Eastside Science Squad · est. 1998
Software consulting,
grown-up division.
We build, hire, refactor, and rescue. Mostly for startups.
* We are a hands-on consultancy. Great teams are built through participation and dedication.
01 / Who we help
Early is our sweet spot.
We meet you where you are. Past this range? We still pick up the phone. We've survived enterprise before.
Bootstrapped Companies
The technical co-founder, minus the equity.
- →Flexible inexpensive tech
- →Hiring ambitious engineers
- →Fundraising due diligence
- →Few teams, many responsibilities
Growth-stage Companies
The product works. Now the org has to.
- →Hiring established engineers
- →Choose tech that scales with your business
- →Security, compliance, processes - handled
- →Specialized teams, focused responsibilities
02 / What we do
Four flavors of help.
We don't do everything. We do these well. Other agencies will promise you the moon. We'll promise you a working build pipeline.
Fractional CTO
1 day / week
You have a solid dev team. You need someone with the experience to make broad calls.
- →Deliverables on time, no surprises
- →Priorities set by business value, not resume building
- →Confidence that ends the micromanaging
Mercenary
2 days / week
Your team is crushing it. Somebody still has to do the chores.
- →Password policies, pen tests, patches
- →Hiring, firing, annual reviews
- →Alerting, reporting, triage
Architect
3 days / week
You need something built with a solid foundation.
- →Boring tech that won't bite you later
- →Lightweight process that keeps everyone honest
- →Infrastructure that fits your budget
Rescues
5 days / week
You need a tech do-over. We've done a few.
- →Bring your offshore in-house
- →Install a high-performing engineering team
- →Infrastructure that sets your people up to win
03 / How we work
Boring on purpose.
We pick the unsexy choice when it's the right one. Postgres. Boring deploys. Tests that catch things. And we work hands-on, in your codebase, in this order:
- 01
Take tickets
We start in your backlog, writing code. You can't steer a team you haven't shipped with.
- 02
Understand the course
We learn where things are actually headed. The real version, not the slide-deck version.
- 03
Recommend, then align
We propose changes and get genuine buy-in. We never force things. (Unless we have to.)
- 04
Implement
We ship the changes with your team, not at them, so the improvements stick after we leave.
04 / Questions you were going to email anyway
FAQ.
Are you actually a squad?
There's at least one of us. On a good day, more. The squad expands and contracts based on what your problem actually needs, not what we'd like to bill for.
Why 'Eastside Science Squad'?
It was the name of our high school gang. We had a long-running, incredibly nerdy turf war with the Fuzzy Bunny Swingset Boys. We won. Mostly by graduating. The name stuck.
What does 'science' mean here?
Hypothesis, experiment, measurement, shipping. Not lab coats. We treat your codebase like a system that can be reasoned about, not a haunted house.
Startup or enterprise?
We were built for startups: small teams, big stakes, no patience for ceremony. We can work inside the enterprise too. We can wear a three quarter zip. We will not enjoy it.
Where are you based?
Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston clients get us in person, with love. Everyone else gets us on the video tool of your choice — Zoom, Meet, take your pick. Teams works too. If we must.
How much do you cost?
Less than your last bad hire. More than free. We scope, we quote, we don't surprise you.
Will you sign an NDA / MSA / SOC2 questionnaire / DPA?
Yes, yes, yes, and yes. We've been through the procurement gauntlet. We'll bring our own pen.
Do you do AI stuff?
We do useful AI stuff. We will tell you when AI is the answer and when you actually just need a SQL query and a Tuesday afternoon.
What if my codebase is embarrassing?
It is. Yours, theirs, ours. Show us anyway. We grade on a curve.
05 / The part where you email us
Let's see what
we're working with.
Tell us what you're building, what's on fire, or who you're trying to hire. We'll reply with either a plan, a polite redirect, or both. Usually within a day.
Based in Charleston, SC. In person and with love. Everyone else, same love, on the video tool of your choice. (Even Teams. We guess.)