01
Cash
The standard engagement.
- You keep 100% of the cap table
- Fixed scope set in discovery, weekly releases
- Code and intellectual property transferred
Krafter | Software studio in Lyon since 2021
Design. Code. Ship. Repeat.
Krafter is a software studio founded in 2021 near Lyon, France. Two senior founders who design, build and run SaaS products: their own, used every day by 25,000 people, and their clients’. SaaS software, business applications, mobile apps, integrations: as a contractor, a partner, or through dev for equity.
The studio
Studio, not agency.
#1A senior product team that designs, codes and ships. One point of contact: the one who builds.
From MVP to run.
#2Discovery, an MVP in weeks, iterations. Weekly releases, no tunnel effect.
Skin in the game.
#3Cash, equity, or both. Krafter can take a stake and build your SaaS as a partner, not a contractor.
In numbers
Production, not slides.
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daily users
Real people, on real products, every day. Not pitch deck curves.
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SaaS products
Melimelo, Trottr, Kascade, Smashr, Remastr. Born at the studio, run by the studio.
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years of experience
Software shipped long before Krafter. The rookie mistakes were made elsewhere.
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founded, near Lyon
Two founders. The same ones who design, code, deploy and answer support.
Definition
What is a SaaS product studio?
A SaaS product studio designs, builds and operates subscription software, working like a product company: discovery, design, code, deployment, continuous iterations. The difference with a web agency: a studio builds its own products, thinks in roadmaps rather than specs, and stays after delivery to operate the product. Krafter, founded in 2021 near Lyon, France, runs 5 SaaS products used by 25,000 people every day, and builds its clients’ products, for cash or for equity.
- Craft
- Design, development and operations of SaaS products and business applications.
- Vs agency
- A studio builds its own products and thinks in roadmaps. An agency delivers a project and moves on.
- Deals
- Standard engagement, cash + equity mix, or joining the cap table at incorporation (dev for equity).
- Stack
- Vue.js, Flutter, Python, PostgreSQL. The one our own products run on.
- Proof
- 5 SaaS products (Melimelo, Trottr, Kascade, Smashr, Remastr), 25,000 daily users.
- Base
- Lyon, France. Founded in 2021 by two developers.
Design. Code. Ship. Repeat.
Method
A short method. On purpose.
The same method for our products and for yours. Short on paper, demanding in practice: every step ends with something usable, never with a PowerPoint deliverable.
01 / 05
Discovery
1 to 2 weeksUnderstand the business, the market, and above all: cut. A good MVP starts with a list of nos.
Workshops with the founders, user journey mapping, scope arbitration. The output: a prioritized backlog, an honest estimate and a production date.
Design
1 to 2 weeksClickable mockups before code. Throwing away a Figma is cheaper than throwing away a sprint.
Wireframes, a light design system, a click-through prototype. Key screens are validated on real usage scenarios before a single line of code.
MVP
4 to 8 weeksThe product ships to production, in front of real users. They write the rest of the roadmap.
Short development slices, a demo every Friday, deployment as soon as the core holds up. Monitoring and analytics wired from the first release.
Iterations
ongoingOne release a week. The roadmap follows usage, never the other way around.
User feedback and metrics drive the backlog. What goes unused gets removed, what converts gets doubled down on.
Run
long termMonitoring, support, evolutions. A SaaS is not delivered: it is kept alive.
Hosting, backups, security updates, support. The studio operates its own products with the same tooling: yours gets the same treatment.
01/03
(Real client stories)
« Krafter, a dynamic team of professionals who give it their all, relentlessly! Thank you for supporting us through our ERP transition with so much commitment. »
Ilaria F.
Sales administration manager
What the studio builds
Products
Proof by product.
Melimelo
#1Groceries, menus, schedules: family life, finally organized. Used daily by thousands of households.
Discover
Trottr
#2Field interventions planned without spreadsheets or whiteboards.
Discover
Kascade
#3Project management that does not think it is Jira.
Discover
Smashr
#4The AI-boosted sales CRM that preps your calls for you.
Discover
Remastr
#5The operating system of IT refurbishers, from buyback quote to destruction certificate.
DiscoverDev for equity
Cash, equity, or both.
Most studios bill days. Krafter prefers products that win. Three ways of working together, set in writing before the first line of code.
02
Cash + equity
The aligned mix.
- A lower invoice, the studio takes a minority stake
- Interests aligned on the product’s success, not on billed days
- A simple shareholders agreement, written milestones
03
Equity
Partner from day one.
- Krafter joins the cap table at incorporation
- The studio designs, builds and operates like a technical co-founder
- The studio wins if the product wins, not before
Discover dev for equity
Every deal is set in writing: shareholders agreement, scope, milestones. Nothing implicit.
Conviction
“Good software is software people actually use. Not a spec followed to the letter that ends up in a drawer.”
Fabien Maquin
Co-founder & CEO, Krafter
Founders
Two founders, four hands in the code.
“A shipped interface has to be genuinely usable. Otherwise it goes back to the shop.”
Co-founder & CEO
Fabien Maquin
Graphic design, advertising, digital marketing, then code. What remains is an obsession: the interface. Fabien carries the studio’s product vision, wearing both hats: the end user’s and the developer’s.
“What drives me is the solidity of what we build. Well-architected software is software you can still evolve three years from now.”
Co-founder & CTO
François Pluchino
18 years building digital tools, with one specialty: software architecture and technical debt that never gets a chance to settle in. François is the studio’s technical guarantor, from the first line to deployment.
FAQ
A question that is not on the list? Ask it directly.
Tell us about your projectWhat you should know before working with us.
4 to 8 weeks depending on scope. Discovery decides what makes the V1, the rest has to earn its place. Then one release a week.
Dev for equity means paying for product development with shares in the company instead of standard invoicing. Krafter can take a stake from day one, alongside or instead of cash.
Yes. The studio acts as a complete technical team, from design to run. And when the project justifies it, Krafter becomes the technical partner, not just the contractor.
Vue.js and Flutter for interfaces, Python on the server, PostgreSQL for data. Our own products run on this stack, proven by 25,000 daily users.
For client work: you do. Code and intellectual property transferred, no trap clauses. For dev-for-equity deals: defined in the shareholders agreement, in writing.
Let’s build a product people → actually use
A 30-minute call with a founder. Answer within 24/48h. Pitch deck optional.