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Southwest Florida's Software & AI Consultancy

Software, automation & AI that keeps you one step ahead.

We build custom web apps, mobile apps, and AI automation systems for businesses across Southwest Florida and, remotely, nationwide. Built to enterprise standards, priced for a growing business.

Veteran Owned & Operated Built to Enterprise Standards SWFL · Remote Nationwide
0
Years in software engineering
0
Days to your first milestone
$0
Upfront. Pay per milestone.
0
Code and IP you own
React
Next.js
TypeScript
Node.js
React Native
Python
PostgreSQL
AWS
Claude
OpenAI
React
Next.js
TypeScript
Node.js
React Native
Python
PostgreSQL
AWS
Claude
OpenAI
Why Propel

Standing still is
falling behind.

Most Southwest Florida businesses run on manual workarounds and disconnected tools. The right software and automation give you back time, clarity, and room to grow.

Software that doesn't fit

Off-the-shelf tools make you work around their limits. Before long you've shaped the business around the software instead of the other way around.

We build software that fits you exactly →

Manual work piling up

Every hour spent re-typing, re-checking, and chasing people down is an hour not spent growing. Most of it can be handed to software that never gets tired or skips a step.

We automate it, often within 30 days →

No one steering the tech

You know the right technology could move you faster. You just don't know where to start, or who to trust once you do.

We become your engineering lead →

Complexity,
simplified.

Nuclear-trained discipline meets a decade of engineering leadership. Now it's pointed at your business.

What We Build

A short list.
Done properly.

01

Prototype to Production

You built it with an AI tool and it works. We turn it into something customers can pay for: real accounts, billing, data isolation, and infrastructure you own outright.

Multi-tenantAuth & billingData isolation
02

AI & Automation

Multi-step workflows and LLM integrations that run complex work end to end, around the clock, without anyone babysitting them.

Agentic AILLMIntegrations
03

Web & Mobile Apps

Client portals, dashboards, internal tools, and iOS and Android apps built around exactly how your business works. Not a template with your logo on it.

PortalsDashboardsiOS & Android
04

Tech Strategy & Advisory

A senior engineer in your corner for vendor decisions, build-vs-buy calls, and reviewing developer work. Engineering leadership without the full-time hire.

Fractional CTOAuditsRoadmapping
Our Specialty

From idea
to paying customers.

Already have an idea sketched out, or a prototype you built with an AI tool? Getting something to work is the easy part now. Charging for it, keeping each customer's data separate, and keeping it running at 2am is the part we handle.

What we’d want to know
  • Can a second customer sign up without you touching anything?
  • Is each customer’s data isolated, or just filtered in code?
  • Can someone pay you without a manual invoice?
  • What happens when the platform changes its API or its pricing?
  • Who gets paged when it breaks at 2am?
  • If you had to move off the platform tomorrow, could you?
What we put in place
  • Real accounts, roles, and permissions
  • Customer data isolated at the database level
  • Stripe billing with plans, limits, and invoices
  • Configuration that fits the next ten customers
  • Monitoring, backups, and a defined response time
  • Code and infrastructure you own outright

Start with an architecture assessment

One to two weeks, fixed fee. We map what carries forward from your prototype and what has to be rebuilt, then hand you a written plan covering data isolation, authentication, billing, and a phased build with real numbers. You keep the plan either way.

Book an Assessment
Claude · Lovable · Cursor · Replit · Bolt · v0 · Base44 · or code you wrote yourself
Who We Work With

Built for your
industry.

We'd rather be genuinely useful in a few areas than passable everywhere. These are the three where we do our best work.

Healthcare & Medical

Patient portals, intake apps, scheduling, and workflow automation, built by an engineer who spent a decade leading software for practices serving millions of patients.

Manufacturing & Trades

Scheduling, quoting, job tracking, and field apps for contractors, fabricators, and shops. Software that fits the way the work already gets done.

Software Founders

You have a working product and people who want it, but the architecture won't carry the next fifty customers. Accounts, billing, data isolation, and the plan to get there.

The Process

What working together looks like.

1

Discovery

A free 30-minute call. We learn what's slowing you down and where you want to go. No pitch.

2

Assessment

For anything beyond a simple automation, we start with a paid, fixed-fee assessment. You get the technical plan and real numbers, and you own the document either way.

3

Proposal

Scope, timeline, and milestone pricing drawn straight from the assessment. No charge, and no guessing at a number.

4

Build

Wireframes and architecture approved before a line of code. Weekly check-ins, a shared tracker, and QA-tested delivery in phases.

5

Support

Ongoing support and iteration so your technology keeps pace as your business grows.

Investment

Pay per milestone.
Nothing upfront.

Every engagement is scoped upfront. You pay nothing until work is reviewed and approved.

Scoped before we startDeliverables, timeline, and cost are agreed before anything begins.
Something usable every phaseEach milestone ships working software you can put in front of your team, not a status report.
Project workPaid per milestone

Architecture Assessment

Bring a prototype, an existing app, or just an idea. One to two weeks, and you walk away with a clear technical plan for getting it to paying customers.
$1,500–$2,500
Flat fee · one-time

Automation Quick Win

The lowest-risk way to start. We identify your highest-value automation and build it.
$1,000–$5,000
Flat fee · one-time

Web or Mobile App

Portals, dashboards, internal tools, and native mobile apps. Built new, or taken over from a prototype and made production-ready.
$8,000–$30K+
Web from $8K · mobile from $20KApp Store and Play Store submission included

AI Automation System

Multi-step workflows that handle complex work end to end, on their own schedule.
$7,500–$25K+
Milestone-based
Every project ends with full code and IP transfer, plus 30 days of post-launch support. You own what we build outright.
OngoingPaid monthly

Support & Advisory Retainer

A senior engineer on call for the system you depend on, plus the judgment calls in between.
$500–$1,500
Per month · 6-month minimumUnused hours roll over month to month

Managed Infrastructure

We keep it running. You own the cloud account and pay the provider directly, so there's no markup and no lock-in.
$300–$750
Per month · scales with deployments
Both are optional and start the day a build hands off. Neither requires the other.
Book a Discovery Call

How milestone-based billing works

Every project is broken into clear phases with defined deliverables. You review and approve each phase before the next payment is due, so you're never paying for work you haven't seen. Scope, timeline, and cost are agreed upfront, which means no scope creep halfway through.

1
Scope & agree
2
Deliver milestone
3
Review & approve
4
Release payment
5
Repeat next phase
Introductory rates for new projects We're offering introductory pricing on new engagements right now. If you've been meaning to tackle a project, this is a good time to start the conversation.
Let's Talk
Background & Experience

Over two decades
in engineering.

Ten of those years building software, from early-stage startups to funded health tech companies serving millions of users.

The Beginning

Nuclear-Trained U.S. Navy Veteran

Operated nuclear propulsion systems, learning to simplify and run complex, high-stakes technology with zero margin for error. That discipline drives every project here.

The Foundation

BS Engineering Technology, Management Minor

Engineering principles plus management thinking. Able to speak both languages: the business problem and the technical solution.

SWFL Roots

First Tech Job: Naples Web & SEO Agency

Got my start in tech right here, building websites and digital strategy for Southwest Florida businesses. SWFL isn't a new market for me. It's where this all began.

National Scale

10+ Years: Developer, Manager, Director

Grew through engineering roles at funded health tech companies, building platforms now serving millions of patients nationwide.

Meet the Founder
Charles, founder of Propel Innovation, Navy veteran and software engineer in Southwest Florida

Over two decades of engineering, now working for you.

"In nuclear operations, complex systems have to be simple enough to run flawlessly under pressure. That's exactly how I approach software. If your team can't use it with confidence, it isn't built right."

I've already run into the hard problems your project will hit: scale, security, integrations, and the messy reality of software people depend on every day. You get that judgment from day one.

Direct access. No handoffs, no middlemen.You work directly with me, not a junior contractor. The person you talk to is the person building your software.
Local to SWFL, available in personBased in Southwest Florida and available to meet across Lee, Collier, and Charlotte counties. Not a remote-only shop.
Common Questions

Answers,
up front.

It depends on scope, but every engagement is priced upfront so there are no surprises. Most people start with a fixed-fee architecture assessment at $1,500 to $2,500 or an automation quick win from $1,000. Full builds typically run $8,000 to $30K, and you pay per milestone as work is approved, never all upfront.

Most clients see working software within 30 days of the first call. Everything is delivered in phases, so you review something real early instead of waiting months for a big reveal. Mobile apps add App Store and Play Store review on top of the build, usually one to two weeks.

Yes, it's most of what we do. Whether you call it a prototype, an MVP, or a vibe coded app, tools like Claude, Lovable, Bolt, Replit, and Base44 are excellent at producing something that works, but they don't give you customer accounts, billing, data isolation, or a safe way to support paying users. We start with a fixed-fee architecture assessment that maps what carries forward and what has to be rebuilt, then hand you a phased plan with real numbers.

We're based in Southwest Florida and love working with local businesses in Naples, Fort Myers, and Cape Coral. That said, most of our work happens remotely, and we partner with clients across the United States.

That's the norm, not the exception. The free discovery call exists to work that out together. If you want to start small, the Automation Quick Win picks your highest-value opportunity and delivers a working result for a flat fee, with nothing bigger committed.

No. Payment is milestone-based. The project is broken into clear phases, and you approve and pay for each one as it's delivered. You pay nothing until the work is in front of you and you've approved it.

Yes, completely. Full source code and intellectual property transfer to you at the final milestone. No lock-in, no licensing fees, no proprietary platform holding your business hostage. If you ever want to bring the work in-house or hand it to another developer, you can, and we will help with the handoff.

You work directly with a senior engineer who has built and led software at national scale. No account managers, no hand-offs, and none of the risk that comes with a solo freelancer disappearing mid-project. Enterprise standards, without the enterprise overhead.

Get Started

Ready to get
one step ahead?

Book a free 30-minute discovery call. No pitch and no pressure, just a straight answer about whether we can help.

Charles, founder of Propel Innovation
You'll talk directly with the founder. We reply to every inquiry within one business day.

We'll reply within one business day. Your information is never shared.