What DevSquad does

DevSquad is a privately held, founder-led product strategy, design, and development consultancy headquartered in Murray, Utah, with primary engineering delivery based in Londrina, Brazil and other LATAM locations. Founded in 2014 by Phil Alves — a Brazilian entrepreneur who previously built and sold the widest-used Direct Sales CRM in the Brazilian market — the company operates a fully managed squad model in which each client engagement receives an embedded team of 2-6 full-stack developers, a product manager, a UX/UI designer, a QA function, and DevOps, supported by an internal VP layer and the proprietary DevStats performance monitoring tool.

Service offerings span AI Agent Development, SaaS app development, mobile (React Native), web, custom software, MVP development, legacy modernization, QA automation (Playwright-based), and a dedicated PE Value Creation Squad. The technology stack is centered on Laravel and Node.js on the backend with React and Vue.js on the frontend, plus React Native for mobile and Electron for desktop; methodology is differentiated by a dual-track agile workflow that runs discovery and delivery sprints in parallel and a private pre-built component library that supports reuse on roughly half of new product features. Security posture is SOC 2-aligned, with encrypted company-issued Macs as the standard endpoint.

The business model is subscription-based and quote-priced: clients pay a fixed monthly fee per squad, billed month-to-month with 7 days' notice to cancel, with an average engagement of ~18 months. Go-to-market is consultative and sales-led, relying on direct outreach, free strategy calls and design sprints, a blog and SaaS Academy Podcast, an extensive case-study library, and a referral network that the company describes as the majority source of new business. Customers span founders and startups (StatSocial, Swell, CountingWorks PRO, BoosterHub, ParentPulse, LiveSeries, IsoTalent, Easy Tracks), mid-market (Fundwise, eLuma), and enterprise/PE-backed accounts (ADP, Box, US Ski & Snowboard, MMToolParts, Maricopa, PE portfolio companies).

Name

DevSquad

Legal name

DevSquad

Website

https://devsquad.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

DevSquad is a founder-led, Murray-Utah-based product strategy, design, and development consultancy that embeds fully managed, LATAM-staffed squads (developers, PMs, designers, QA, DevOps) into startups, mid-market firms, Fortune 500 enterprises, and PE portfolio companies on month-to-month subscriptions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Software Development Services

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Other Computer Related Services (541519)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

DevOps Consulting & Transformation (BPAEAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cloud, DevOps & Infrastructure Staffing (BPACADAD)

Keywords

• Custom software development
• Managed development squads
• AI agent development
• MVP development services
• Product strategy consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Murray

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Dedicated Development Squad Subscriptions: Fixed monthly fee per Squad. The cost is determined by the number of developers, product managers, quality assurance analysts, and product designers assigned to the product. Clients pay month-to-month and can cancel with 7 days notice. Average client engagement is 18 months.
2. Product Design Squad / Discovery Sprint: Strategy and design engagement for product validation before full development. Typically a 30-day design sprint process to create high-fidelity prototypes and roadmaps.
3. PE Value Creation Squad: Custom software development for private equity portfolio companies with a fixed-price strategy audit (3 weeks) followed by monthly subscription engagement focused on EBITDA lift and value creation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

DevSquad provides fully managed product development squads on a monthly subscription basis, with each squad typically including 2-6 developers plus a product manager, UX/UI designer, QA team, DevOps engineers, and a VP-level support team. They deliver end-to-end custom software, SaaS, web, and mobile application development alongside product strategy, design sprints, and AI agent development services for founders, growing companies, Fortune 500 enterprises, and private equity portfolio companies.

Product overview

DevSquad is a product strategy, design, and development consultancy offering a portfolio of services organized around custom software development. The core offerings include AI Agent Development (custom autonomous agents), SaaS/Mobile/Web App Development, MVP Development, Legacy App Modernization, and Custom Software Development. Supporting services include Product Design Squad (discovery sprints and UX design), QA Automation Squad (Playwright-based testing), and PE Value Creation Squad (for private equity portfolio companies). The company specializes in technology stacks including Laravel and Node.js for backend, React and Vue.js for frontend, and React Native for mobile. DevSquad operates on a fully managed squad model where each engagement includes strategists, product managers, designers, developers, QA, and DevOps, with month-to-month billing and no long-term contracts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Product Development Squad Dedicated, fully managed development team service providing full product teams (strategists, PMs, designers, developers, DevOps, QA) for SaaS, mobile, web, and custom software development on a monthly subscription basis with no long-term contracts.
• Product Design Squad Product discovery and design sprint service delivering validated prototypes and roadmaps through strategists, product managers, UX designers, and tech leads in 4-12 weeks.
• PE Value Creation Squad Custom software development squads embedded in private equity portfolio companies, focused on value creation through custom CRMs, operator portals, AI agents, and real-time dashboards to lift EBITDA and improve margins.
• AI Agent Development Custom AI agent development service that builds autonomous agents connecting to actual business systems, applying defined logic, and taking action. Includes workflow discovery, agent design, development, integration, and long-term iteration.
• SaaS App Development Full-stack SaaS product development service using Laravel and Node.js backends with React and Vue.js frontends, including product strategy, design, development, and continuous iteration.
• Mobile App Development Cross-platform mobile application development using React Native for iOS and Android, including strategy, custom development, UI/UX design, security, and QA.
• Web App Development Custom web application development covering e-commerce, social networking, enterprise solutions, and custom applications with discovery, design, development, testing, and deployment.
• Custom Software Development Bespoke software development service building solutions around specific business workflows rather than generic platforms, including product strategy, SaaS development, and internal use software.
• MVP Development Minimum viable product development service focused on rapid market entry, using lean product strategy, design sprints, and focused feature development to launch in 3-6 months.
• Legacy App Modernization Legacy system modernization and migration service that includes strategy workshops, UX redesign, development, and ongoing improvement, with average timelines of 7 months for modernization projects.
• QA Automation Squad On-demand QA automation service using Playwright for end-to-end testing, integrated with CI/CD pipelines, featuring Kanban-driven delivery and AI-enhanced workflows.
• Bespoke Business Software Custom business software development replacing fragmented systems and spreadsheets with unified workflows, including custom CRMs, internal tools, customer portals, and inventory systems.
• Internal Software Development Internal software development for organizations including software migration, integration, custom app development, business process automation, and Salesforce/ServiceNow development.
• SaaS Design Agency Strategic UX and UI design service for SaaS products including MVP design and product redesign, with clickable prototypes and implementation-ready assets.

Quantifiable outcome

• 400%+ increase in approval efficiency (Fundwise case study)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Playwright (Microsoft)coreTechnology or IntegrationDevSquad uses Playwright as the primary framework for automated QA testing. Playwright is an open-source test framework trusted by modern teams for speed, stability, and full-browser coverage. DevSquad combines it with AI-assisted tools for test automation services.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• EPAM Systems: EPAM is a large-scale digital engineering services firm serving Fortune 500 enterprises with custom software, product development, and platform engineering. Its nearshore delivery centers in LATAM overlap with DevSquad's talent base and enterprise customer segment.
• Globant: Globant is a global digital transformation consultancy with deep LATAM roots providing custom software, AI, and design services. It competes with DevSquad across enterprise and PE portfolio engagements but at significantly larger scale.
• Thoughtworks: Thoughtworks is a global technology consultancy providing custom software development, design, and strategy services to enterprise clients. It competes with DevSquad's enterprise segment and PE Value Creation Squad at a much larger scale and with broader geographic coverage.

Direct peers

• Coherent Solutions: Coherent Solutions is a digital product engineering firm offering custom software development and managed teams. It targets similar mid-market and enterprise customers with comparable subscription-style engagement models.
• Net Solutions: Net Solutions is a global software development firm offering web, mobile, and SaaS product development with dedicated team engagements. It serves similar startup and mid-market customers with comparable technology stacks and engagement models.
• Andela: Andela provides vetted global engineering talent on dedicated team and staff augmentation models, with growing AI/agent capabilities. It competes directly with DevSquad for both startup and enterprise engagements across similar technology stacks.
• Arc.dev: Arc is a developer-matching platform offering long-term engagements with vetted remote developers. While more focused on individual placements than fully-managed squads, it overlaps with DevSquad on the startup and scale-up customer segments.
• Geneca: Geneca is a custom software development consultancy providing dedicated development teams for enterprise clients. It shares DevSquad's focus on quality talent, process-driven delivery, and serving CIO/CTO buyers at mid-market companies.
• BairesDev: BairesDev is a Latin America-based nearshore software development firm with 4,000+ engineers providing dedicated teams to US clients. DevSquad shares BairesDev's LATAM talent base and managed-squad delivery model, though at a much smaller scale.
• Toptal: Toptal is a global marketplace and managed services provider for elite software developers. Like DevSquad, it sells fully-managed development teams to enterprises and startups with a focus on quality talent rather than pure staff augmentation, making it the closest direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DevSquad