New app, zero to App Store
Your MVP designed, built and shipped under your Apple developer account. You get TestFlight builds along the way, and I handle signing, privacy strings and App Review.
01 · What I do for you
You bring the idea. I hand back an app live on the App Store, plus the server it talks to, and you own all of it.
Take over a stalled app
I pick up an existing codebase, get it building again, fix what is broken and push it through review. Then I keep shipping updates or hand it back clean.
Native features that are hard to get right
Sign in with Apple, push notifications that deep-link to the right screen, real-time chat, camera and photo flows, and analytics wired to events you can act on.
The backend, too
The API, database, file storage and hosting behind the app, deployed and backed up. One person owns the whole stack, so nothing falls between teams.
02 · Ways to work together
Clear scopes, quoted upfront. Not sure which fits? Start with the audit.
Best first step
App rescue audit
Fixed price
For an app that is stuck, crashing or failing review. I get it building, read the code and the crash logs, check App Store readiness, and hand you a written plan with prioritized fixes and a quote.
- Build and run on device
- Crash, performance and review-risk check
- Written report with a fixed quote
Most common
MVP to App Store
Fixed price per milestone
A first version that does one thing very well, built in milestones you can test in TestFlight, then released on the App Store.
- Written scope before any code
- Regular TestFlight builds
- App Review and release included
After launch
Ongoing development
Monthly retainer
New features, iOS updates, fixes and backend upkeep on a predictable monthly basis, so the app keeps moving after version one.
- Priorities set together each month
- Releases on a steady cadence
- Pause or stop anytime
For teams
Claude Code setup
Fixed price
Claude Code set up on your codebase: a CLAUDE.md that actually helps, project rules, and custom skills for your build, release and deploy flow.
- Codebase review and rules
- Custom skills for your workflow
- Hands-on session with your devs
03 · Case study: Habr, on the App Store
Habr: Find ur niche
- Problem
- Meeting people who share your interests is still hard. Feeds and swiping optimise for volume, not fit. Habr's bet: small, private, invite-only groups matched on real shared criteria, with every invitation explaining why you were picked.
- My role
- Founder and builder. Product, design, the iOS app, the API, analytics and the App Store release.
- Approach
- Flutter for an iPhone-first launch with Android ready from the same code, a Laravel API for matching and groups, and separate dev and prod environments so testing never touches real users.
- Result
- Version 1.0 live on the App Store in July 2026 under my own developer account, with groups in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
What's inside the app
- Sign in with Apple and Google sign-in
- Push notifications (APNs via Firebase) that deep-link straight into the right group chat
- Real-time group chat with media
- Camera and photo library flows with proper permission prompts
- Product analytics on every screen and key event
- Profile questions that become matching criteria, shown back as match evidence
04 · How I ship this fast: Claude Code
One person covering iOS, backend and infrastructure only works with leverage. Mine is Claude Code, run like an engineering team with its own playbooks.
- 12+
- products and tools built with Claude Code since March 2026
- ~700
- prompts directed across iOS, web, infrastructure and automation work
- 1 command
- from idea to a live app with HTTPS, a database and backups, using my own skill
Custom skills for repeat work
I write Claude Code skills for the jobs that come up again and again. One launches a new product end to end: private repo, deploy key, push-to-deploy, HTTPS on its own subdomain, a database and backups. Another runs day-two ops like logs, redeploys, key rotation and restores. This page was launched with them.
Rules and memory per project
Every codebase carries its own conventions: architecture rules, deploy steps, naming, past gotchas and your preferences. The AI follows your standards session after session instead of starting from zero.
Verified, not vibes
Nothing is "done" until it has been run: builds compiled, flows clicked through in a real browser or on a device, logs and screenshots checked. AI speed with a human's standard for done.
Production, not just prototypes
Hardened servers, Docker, isolated deploys, secrets kept out of git, and nightly backups that are actually test-restored. The same workflow covers the boring parts that keep an app alive.
My AI policy, in writing
- I own every line. I review and test every change and make the architecture decisions. AI writes drafts, I sign off.
- Your secrets stay out. Credentials and personal or regulated data are kept out of AI sessions unless you approve it.
- Your IP is yours. All code, designs and docs belong to you, in your repo and your accounts.
- Your rules win. If your company limits AI tools, tell me and we agree on how to work before we start.
05 · Why work with me
You talk to the builder
No account managers or handoffs. The person on your call is the person writing the code and pressing Submit for Review.
App Store ready from day one
Certificates, provisioning, TestFlight, privacy declarations and review guidelines are part of the job from the first commit, not a surprise at the end.
Nothing locked to me
I document as I go, so you can take it in-house whenever you want.
What you own at the end
- The App Store listing, in your Apple developer account
- All source code, in your Git repository
- The backend and data, on your hosting account
- Every TestFlight build and release
- Docs: setup, deploy and architecture notes
- The Claude Code rules and skills for your project
06 · How a project runs
- 01
Intro call
We talk through the idea, the users and the deadline, and I tell you honestly what a first version should and shouldn't include.
- 02
Scope & quote
A short written scope with screens, features, milestones and a fixed quote, so we agree on what "done" means before any code is written.
- 03
Build in TestFlight
You get regular builds on your own phone, see progress every week and steer as we go.
- 04
Launch & handover
App Review, release and the first fixes after launch. Then ongoing updates, or a clean handover with docs.
07 · Toolkit
iOS
- Swift & SwiftUI
- Flutter & Dart
- Xcode & CocoaPods
- TestFlight & App Store Connect
Platform
- Sign in with Apple
- APNs push & deep links
- Camera & Photos
- Firebase
Product
- Real-time chat
- Analytics (PostHog)
- Onboarding flows
- Dev / prod environments
Backend
- PHP & Laravel
- Node & Express
- PostgreSQL
- Docker, self-hosting
AI
- Claude Code, daily
- Custom skills & project memory
- LLM-powered features
- Local models (Ollama, TTS)
08 · Questions clients ask
Do I need my own Apple Developer account?
Yes. The app should be published under your own account so you own the listing, the reviews and the revenue. If you don't have one yet, I walk you through enrolling and then work on it as a team member.
Who owns the code?
You do. The code lives in your repository, the app in your Apple account, and the servers in your hosting account. Nothing is locked to me.
Native Swift or Flutter?
It depends on your roadmap. For an iPhone-only product, native SwiftUI. If Android is coming soon, Flutter gives you both from one codebase, which is how Habr is built. I'll recommend one in the scope and explain why.
What if Apple rejects the app?
Getting through App Review is part of the job. I read the rejection, fix what is needed and resubmit, and I plan around the review guidelines from the start so it rarely comes to that.
How do you use AI, and is my code safe?
I use Claude Code as an engineering tool, and I review, test and own every change. Credentials and personal or regulated data stay out of AI sessions unless you approve it, and all IP is yours. If your team has a no-AI policy, tell me and we'll agree on how to work.
Can you also build the backend?
Yes. API, database, file storage, hosting, deploys and backups. Habr's Laravel API and every product on kfardo.com are my work.
What happens after launch?
Your choice: I keep shipping updates on a monthly retainer, or I hand everything over with documentation so your team can take it from there.
Will you sign an NDA?
Yes, send it over before we go into details.
09 · Start a project
Have an app in mind, or one that is stuck? Tell me about it.
- You send a few lines about the app, who it is for and when you want it live.
- I reply personally with questions or a time for a short intro call.
- You get a written scope with milestones and a fixed quote. No commitment until you say yes.