Notes on building revenue
Notes on revenue, conversion, and building sites and apps that pay for themselves.
- productionMCP Agents All Logged Out at Once? How to Handle Clerk Auth Errors on Your MCP ServerFor MCP servers that use Clerk OAuth: the error-handling choice that decides whether a Clerk hiccup logs out one agent or all of them, and a 15-minute connection drop.
- strategyAI Consulting Firms in the Washington DC Area, Compared (2026)An AI consulting list with stated criteria: ten firms in DC, Maryland and Virginia, where each is based, who it suits, and what it publishes about price.
- strategyHow to Choose a Software or AI Firm in Northern Virginia (2026)Every top listing scores 5.0 and some local firms are based in Florida. The vendor types you'll meet around Washington DC, and ten checks before you sign.
- strategyAI Consulting Rates in the Washington DC Area (2026): Hourly, Project and Retainer PricesFew local AI firms publish prices. Hourly bands from national guides, what Washington DC area firms list on Clutch, project and retainer ranges, and the in-house alternative.
- strategyHow Much Does It Cost to Build an App in the Washington DC Area? (2026)Local developers earn 14% more than the national median. What that means for the cost of an in-house hire, local agency rates, offshore teams and AI-assisted delivery.
- productionClerk vs Auth0 in 2026: Pricing, B2B Workspaces and AI Agent Auth ComparedClerk is cheaper at startup scale and easier to leave; Auth0 goes further on agents acting in other apps, data regions and compliance. Prices and features as of October 2026.
- productionHow to Build Secure Workspace Invites with Clerk: Owners, Members and Invite LinksFor SaaS apps where people get their own workspaces, add members and have an owner: how to set up Clerk organizations and build invite links that stay secure.
- productionClerk Not Sending Verification Emails? Two Fixes: Resend or GitHub and Google Sign-InClerk stopped sending our sign-up and reset codes right before an OpenAI plugin submission. Here are the two ways around it: Resend on Clerk Pro, or GitHub and Google sign-in on the free plan.
- developmentHow much does an MVP cost? Prices and timelines in 2026Most MVPs cost $10,000 to $100,000. Published 2026 figures by approach and region, what pushes cost up, timelines, and what Cosmic charges.
- productionClerk vs. rolling your own auth: what three production apps taught usOne app with hand-built auth, two on Clerk. What the git history and tickets show about security, speed, and where the work goes once you buy authentication.
- strategyAI for Professional Services Firms: Where It Pays FirstAI use in professional services nearly doubled to 40% in a year. Where it moves win rate, hours per deliverable and time to billable, and how to measure it.
- revenueHow to Measure the ROI of AI: Pick One Number Before You BuildMost companies can't say what their AI returns. Pick one revenue, margin or time number, baseline it, and report every release against it.
- strategyPivotal Labs Alternatives in 2026: Seven Firms Compared, and What to AskBroadcom wound down Tanzu Labs, formerly Pivotal Labs. Seven alternatives compared on fit, engagement model, published pricing and size, and what to ask before you sign.
- strategyFractional Chief AI Officer or AI Consultancy: Which Does Your Company Need?A fractional CAIO owns the AI agenda part time; an AI consultancy delivers a piece of work. How to tell which your company needs first.
- strategyHow to Choose an AI Consultancy for a Mid-Size CompanyFive criteria that separate an AI partner who ships from one who produces decks, the red flags, and what your side needs to bring.
- strategyHow AI Consulting Is Priced, and Why We Tie Part of Our Fee to ResultsHourly, fixed-price, retainer and outcome-based: how AI consulting is priced, who carries the risk, and how Cosmic prices its sprints.
- revenueRevenue-Focused AI Consulting: Start From the NumberMost AI projects never reach the income statement. Revenue-focused AI consulting starts from the number and picks the model last.
- strategyForward-Deployed Engineering, the Pivotal Labs WayPalantir named the forward-deployed engineer. Pivotal Labs paired with client teams so they could keep building. How Cosmic uses both in AI implementation.
- strategyWhat Is a Boutique AI Consultancy, and When Should You Hire One?What a boutique AI consultancy is, what a small senior team can and can't do, and how to tell whether one fits your problem.
- productionSteve Blank is Right (About MVPs and Vibe Coding)Steve Blank's Lean LaunchPad teams showed up with finished AI-built products and learned less than ever. The three lessons from our own builds that Cosmic is now built around.
- designHow we built v1 of a new kind of employment marketplace, Part 1: Giving a fast agent the right directionA founder hired Cosmic to build v1 of a new kind of employment marketplace. Codex's first prototype buried the idea, so we reset the work around user stories and information architecture.
- designHow we built v1 of a new kind of employment marketplace, Part 2: From user stories to a product worth readingTurning an agreed structure into a v1 people can use: onboarding that explains a new way to hire, a rule to preserve evidence, and a cleanup review that shows every change.