How a quiet engagement actually runs
Hushlane Labs is the build partner behind an agency. The rules below are how we keep that sentence true after the kickoff call ends.
Process
Five steps. None of them include introducing ourselves to your client.
Fit, under NDA
You send the shape of the work after we sign. We reply with what we would take, what we would refuse, and whether the date in the proposal is real.
Boundary
A short statement of work: outcome, out-of-scope, milestones, access, and who may speak to the end client. If it is not written, it is not promised.
Build in your workspace
Repository, design files, and chat live where your agency already works. Preview links are private. Our name is not in the client-facing build.
Review against the milestone
You review the thing we said we would show, on the date we named. Notes come back in one thread. New ideas go on a list.
Ship, then leave or stay
Launch or handoff includes access removal, a note the next developer can read, and the warranty window in the statement of work. A retainer is a separate choice.
NDA and confidentiality
This is the policy we follow. The signed NDA and the statement of work are the documents that govern a specific job.
Mutual NDA first
We do not take briefs, credentials, customer records, or named decks before a mutual NDA is in place. If you need a same-day start, send the NDA with the intro.
One repository per engagement
Work is not mixed with another client's code. The repository sits in your GitHub organization when you have one.
Secrets stay in your vault
Passwords and API keys belong in a manager your agency or your client owns. They do not belong in chat, and they do not belong in our personal accounts.
No portfolio use by default
We do not name your agency, your client, or the product in public unless you agree in writing. The sample studies on this site are marked, and live ones replace them only with permission.
Access ends
On the handoff date we remove ourselves from the repository, the hosting project, the analytics property, and the chat channel. You should be able to check that in an afternoon.
Communication
Written by default. Live when a review needs it. Your timezone sets the meeting, not ours.
Your channel
Slack or Teams inside the workspace you already pay for. We do not insist on a tool of ours.
One lead
You have a named person on our side. They are in the repository, not only on the kickoff call.
A weekly note
Done, next, and blocked. Written, so Australia morning and US evening read the same thing.
Booked reviews
Live calls are scheduled. We overlap US and UK business hours. Australian reviews are booked, not assumed.
No end-client contact
We do not email, call, or message the end client unless you ask in writing and stay in the thread.
Timelines
We would rather name a shorter list than miss a date that was never real.
The clock starts late on purpose
Dates begin when the boundary is signed and access works. A missing Figma seat is not a development delay we hide.
Websites
A marketing site with ready copy often lands in a few weeks. Content that does not exist yet is the usual reason a date moves.
First products
A cut MVP is often four to eight weeks. We quote that only after the one-page boundary exists.
Apps and larger software
These follow the milestone dates in the statement of work. We do not publish a slogan number for them.
Quality checks
Done means a person other than the author could ship it, and the milestone matches the page we agreed.
Pull requests
Changes arrive as reviews, not as a folder of files dropped in chat.
A preview for each review
You open a URL. You do not install a toolchain to see a headline change.
Milestone checklist
Scope, content, empty states, links, and analytics are checked against the statement of work before we call it done.
Interface pass
Labels, focus, contrast, and keyboard use are part of UI work, not a later phase we hope someone buys.
Web performance
Key templates get a performance pass before launch. We treat a heavy page as a defect, not a style.
Production access is listed
If we need production, the people and the expiry are written down. It is not a standing privilege.
Send the proposal you already closed.
We will tell you what we can take, what has to be cut, and whether the date survives contact with the work.