How long does it take to build an AI MVP?
Most ship in 2-4 weeks. Multi-tenant platforms take 4-8.
Most AI MVPs ship in 2-4 weeks. Wolrix shipped a Claude-powered candidate screening tool in 2 weeks at $12K (paying users by week 3). More complex MVPs with multi-tenant auth, billing, and RAG take 4-8 weeks. The longest lead time on regulated builds isn't engineering — it's compliance review of generated output, typically 3-5 days per AI surface. Day 1 you get a deployable URL: Next.js + Postgres + Stripe + Vercel. Week 1: Claude integration end-to-end. Week 2: auth + payments + first paying user. Fixed timeline, fixed price, 100% satisfaction or your money back.
What ships and when
Same cadence on every Wolrix build. Day-one deploy is non-negotiable.
Repo, deploy pipeline, scaffolding
Next.js 15 + TypeScript + Tailwind on Vercel with preview URLs per PR. Postgres on Neon, Drizzle migrations checked into git. Auth scaffolded (NextAuth or Clerk). Stripe sandbox wired. Day-one deployable URL the client can hit.
Core workflow + Claude integration
The single AI feature lands behind a working UI. Prompt is in code, not in a doc. Claude Sonnet 4.6 with prompt caching as default. Function calling wired where the AI needs structured output. First end-to-end happy path runs against a seeded database.
Auth + Stripe + first paying user
Auth flows finished (signup, login, password reset, magic links). Stripe Checkout live with one or two pricing tiers. Webhook handler writes subscription state into Postgres. Email transactional via Resend. Most 2-week MVPs ship here.
RAG, evals, admin, edge cases
If the build needs RAG: pgvector + ingestion pipeline + retrieval against client data. Eval harness with a held-out test set. Admin console for ops. Error logging in Sentry. Cost telemetry per user. Mobile-responsive QA.
Multi-tenant, RBAC, audit logs (Scale tier)
Multi-tenant isolation via row-level security in Postgres. Tenant-scoped Drizzle queries. Role-based access on every route. Audit log table on every write. Per-tenant cost dashboard. This is where Scale ($25K-$50K) builds land.
What slows you down
Engineering is rarely the bottleneck. These five things are.
Vague spec
The single biggest schedule killer. "We want AI for our customer support" is not a spec. "Claude drafts replies, agent reviews, sends on approval, logged to Postgres, training feedback loop on rejections" is. We refuse to start without a written spec.
Compliance review
On regulated builds (HIPAA, finance, legal), output review by the client's compliance officer is the long-pole — typically 3-5 business days per AI surface. Plan it in parallel with engineering, not after.
Mid-build scope changes
Every "while we're at it, can you also..." adds 2-5 days. We handle this with written change orders and an updated delivery date. The satisfaction guarantee survives one change order; after two, the scope is re-baselined.
Third-party API access
Waiting for Stripe to verify your business, your insurance partner to approve a sandbox, or your EHR vendor to issue API keys can add 1-2 weeks. We start these requests on day one of the engagement, not week three.
Stakeholder review cycles
Three-person founding teams approve a demo in an hour. Twenty-person companies with a design committee, product committee, and a CEO veto add 1-2 weeks of review wait time. We name the approver up front.
Timeline questions
How long does an AI MVP take to build?
Most AI MVPs ship in 2-4 weeks. Wolrix shipped a Claude-powered candidate screening tool in 2 weeks at $12K with paying users by week 3. More complex MVPs with multi-tenant auth, RAG, and AI cost telemetry take 4-8 weeks at $25K-$50K.
What ships in week 1?
Day 1: Next.js 15 + Postgres + Vercel deploy with a live URL. Week 1: the core AI workflow with Claude integration runs end-to-end against a seeded database. Auth scaffolded. Stripe sandbox wired. By Friday of week 1, the client can click through a working version.
Why do some MVPs take 4-8 weeks instead of 2-4?
Multi-tenancy, RAG, audit logs, and compliance review push timelines from Build (2-4 weeks) into Scale (4-8 weeks). A single AI feature on top of an existing app ships fast. A multi-tenant platform with role-based access, encrypted-at-rest schemas, and human-in-loop approval flows takes longer.
What is the longest lead time on a regulated build?
Compliance review of AI-generated output. Typically 3-5 business days per AI surface, run by the client's compliance officer or legal team. We schedule it in parallel with engineering rather than as a serial step after delivery.
Do you offer a satisfaction guarantee?
Yes. 100% satisfaction or full money back if you're not satisfied with the deliverable. Same policy we run on Upwork — 100% Job Success across 42 projects. Fixed-scope, fixed-price, fixed-timeline. Build and Scale engagements ship to the satisfaction standard or the engagement is refunded.
Want a timeline on your MVP?
Free architecture audit in 24 hours. Or book a 15-minute intro and we'll scope it live.
Top Rated Plus Upwork · 100% JSS · 42 projects · $200K+ earned · 100% satisfaction guarantee