low-risk investors and startups who value a long-term partner who can grow with them.

We are experienced in building high-performance teams that deliver true value. We are not interested in filling seats. Our goal is to create long-lasting mutually beneficial relationships based on trust and transparency.

Some of the benefits of working with Cleverbit teams include:

• Low turnover
• High-performance culture embedded in the company
• Remote-first and flexible work arrangements provide a positive and engaging work environment for our teams, which clients across the globe can benefit from
• Fully English-speaking teams
• EU-based teams with access to leaders and engineering talent across the globe
• Highly experienced leaders in the UK, EU and US
• We understand the client because we’ve been there

The process can start immediately as soon as you book a discovery call, where we begin by digging deep into the client and business, the goal of the team and what type of leader - style, technical skill set, industry - would have the most likely chance of success. Once this is determined and agreed upon, we can then go into action mode and start building.

If you’re unsure if you’d like to book a discovery call but you’d like a better estimate you can also just contact us and we’d be happy to have a chat – no commitment necessary either way.

Cleverbit is based in Malta (EU) and operates remotely across the world, namely in the UK, US and Australia. As a remote-first company, our teams are based across Europe and our delivery model supports full EU compliance, strong data protection practices, and nearshore alignment with key markets like the UK, DACH, Benelux, and the Nordics.

On occasion, we do sometimes set up non-remote or hybrid teams which can be needed to achieve certain objectives.

Just reach out if you have any questions or book a discovery call. It’s no commitment either way, and we can explore your goals and business context.