Software project takeover
We Inherit Broken Software Projects. Then We Ship Them.
Your developer left. The agency dropped you mid-build. The offshore team delivered something that doesn't work. You have a codebase, a deadline, and no one behind the wheel.
This is most of what Kingbird does. We read the repo, triage what's broken, tell you what it will take to finish, and ship. A senior US operator runs every engagement start to finish.
How a takeover works
01
Stabilization Review
10-business-day paid engagement. We read the repo, interview whoever last worked on it, and deliver a written 30/60/90 action plan. $4,500 flat. You own the plan regardless of what comes next.
02
Scope and agree on path
Based on the review, we propose either a fixed-scope sprint to finish a defined set of features, or a retainer engagement for a longer roadmap. You pick the structure that fits your situation.
03
Ship
Code goes to your repo. You control the deploy pipeline. We write the runbook as we go. When the engagement ends, the project doesn't die with our involvement.
The situations we see most often
The agency built the MVP but the product launched broken and they've been unresponsive for two months. You're about to lose your biggest client.
The CTO left and took most of the context with them. The remaining dev is overwhelmed. Nothing is shipping and the backlog is growing faster than it's being cleared.
The offshore team built something that technically runs, but it's held together with duct tape. Every new feature breaks something else. The code review no one wanted to admit was necessary is now urgent.
The MVP was supposed to take three months. It's been eight. The developer hasn't responded to messages in two weeks.
All of these are recoverable. The Stabilization Review tells you exactly where you stand and what it takes to finish.
Good fit
- You have an existing codebase (even a broken one)
- The product is live or was live at some point
- You have a clear feature set that still needs to ship
- You need a named senior operator, not a staffing pool
- You want the plan to be yours regardless of who finishes it
Not the right fit
- No code exists yet (book a fit call to scope a greenfield build)
- You need a full security or compliance audit
- You're looking for the cheapest option available
- The previous developer is actively hostile and may create legal complications
Common questions
- How long before you have a read on what's wrong?
- End of week one on a Stabilization Review. The 10-day engagement is designed specifically to answer that question before you commit to any additional work.
- Can you take over a project that was built by an offshore team?
- Yes. Most of the takeovers we run were built offshore or by an agency. We read whatever is in the repo and triage from there. Language of the code doesn't matter. What matters is that the code runs.
- Do you take over projects built in any stack?
- Broadly yes. Our delivery partner covers React, Next.js, Node, Python, Rails, and most cloud environments. If something exotic comes up we'll tell you upfront whether we can take it on.
- What if the project is a complete rewrite situation?
- We'll tell you in the Stabilization Review. Sometimes the right answer is a targeted rebuild of specific components. Sometimes it's a full rewrite. We'll give you the honest read and the cost estimate for each path.
- Do you work with the previous developer during the handoff?
- If they're available and cooperative, yes. If not, we work from whatever documentation and code exists. We're used to cold starts.
The Stabilization Review is where takeovers start.
10 business days. Written 30/60/90 plan. One senior operator. $4,500 flat. The plan is yours whether you continue with us or not.