…
Applied.North
  • Home
  • About
  • Services

    Inspire

    • AI Demo
    • AI Webinar
    • Hire an AI Speaker

    Learn

    • AI Training
    • AI Workshop
    • AI Hackathon

    Advise

    • AI Consulting
    • AI Strategy
    • AI Assessment

    Create

    • Hire an AI Team
    • Proof of Concept
    • AI Development & Implementation
    Four families · Twelve offersAll services →
  • Case studies
  • Blog
  • Contact
Request a quote
Create

Build the thing. Ship it on a named date. Own the code.

When the decision is made and the question is execution, we build. Proof-of-concepts to validate the unknowns. Full AI implementations into your operations. Or a dedicated team that augments your in-house engineers for a defined block of time. Fixed price, every time.

Schedule a free first callRequest a quote
Hire an AI Team · Proof of Concept · AI Development & Implementation
Why Create

The work that turns the strategy into something real.

Strategy without execution is just expensive reading. Most AI programmes stall in the gap between deciding what to build and actually shipping it, because mid-sized organisations often do not have the right people in the right configuration to do the work in-house.

Create engagements close that gap. We scope at a fixed price, deliver on a named date, demo every two weeks throughout, and hand off code you own on delivery. If the work runs long, that is our problem to absorb. If it runs short, the savings stay with you.

Offers in this family

Three shapes for a Create engagement.

Each one is sized differently and priced separately. The first call is where we work out which shape fits the build you are describing.

Offer · Two to four month blocks

Hire an AI Team

A dedicated cross-functional team (engineers, AI specialists, and an embedded delivery lead) that runs alongside your in-house engineers for a defined block of time. Right when you have the roadmap and the capacity gap, and you do not want to hire ahead of certainty.

  • Cross-functional team scoped to the work, not the hours
  • Runs alongside your in-house team with shared standups and tooling
  • Fixed-price per two- to four-month block, renewable in writing
  • Knowledge transferred deliberately so your team can take over
Learn more about Hire an AI Team →
Offer · Two to six weeks

Proof of Concept

A time-boxed build to answer one specific question: does this actually work on our data? Can the model handle our edge cases? Would users accept the workflow? The output is a working prototype plus a written readout of what to do next.

  • One concrete question defined upfront with a clear definition of done
  • Working prototype delivered against your real data
  • Written readout covering what worked, what did not, and what production would cost
  • Honest recommendation on whether to productionise, iterate, or stop
Learn more about Proof of Concept →
Offer · Three to nine months

AI Development & Implementation

Full development and rollout of an AI capability into your operations. Integrations to the systems you already run, the custom UI your team will actually use, and the monitoring needed to operate the result responsibly after we leave.

  • End-to-end build from architecture through production rollout
  • Integration with the systems your operations already depend on
  • Two-week iterations with working demos, scope locked at the start
  • Source code, infrastructure, and documentation owned by you on delivery
Learn more about AI Development & Implementation →
How it runs

Scope, demo every two weeks, hand off.

Four steps from first call to delivery. Weekly demos in the build phase mean you always know where the work stands, not where it is supposed to be on a Gantt chart.

Free first call

We start with a no-cost call to understand what you want to build, who will use it, and what success looks like. We then propose a scoping engagement at a fixed price.

Scope and quote

Over one to three weeks we document the requirements, design the architecture at a sketch level, and quote the full build at a fixed price with a named delivery date.

Build and demo

We build in two-week iterations with a working demo at the end of each one. You see progress weekly; we adjust on feedback before the next iteration begins.

Hand-off and documentation

On delivery we hand off the source code, the running infrastructure, and the documentation. Whoever owns it next can run, modify, or rebuild it without our involvement.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions about Create engagements.

Do we own the code?

Yes, fully. Every line of code we write is transferred to you on delivery, no licence, no ongoing fees, no “preferred maintenance” lock-in. You can hire another team to modify or maintain it later without our permission.

What is your stance on long-term retainers?

Default is fixed-scope and fixed-price per engagement. Once a Create engagement ships, the relationship pauses unless you start a new one. A retainer is available when there is a real ongoing build or operate rhythm; it is not the default offer, and we will not pad one when the work does not actually need it.

How does fixed-price work if the scope changes mid-build?

We quote a defined scope at a fixed price. If you want to expand or change the scope mid-build, we pause, re-quote the additional work as its own line item, and restart. The original scope stays at its original price.

Do you work with our existing engineering team?

Often. For Hire-an-AI-Team and AI Development & Implementation we typically embed with your in-house engineers so that knowledge transfers throughout the build. For Proof of Concept we often work standalone because speed matters more than transfer.

What technology stacks do you work with?

Modern web stacks (TypeScript / Python / Postgres / cloud-native infra), AI orchestration tooling (OpenAI / Anthropic / open models via standard SDKs), and integration tooling on top of the systems you already pay for. If your stack falls well outside this, we will say so and decline.

How long are typical Create engagements?

Proof of Concept: two to six weeks. AI Development & Implementation: three to nine months. Hire-an-AI-Team: usually scoped in two- to four-month blocks. We do not take multi-year platform engagements.

Ready to build the AI capability you have already decided on?

Tell us what it is on the free first call. If it fits our shape, we will scope and quote it. If it does not, we will tell you why and point you at someone better placed.

Schedule a free first call

Applied.North

Independent technology advisors helping small and mid-sized businesses make better build, buy, and integration decisions.

Services

  • Inspire
  • Learn
  • Advise
  • Create
  • All services

Company

  • About
  • Case studies
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Request a quote

Connect

  • info@theappliednorth.com
  • Windsor, ON · Detroit, MI
  • LinkedIn
© 2026 Applied North. All rights reserved.
theappliednorth.com