What Cultivate does

Cultivate (legal entity: Cultivate Software Ltd) is an Edinburgh-based software design and development consultancy delivering end-to-end product development, software engineering, UX, and Lean Startup/Lean UX workshops to FTSE100 enterprises, VC-backed startups, and UK public sector organisations. Founded in 2009 as the Edinburgh office of EdgeCase and rebranded to Cultivate in 2014 (previously also operating under the Neo name), the firm is headquartered at CodeBase in Edinburgh and operates as Cultivate Software Ltd, a private Scottish company (SC357781) with no disclosed parent, investors, or funding rounds.

The company's delivery stack centres on Ruby on Rails, Ruby, Elixir/Phoenix, and Elm, applied through a self-described rigorous agile methodology (pair programming, test-first development, frequent production deployments, retrospectives) and Lean UX/Lean Startup practices developed in close collaboration with methodology authors Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden. Service delivery is remote-first, supported by daily standups, weekly demos, and monthly onsite visits, with cross-functional teams combining engineering, UX, and product management.

Commercially, Cultivate runs a sales-led professional services model. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; engagements use flexible two-week rolling contracts that clients can terminate at short notice, signalling confidence in delivery quality. Revenue is derived entirely from consultancy fees—no software product, API, SDK, or recurring licence revenue is disclosed. The firm is founder/team-owned with no institutional capital, no subsidiaries, no M&A activity, and no patents or trademarks on file. Marketing is driven primarily by an extensive technical blog, conference organisation and sponsorship (Elixir London, Elixir Conf EU, Code Sync, Scottish Ruby Conference, Scottish Ruby User Group), and direct enterprise outreach.

Name

Cultivate

Legal name

Cultivate Software Ltd

Website

https://cultivatehq.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cultivate is an Edinburgh-based software consultancy delivering product development, software engineering, and UX services to FTSE100 enterprises, VC-backed startups, and UK public sector bodies, specialising in Ruby on Rails, Elixir/Phoenix, and Lean UX methodologies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Development Consulting: Professional services revenue from delivering software development projects, including web and mobile application development, for enterprise and startup clients.
2. Product Development Services: Full-service end-to-end product development from early stage problem/solution validation through to iterative design, development and delivery.
3. User Experience Services: UX consulting including customer research, interaction design, prototyping, customer journey mapping, and facilitation of discussions around product vision.
4. Workshops and Training: Highly engaging and interactive workshops to introduce teams to Lean Startup and Lean UX, designed for business and technical attendees.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cultivate is a software consultancy that designs and builds world-class software products for FTSE100 enterprises, VC-backed startups, and public sector organisations. Its offering spans end-to-end product development, agile software engineering, user experience design, and Lean Startup/Lean UX workshops, with deep specialisation in Ruby on Rails, Ruby, and Elixir (Phoenix) using pair programming and test-driven development.

Product overview

Cultivate is a software consultancy offering a portfolio of professional services centered on product development. The core offering comprises four interconnected service lines: Product Development (full end-to-end product delivery), Software Development (quality-focused engineering), User Experience (design and research), and Workshops (Lean Startup/Lean UX training). The company specializes in specific technology stacks including Ruby on Rails, Ruby, and Elixir development, providing specialized expertise in these areas alongside the broader service offerings. The services are delivered by cross-functional teams combining engineering, design, and product management expertise, with flexibility to support clients at any stage from early-stage discovery through to ongoing delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Product Development Full-service, end-to-end product development covering early-stage problem/solution validation through iterative design, development, and delivery, combining software engineering, UX design, and product management for clients that include enterprises, startups, and public sector organisations.
• Software Development World-class software development services delivered using agile methodology, pair programming, test-first development, and frequent deployments, covering Ruby on Rails, Ruby, and Elixir engineering for startups, enterprise, and government clients.
• User Experience User experience design services including customer research, interaction design, prototyping, customer journey mapping, product ownership, and project management, grounded in Lean Startup and Lean UX methodology and delivered by senior practitioners.
• Workshops Interactive workshops designed to introduce product teams to Lean Startup and Lean UX principles, customised around real-world business problems and engaging both business and technical attendees.
• Ruby on Rails Development Ruby on Rails application development service provided since 2009, building scalable applications for startups, enterprise, and government organisations using pair programming, test-first approach, and agile practices.
• Ruby Development Ruby software development services leveraging deep Ruby community expertise and experience building well-engineered, scalable applications since 2009.
• Elixir Development Elixir web application development using the Phoenix framework and Ecto, leveraging the BEAM VM's scalability and concurrency capabilities for fault-tolerant applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• e-petitions built for £80k in 8 weeks (compared to £1m and 8 months quotes using waterfall methodology)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Agile Delivery NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultivate worked as part of the Agile Delivery Network to bring Agile software development into the public sector for the GOV.UK e-petitions project. This was a collaborative partnership to deliver digital services using agile methodology.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cultivatehq

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Cultivate