FAQ before a first project
Questions buyers ask
Short answers to the questions people ask before a first project: price, length, code, time zones, and when AI is the wrong tool.
01 / Pilot and price
Pilot and price
How much does a pilot cost?
It depends on the problem, so the price is set in the written scope before anything starts. There is no price list: before we have talked, a number would not mean anything. You know the price before you commit.
How long does a pilot take?
That depends on the problem too, and the length is fixed in the written scope. A pilot is meant to be small: one deliverable, not a programme.
What if the pilot shows the idea does not work?
You keep everything it produced, and you can stop there. Finding out early that an idea does not work, and why, is a useful result. It is cheaper than finding out late.
What happens after the pilot?
If both sides want to go on, the next piece of work is scoped in writing the same way, as a project fee or a monthly retainer. If not, the work stops and you keep everything.
02 / Code and ownership
Code and ownership
Who owns the code?
You do, from the first commit. It lives in your repository and runs in your accounts, so there is nothing to hand over at the end.
Do you build models, or only the systems around them?
Both. We design, build and run data pipelines, models, the application around them, and the deployment and monitoring. See the four services.
What does “something runnable every week” mean?
Each week ends with a version you can run yourself, in your own account: a pipeline run, a service you can call, an evaluation you can repeat. Not a status deck.
03 / Working together
Working together
Will we talk to the person doing the work?
Yes. You talk to the engineer writing the code, not an account manager.
What time zone do you work in?
India Standard Time (IST). Our working day overlaps European working hours and US mornings.
What do you need from us to start?
Two or three sentences about what you are building. If it fits, a short call, then a written scope. The contact page lists what to include.
04 / The studio
The studio
Is Matter Settle a law firm or a settlement service?
No. Matter Settle is an AI engineering studio, not a law firm or a legal-settlement service.
Can we see past client work?
Not yet: Matter Settle is new and has no client work to show. The about page explains what a new studio can show you, and what it cannot.
When is AI the wrong tool?
When a rule, a database query or a spreadsheet would do the job, when there is no data to learn from, or when nobody can say what a good result looks like. We say so when we scope the work, and you owe us nothing.
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