Bringing small & medium business into the modernage.Talk to us
The idea
Software should be invisible. Focus on your business.
- You wrestle with it
- You bend your business to fit it
- You outgrow it, then start over
- Precise: built to fit exactly what you do
- Malleable: reshaped as your business changes
- Invisible: out of the way, it just works
Precise and malleable. And, done right, invisible. That’s how you get software as good as the big firms use, at a price a real business can pay. You own it, or we host it for you. The longer arc: software is going malleable, shaped on demand, changed when you need it, not rented forever. We build for that, on our own products first, so by the time we build yours, it’s proven, not theory. Built to fit. Not to fill.
Work with us
The software and AI the big firms keep to themselves, finally built for the small businesses left out. Shaped to exactly what you do, handed over, and yours to keep.
We build
For owners who’d rather run the business than the software.
Tell us the problem, not the solution. We build the exact tool for it, and you own it.
We advise
For teams mid-build who want a senior call.
Planning a build, or deep in one that’s drifting? We review the architecture and tell you straight what we’d do. No retainer, no deck.
We back
For founders building something we’d use ourselves.
The occasional founder or product we believe in: a cheque, hands on the build, or just an idea that fits the mission.
We build our own, too.
An applied lab on the side: the products and open tools we ship for ourselves. It’s how we stay sharp, and proof we build for keeps, not just for clients.
6 products & open tools we’ve built
See what we’ve built →Plus a few engagements under NDA.
Proof
What clients say.
Work is so much easier now. Less moving around, no friction. They met us where we were, and they keep making things smoother.
This could be you.
Got a problem worth solving? Tell us what you need.
Reach out →- Honest
- Helpful
- Transparent
- Straight
- Direct
- Clear
- Candid
- No-nonsense
Media
Portuguese tech, past the press releases.
For now it’s an Instagram account: news, sharp takes, and the bits worth knowing in Portuguese tech. What it’s growing into: real conversations with the people building here, founders, operators, engineers, on what worked, what broke, and the tangents worth the hour. In Portuguese, mostly.
See the show →Teach
We teach your team what we learned last month.
Start anywhere
No spec? Start anyway.
What matters is it gets solved. If you do it yourself, great — and we’re here if you ever need us.
Know exactly what you want? Even better, send the visual, the link, or the spec.
Say hello
What brings you here?
Pick one. Tell us what you actually need, a few honest lines. No pitch.
Tell us what you need. We say straight if we can build it, what it costs, and when. Fixed price. You own it.
Start a brief →Building something real in Portuguese tech? Tell us what it is, and why now.
Pitch the show →A talk, a workshop, or weeks of hands-on. For the people writing your code, and whoever decides how it gets built.
Book a session →FAQ
Common questions
- What does Clandestine Hours build?
- We build custom software, AI automation, and agentic workflows for small and medium businesses. Each build is scoped to the real problem and sized to what it actually needs, then handed over to you or hosted and run for you.
- Do you hand the software over, or host it for me?
- Both, your choice. We can hand over the code and infrastructure to your own accounts, or host, run, and keep improving it for you. You are never locked in.
- How much does it cost?
- Pricing is scoped to the work, not sold by the seat. Most engagements start with a short brief; we quote a fixed price or an hourly rate depending on the shape of the project.
- Where are you based, and who do you work with?
- We are based in Alhandra, a riverside town by the Tagus, near Vila Franca de Xira in Portugal, and work with clients across Portugal and remotely. We work in English and Portuguese.
- What else do you do besides client work?
- Beyond client builds we ship our own products, back the occasional founder, teach engineering and product sessions, and are building a Portuguese tech podcast.
- How do we start?
- Send us the problem you want to solve, and we help. You do not have to know the solution yet. We reply if it is a fit, and point you somewhere useful if it is not.
Ready when you are
Built to fit. Focus on your business.
Software, AI and automation, built to fit, and yours to keep. It grows with you and your business. We host it, hand it over, or train your team to run it. No lock-in.