MVP development in Washington, DC.
Cosmic builds MVPs for founders and private companies in the Washington DC area from its office in McLean, Virginia. In 10 days you get one core workflow for one type of user, tested with real users twice and deployed on accounts you own, and we run the framing day in person at your office in DC, Northern Virginia or Maryland.
A short call first. If your idea won’t fit in 10 days, we’ll say so.
Who we build MVPs for here
Private companies only. We don’t build for government agencies.
Founders with an idea and a deadline
A first version real users can try before you raise, hire or sign a pilot.
Teams inside large companies
A fast-moving team that needs a working product in front of customers without waiting for a slot on the IT roadmap.
Firms selling expertise
Consultancies, associations and professional-services firms turning a service they deliver by hand into software.
Owners of a vibe-coded prototype
Something built in Lovable, Replit or Cursor that needs its core workflow made ready for real users.
How the 10 days run in the DC area
The full sprint, day by day, is on MVP development in 10 days.
Day 1, at your office
We frame the product with your decision-maker in the room: the user, the one workflow, and the number the MVP should move. Anywhere in DC, Northern Virginia or the Maryland suburbs.
Days 2 to 8, built in small releases
The team builds remotely and deploys to production every day. You see working software throughout, and real users test it twice between days 5 and 8.
Day 10, handed over
The app runs on your cloud account and domain, with the code, tests and a 90-day roadmap. A recorded handoff shows your team how it's built and deployed.
Why not hire a developer instead?
Figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area.
The Washington metro area has 69,060 software developers, and their median pay is $154,930 a year, about 14% above the national median. You compete with federal contractors and large employers for every hire, and a new engineer still has to ramp up before the first version exists.
An MVP sprint gets the first workflow in front of users before most hiring processes finish. Once it’s proven, you hire with a working product and a roadmap in hand. The full comparison is in what it costs to build an app in the Washington DC area and how much an MVP costs.
Built this way
Client names stay private; the numbers are from the builds.
A subscription marketplace reached a deployed production stack in six days, with 30 database tables, row-level security and about 470 automated tests: the evidence-based talent marketplace. For larger builds in Northern Virginia, see software development in Fairfax County.
MVP questions from DC-area founders
Is there an MVP development company in Washington, DC that works in person?
Yes. Cosmic is in McLean, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC. We run the framing day at your office anywhere in DC, Northern Virginia or the Maryland suburbs, and build remotely for the rest of the 10 days.
What can be built in 10 days?
One core workflow for one type of user, built properly: sign-in, a database, the screens that workflow needs, tests and a production deploy. Anything that doesn't serve the first workflow waits for a later release.
Who owns the code?
You do. The repository, cloud account and domain are yours from the first commit, and nothing runs on accounts we control.
How much does an MVP cost in the DC area?
A median software developer in the Washington metro area earns $154,930 a year (BLS, May 2025), so hiring even one engineer costs more than most MVPs. Our post on what an MVP costs breaks down the options, including the sprint's price.
Do you build for government agencies?
No. Cosmic works only for private companies, and we don't hold security clearances.
Can you take over an app we already started?
Often, yes. If it was built with an AI tool like Lovable, Replit or Cursor, that's our vibe-coded app to production service; we'll tell you on the first call which one fits.
Last updated October 2026