--- title: "Example ICP: software development agency" product: Artificial Outreach url: https://www.artificialoutreach.com/icp/dev-agency format: Markdown copy of this page for AI agents --- # Ideal customer profile for a software development agency Development agencies win on fit more than price. The projects that go well have a decider who can make product calls quickly, a budget that matches the scope, and a reason the work can't be done in-house. The projects that go badly have a fixed price, a vague spec, and a committee. So a dev-agency ICP should be blunt about red flags: no budget range, "an app like Uber for X", no one to own the product. It also helps to separate new builds from rescue and capacity work, because they sell differently. Below is a worked example for Kestrelwick Labs, a fictional agency, with each line tied to a page on its invented site. ## Sample: Kestrelwick Labs (kestrelwick.example) Custom web and mobile software for funded startups and mid-size companies. Kestrelwick Labs is a fictional software development agency. Its site is invented so the generator has something to read. ### Group 1: Non-technical founders with pre-seed or seed funding (Best fit: 2 case studies and pricing) - **Who they are:** Funded founders without a technical co-founder, building a first product with $80k to $250k to spend. [/pricing] - **Who decides:** The founder. [/customers/fieldnote-app] - **Their pain:** Freelancers who built half an app and disappeared. [/customers/fieldnote-app] - **What sets them off:** Closing a funding round, or a pilot customer waiting on a launch date. [/services/mvp] - **Who to skip:** Unfunded ideas, fixed-price requests without a spec, and equity-only offers. [/faq] - **Where they are:** Accelerator demo days and angel networks. [/about] ### Group 2: Mid-size companies replacing spreadsheets or old in-house tools (Strong fit: 1 case study) - **Who they are:** Companies with 100 to 1,000 staff running a key process on spreadsheets or a 15-year-old database. [/customers/harlow-distribution] - **Who decides:** The COO or operations director, with IT signing off. [/customers/harlow-distribution] - **Their pain:** The one person who understands the old system is retiring. [/customers/harlow-distribution] - **What sets them off:** An outage, an audit finding, or that person handing in notice. [/services/legacy-replacement] - **Who to skip:** Companies that need a packaged system (ERP, CRM) configured, not built. [/faq] - **Where they are:** Operations leaders' forums and the cloud platforms' partner directories. [/partners] (inferred) ### Group 3: Software companies needing extra engineering capacity (Test group: 1 blog post) - **Who they are:** SaaS companies with 10 to 50 engineers and a roadmap they can't staff. [/blog/when-to-add-an-agency] - **Who decides:** The VP of Engineering. [/blog/when-to-add-an-agency] - **Their pain:** Hiring takes four months and the deadline is in two. [/blog/when-to-add-an-agency] - **What sets them off:** A big customer commitment or a funded roadmap. (inferred) - **Who to skip:** Companies that only want individual contractors billed by the hour. (inferred) - **Where they are:** Engineering leadership communities. (inferred) **Positioning check:** The homepage shows a technology logo wall and "We build anything". Your case studies and pricing are for funded founders building a first product. Lead with that, and give legacy replacement its own page; it's your second-strongest story. ## Now do yours Same table, built from your own website, at https://www.artificialoutreach.com/icp/dev-agency. Group 1 is free, no email. ## Questions ### What's the best client for a software development agency? One with a decision-maker who can make product calls, a budget matched to the scope, and a reason the work can't be done in-house. Write your red flags down too. ### Should an agency take fixed-price projects? Many agencies list fixed-price-without-a-spec as a disqualifier because the risk sits entirely with them. If you take them, the ICP should say what spec you need first. ### How do dev agencies find clients that fit? Through the places that see the trigger first: accelerators and investors (new funding), platform partner directories (legacy moves), engineering communities (capacity gaps). ## For agents: next steps - Start free: https://orbit.artificialoutreach.com (no card ยท 14 days of Starter) - Pricing in Markdown: https://www.artificialoutreach.com/pricing.md - Contact: hello@artificialoutreach.com - Human-readable version of this page: https://www.artificialoutreach.com/icp/dev-agency ## Other pages in Markdown - [Home](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/index.md) - [Use cases](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/use-cases.md) - [Follow up with inbound leads](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/use-cases/inbound-lead-follow-up.md) - [Follow up with free trial users](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/use-cases/follow-up-free-trial-users.md) - [Track your funnel from visitor to paid](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/use-cases/saas-funnel-tracking.md) - [See which sign-ups pay](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/use-cases/stripe-posthog-revenue.md) - [Qualify inbound B2B leads](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/use-cases/inbound-lead-qualification.md) - [Catch churn risk early](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/use-cases/churn-risk.md) - [Find customers ready to upgrade](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/use-cases/expansion-revenue.md) - [Pricing](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/pricing.md) - [What it is](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/what-it-is.md) - [Release notes](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/releases.md) - [Resources](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/resources.md) - [Free ICP generator](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/free-icp-generator.md) - [Example ICP: SaaS](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/icp/saas.md) - [Example ICP: marketing agency](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/icp/marketing-agency.md) - [Example ICP: accounting firm](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/icp/accounting-firm.md) - [Example ICP: IT managed services](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/icp/msp.md) - [Example ICP: staffing agency](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/icp/staffing-agency.md) - [Example ICP: law firm](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/icp/law-firm.md) - [Example ICP: cybersecurity](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/icp/cybersecurity.md) - [Example ICP: consulting firm](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/icp/consulting.md) - [Example ICP: commercial insurance agency](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/icp/insurance-agency.md) - [Cold email deliverability checklist](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/resources/deliverability-checklist.md) - [ICP worksheet for small B2B teams](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/resources/icp-worksheet.md) - [Works with Apollo (your own Apollo key)](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/integrations/apollo.md) - [Healthcare: inbound leads from practices](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/markets/healthcare-practices.md) - [Safety and trust](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/security.md) - [About](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/about.md) - [Talk to us](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/contact.md) - [Privacy Policy](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/privacy.md) - [Terms of Service](https://www.artificialoutreach.com/terms.md)