FAQ
Answers for buyers who want clarity before they commit.
Straight answers to the questions we hear most about audits, operating systems, fractional CTO leadership, implementation, and pricing structure.
Operating system
Questions about the model itself.
What is an AI Business Operating System?
It is the connected layer of workflows, tools, automations, reporting, and governance that runs the core operation of the business.
Can you work with our existing tools and systems?
Yes. We usually connect and extend what is already working rather than forcing unnecessary rip-and-replace decisions.
What technology stack do you use?
We are stack-agnostic and choose tools based on the workflow, scale, and risk profile of the business.
How is this different from hiring a dev agency?
Most agencies build from a spec. We help define what should be built first, then implement and govern it.
Engagements
Questions about audits, leadership, and implementation.
How long does an audit take?
Most audits take 2 to 3 weeks, depending on the complexity of the operation and the number of workflows involved.
What does a Fractional CTO do day-to-day?
Architecture decisions, vendor oversight, technical prioritization, delivery review, and leadership alignment.
What happens after the audit?
You get a prioritized roadmap and can either execute internally or continue with MVP.dev for build and governance support.
Do you offer ongoing support?
Yes. Fractional CTO and governance retainers are built for ongoing operational improvement.
Fit and process
Questions about pricing, industries, and when to engage.
How much does this cost?
Audits are fixed-fee. Build work is scoped from the roadmap. Fractional CTO work is typically retainer-based.
Do you work with startups or only established companies?
Both, but the core fit is companies between 20 and 200 employees dealing with operational complexity.
What industries do you serve?
Professional services, healthcare, e-commerce, logistics, financial services, SaaS, and other workflow-heavy businesses.
How do engagements typically start?
Usually with a conversation and, for most companies, an AI OS Audit as the first structured step.
Next step
If your question is specific to your workflow, we should talk directly.
We would rather answer the real question than make you guess from generic content.
AI operating systems
Questions about supervised agents, governance, and implementation.
What is an AI operating system?
An AI operating system is the controlled execution layer across people, tools, data, workflows, approvals, and supervised AI. It is not a chatbot, a dashboard, or a bundle of automations. It is an implementation layer that runs real business work with governance, audit trails, and human-in-the-loop control. See the canonical definition.
How is an AI operating system different from business automation?
Automation handles trigger-based tasks. An AI operating system adds state, orchestration, supervised agents, approval gates, exception routing, observability, and governance. Automation is one component, not a substitute. Read the full comparison.
Do you build supervised AI agents?
Yes. We build role-based agents with bounded tool access, approval gates on consequential actions, exception routing, and full audit trails. We do not ship unsupervised autonomous agents into real business workflows. See how supervised agents work.
What does human-in-the-loop mean in practice?
It means operators have consoles, review queues, and approval inboxes where agent proposals go before anything consequential happens. Agents classify, summarize, and propose routing. Humans confirm. The system records both the proposal and the decision so there is a full audit trail.
Can MVP.dev implement, or only advise?
We implement. Audit, roadmap, build, and govern are all part of the engagement model. The output of an engagement is running software and a governed operating system, not just a deck. See how we work.
How do you handle governance and guardrails for AI in sensitive workflows?
Governance is wired in from day one, not retrofitted. Every agent has bounded roles and explicit tool permissions. Consequential actions route through approval gates. Every input, output, tool call, and override is logged. Dashboards show activity, error rates, and override frequency. Every deployed workflow has a rollback path. See architecture and guardrails.
Is this for operations, sales, internal workflows, or all of the above?
All of the above. The best fits are operations-heavy companies where coordination drag, tool sprawl, and manual routing are slowing execution across functions. Good candidates include professional services, healthcare operations, financial back-office, and multi-team businesses where leadership cannot see what is actually running.