Last quarter we delivered 12 free 3-day AI prototypes. 11 shipped on time (1 received an automatic $500 credit). 9 out of 12 clients (75%) moved to paid sprint engagements averaging ~$36,000 — generating ~$324,000 in revenue against ~$42,000 in team time. The 3 that didn't convert still got value: one used it to make a build-vs-buy call that saved $30K, one pivoted to a better concept, one ghosted. Here's each story, unfiltered.
Every quarter, we build free 3-day AI prototypes for startups and enterprise teams. No payment. No obligation. Working code on a public URL in 72 hours.
Last quarter, we delivered 12 free prototypes. Here's what happened with each one — including the ones that didn't convert. We're sharing everything because cherry-picking success stories is the oldest trick in the agency playbook, and we'd rather you trust our honesty than our marketing.
The numbers first
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Free prototypes delivered | 12 |
| Delivered on time (by end of Day 3) | 11 out of 12 (1 delivered Day 4 — $500 credit issued automatically) |
| Clients who moved to paid sprints | 9 out of 12 (75%) |
| Average first paid engagement value | ~$36,000 |
| Total revenue generated from free prototypes | ~$324,000 |
| Cost to us (team time for 12 prototypes) | ~$42,000 |
| ROI on free prototype program | ~7.7x |
That's why we offer free prototypes. The math works. Now here's each story.
Prototype #1: Healthcare — Telehealth Booking Platform
The founder: A physician in Texas building a telehealth platform for underserved rural communities.
The one-sentence scope: “A patient searches for available doctors by specialty, picks a time slot, and books a video consultation.”
What we built in 3 days: A Next.js app with a doctor search page (filterable by specialty and availability), a calendar-based booking flow, a confirmation screen with a mock video link, and a patient dashboard showing upcoming appointments. Deployed to Vercel with a clean, medical-grade UI.
What happened next: The founder showed the prototype to 3 rural health clinics. Two said they'd pilot it immediately. He moved into our 6-Week Idea-to-App bundle (from $24,000). The prototype's search and booking flow carried directly into production. The app launched 8 weeks later with 3 clinic partnerships.
Outcome: Paid client → 6-Week Idea-to-App → MVP Launchpad
Prototype #2: FinTech — Personal Budget Tracker
The founder: A solo founder in Chicago building a budgeting app aimed at Gen Z users.
The one-sentence scope: “User connects a bank account and sees spending broken into categories with a weekly budget tracker.”
What we built in 3 days: A React app with a mock Plaid integration (simulated bank connection), a category breakdown dashboard with donut charts, a weekly spending timeline, and a simple budget-setting flow. Deployed to Vercel with a bright, consumer-friendly design.
What happened next: The founder ran user tests with 15 college students. Engagement was strong on the dashboard but nobody used the budget-setting feature — they just wanted to see their spending, not set limits. He pivoted the concept to a “spending awareness” app (no budgets, just insights) and came back for a Discovery Sprint ($4,800) to redefine scope. Then moved into the MVP Launchpad (from $48,000).
Outcome: Paid client → Pivoted concept based on prototype feedback → MVP Launchpad
Prototype #3: SaaS — Workflow Automation Tool
The founder: A CTO at a mid-stage SaaS company exploring a new product line for internal workflow automation.
The one-sentence scope: “An admin creates an automated workflow with drag-and-drop steps and assigns it to a team member.”
What we built in 3 days: A React app with a visual workflow builder (drag-and-drop nodes connected by lines), a step configuration panel, a team assignment modal, and a “run workflow” simulation. Deployed to Vercel.
What happened next: The CTO demoed the prototype to the executive team. They approved a budget for full development. He engaged our Dedicated ODC — Growth plan ($27,500/month) with a 4-developer team. The workflow builder is now in production serving 200+ enterprise users.
Outcome: Paid client → Dedicated ODC Growth ($27,500/month ongoing)
Prototype #4: EdTech — Student Progress Dashboard
The founder: An education technology startup founder in London.
The one-sentence scope: “A teacher logs in and sees a dashboard of student progress across assignments with color-coded risk indicators.”
What we built in 3 days: A dashboard with mock student data, assignment completion rates, risk-level color coding (red/yellow/green), and a drill-down view for individual students. Clean data visualization using Recharts.
What happened next: The founder showed the prototype to 5 teachers. They loved the dashboard but said the critical feature was parent communication — something not in the prototype scope. The founder decided to redesign the concept around parent-teacher communication instead. He didn't proceed with us at this stage but came back 4 months later with a refined concept and booked a Discovery Sprint ($4,800).
Outcome: Delayed → Returned 4 months later → Discovery Sprint
Prototype #5: Real Estate — Property Comparison Tool
The founder: A real estate tech entrepreneur in Miami.
The one-sentence scope: “A buyer enters two property addresses and sees a side-by-side comparison with pricing, neighborhood data, and investment projections.”
What we built in 3 days: A comparison interface with mock property data, side-by-side cards showing price, sqft, neighborhood scores, and a simple ROI projection chart. Map integration showing both properties.
What happened next: The founder used the prototype in investor meetings and raised pre-seed funding within 6 weeks, using the deployed prototype as the product demo. Moved into the MVP Launchpad (from $48,000) immediately after closing the round.
Outcome: Paid client → Used prototype to raise funding → MVP Launchpad
Prototype #6: Healthcare — Denial Analytics Platform
The client: A US healthcare revenue cycle management company (enterprise, not a startup).
The one-sentence scope: “An RCM analyst sees a dashboard of claim denials across payers, with drill-down by denial reason code and trending over time.”
What we built in 3 days: An analytics dashboard with mock claims data, denial rate by payer (bar chart), denial reason breakdown (pie chart), trending over 12 months (line chart), and a filterable data table. Power BI-style interface.
What happened next: The VP of Product showed the prototype to the CEO the same day we delivered it. They signed a Custom Bundle (from $36,000) the following week — Discovery Sprint + Design Sprint + 3 Full Build Sprints. The platform went live 10 weeks later and reduced claim denials by 40% within 90 days.
Outcome: Paid client → Custom Bundle → Production launch
Prototype #7: Logistics — Fleet Tracking Dashboard
The founder: A logistics company CTO looking to replace an outdated fleet management system.
The one-sentence scope: “A dispatcher sees all vehicles on a map in real-time with status indicators and can assign a vehicle to a new route.”
What we built in 3 days: A map-based dashboard with mock vehicle positions, status badges (active/idle/maintenance), a route assignment panel, and basic vehicle detail cards. Used Mapbox for the map layer.
What happened next: The CTO showed the prototype to operations leadership. They approved a full rebuild of their fleet management system. Engaged our Dedicated ODC — Growth ($27,500/month). The project is ongoing — 6 months in, 4 modules delivered.
Outcome: Paid client → Dedicated ODC Growth ($27,500/month ongoing)
Prototype #8: E-commerce — AI Product Recommendation Engine
The founder: A D2C brand founder wanting to add AI-powered product recommendations to their Shopify store.
The one-sentence scope: “A shopper sees personalized product recommendations based on their browsing history on the product detail page.”
What we built in 3 days: A product detail page mockup with a “Recommended for You” carousel, a mock recommendation algorithm (collaborative filtering logic), and a click-tracking simulation. Deployed as a standalone Next.js app.
What happened next: The founder realized after user testing that the recommendation engine needed deep Shopify integration and real purchase data to be useful — neither of which a prototype can demonstrate. She decided to use an existing Shopify recommendation plugin instead of building custom. Did not proceed with us.
Outcome: Did not convert. The prototype helped the founder make the right build-vs-buy decision — which saved her $30K+ on a custom build she didn't need.
Prototype #9: HR Tech — Employee Onboarding Portal
The client: An HR services company building an employee onboarding product.
The one-sentence scope: “A new hire logs in on day one and sees a personalized onboarding checklist with document uploads, training videos, and a progress tracker.”
What we built in 3 days: An onboarding dashboard with a step-by-step checklist, document upload simulation, embedded video player for training content, and a progress bar. Clean, modern UI with company branding placeholder.
What happened next: The client moved into the 6-Week Idea-to-App bundle (from $24,000). The onboarding portal launched with 3 enterprise clients within 2 months.
Outcome: Paid client → 6-Week Idea-to-App
Prototype #10: FinTech — Invoice Factoring Platform
The founder: A FinTech founder building an invoice factoring marketplace connecting small businesses with lenders.
The one-sentence scope: “A small business owner uploads an invoice, sees instant factoring offers from 3 lenders, and accepts one.”
What we built in 3 days: An upload flow, a mock offer comparison screen showing 3 lender offers with different rates and terms, an offer acceptance flow, and a basic dashboard showing factored invoice status.
What happened next: The founder used the prototype to validate the concept with 8 small business owners. 6 out of 8 said they'd use the service. He moved into the MVP Launchpad (from $48,000) with a target launch date 14 weeks out.
Outcome: Paid client → MVP Launchpad
Prototype #11: Travel — AI Trip Planner
The founder: A travel tech founder building an AI-powered trip planning tool.
The one-sentence scope: “A user types a destination and trip length, and the app generates a day-by-day itinerary with maps and activity suggestions.”
What we built in 3 days: A search interface, a mock AI-generated itinerary display with daily cards, map pins for each activity, and a “save trip” flow. Used mock data but demonstrated the full UX pattern.
What happened next: The founder went quiet after receiving the prototype. Followed up twice — no response. Request archived after 30 days.
Outcome: No response. It happens. The prototype and code belong to the founder if they ever want to pick it up.
Prototype #12: Healthcare — Mental Health Check-in App
The founder: A psychologist building a mobile-first mental health check-in tool for therapy practices.
The one-sentence scope: “A patient opens the app daily, completes a 2-minute mood check-in, and sees their mood trend over 30 days.”
What we built in 3 days: A mobile-responsive web app with a mood check-in flow (emoji-based scale + optional text note), a 30-day mood graph, and a “share with therapist” mock feature. Clean, calming UI.
What happened next: This was the one prototype we delivered on Day 4 instead of Day 3 — the $500 credit was applied automatically to the client's invoice. The founder moved into a Mobile Build Sprint ($13,500) to convert the web prototype into a native mobile app, then continued with 3 more Mobile Build Sprints.
Outcome: Paid client → 4 Mobile Build Sprints total
What this data tells us
75% conversion ratefrom free prototype to paid engagement. This is why we offer free prototypes — it's not charity, it's our most effective sales tool.
The prototypes that didn't convert still provided value. Prototype #8 saved the founder $30K by revealing a build-vs-buy decision. Prototype #4 led the founder to a better concept. Prototype #11 gave a founder assets they may return to. None of these are failures.
Prototypes that involved stakeholder demos converted fastest. When the prototype recipient showed the working app to investors (#5), executives (#3, #6), or potential customers (#1, #10) — the path to a paid engagement was direct and fast.
The average first paid engagement was ~$36,000 — ranging from a single Discovery Sprint ($4,800) to an ongoing Dedicated ODC subscription ($27,500/month).
Want to be one of our prototype clients this month?
We limit free prototypes each month to ensure quality. Here's how to apply:
Apply for a free 3-day AI prototype: /sprints/ai-prototype
Not sure if you qualify? Here's who does:
- Pre-seed or seed-stage founders with a defined target user
- Enterprise innovation labs with internal funding
- Existing customers exploring a new product line
- Anyone who can articulate their problem in two sentences
Don't qualify for free? Paid version is $3,500 — identical scope, identical deliverables.
See all sprint packages and pricing: /pricing-packages
Questions? info@tactionsoft.com | +1-307-459-0850 | +1-(512) 299-0926