Studios
We build the systems that run mid-sized distribution, construction, manufacturing, and professional firms. Most of our clients have working, stable software within 3 months.
After a brief conversation, we found that building an app wasn’t the right route for me. They pointed me toward a solution that saved me $50K+.
When your tools cannot share data, people re-type the same numbers from one screen into another. That is a tax on your business every day of the week.
Your team gets things done because they have to. The workarounds compound. The original reason for most of them has been forgotten, and every new change takes more time more than the last.
When software fights the real workflow, savvy employees build spreadsheets, side processes, and silent rules. The business runs on tribal knowledge designed to work around a broken system.
Every change feels uncertain, and the cost of staying put keeps rising while the cost of an incorrect "new" system feels worse. It can often take days or weeks to get responses from uninterested developers who have moved on.
"I felt heard. I felt validated. And you never made me feel like I needed to learn a whole nother side career just to be able to accomplish this goal."
— MISTY EBERSOLE, CEO · SASS Watch the full interview →
The objective is simple: one system that fits how your specific business operates, returning hours per day back to your team.
Every client who hires us, does so for one of these six reasons:
From spreadsheet to software
A spreadsheet runs a core part of the business, and has outgrown the people who built it. We turn tables and rows into a system with specialzed rules tailored to your business.
Built for your 20%
GLP-1 dosing algorithms, shooting matches, and customized quoting systems; our clients have diverse businesses with unique needs. We hone in on the 20% that makes your operation different, so the system matches how you work instead of forcing to match the system.
Custom ERP instead of a forced upgrade
Your vendor is pushing a costly upgrade on their timeline. We build custom so you are not boxed into features you do not need and timelines you did not choose.
Rebuilt without disruption
Some of our clients had a custom system that worked for years, until the original developer left, leaving them without someone who could maintain the software. We rebuild, migrate, and support your system transition so the business keeps running while the foundation is replaced.
One connected system
You run several systems that do not share data, and your people have become the integration layer. We build the system that ties the operation together.
The last firm failed you
An agency took the deposit and built the wrong thing. You still need the system fixed. You need a senior engineer who knows your business, answers in under an hour, and can fix your system.
Most ERP and custom software firms bill by the hour, obscure their process, and vanish after launch. We built Pilot West as the opposite of that, on every point that decides whether you get software worth owning.
Most firms quote a build before they understand the business. We reverse that. The first thing we do is define our North Star: the measurable, must-have business outcome you need. Then we talk through your options and discuss the trade-offs of each, including the options that do not involve hiring us. By the end you'll have a good sense of the options best for your company. If you decide working with us is the best path, the roadmap is anchored to that North Star we defined at the outset. That is how we deliver software that creates meaningful outcomes in months, not years.
We assign a senior, US-based developer to your business. They handle communication, speaking your language, with average response times under 15 minutes. You can pick up the phone and call, text, or email them at any time. The rest of our team sits behind them as supporting resources, scaling up or down as the work shifts. The model is built around one experienced engineer who knows your business, not a rotating cast of contributors ambiguously "contributing" to your project. You get a friendly, comunicative, seasoned professional without the hassle of payroll, the price of a team, or the risk of mis-hiring.
If at any point you decide we are not the right partner, we will refund your entire last month. Whether it is the first month or the tenth, we will give you the full amount of your last month's payment back. This is a low-risk offer because excellent work is rarely refunded.
We leverage LLM tooling to build scalable, high-quality code bases. But we never outsource what matters: human relationships. It's why we don't outsource talking to the humans experiencing the pain. It is also why we bake free cookies and ship them to your office.
Thirty minutes of listening and problem-solving. We name your North Star and discuss whether we are the right partner. If we are not The Guys, we'll help you find who is. Our goal is that you walk away with clarity on next steps.
This engagement is designed to resolve the pain identified in your North Star. Timelines vary, but can take anywhere from 3 months to a year, with average engagements between 3-6 months. You own the code from day one. If at any point you decide we are not a fit, we'll refund your last month. (Yes, that means refunds in the first month cost you nothing.)
After we arrive at our first North Star, we have a choice: begin solving the next problem, or transition to Continuous Care.
Continuous Care is where we keep your application fast, secure, and bug-free.
You can make any request you wish, and we won't "upsell" you back to a North Star project at a higher rate.
Read more about Continuous Care →
For fifteen years Misty tried to replace SASS's 1990s Visual Basic system. Nothing fit. When we opened the database, it hadn’t been backed up in years. We secured forty years of membership data first, then replaced the system in 11 months with no downtime. Eighteen days after launch, the team said they had 30% of their day back.
"They made us feel valued and respected, with the intention of building a lasting partnership rather than just collecting a paycheck."
Amy’s staff was running fifteen different programs every day, copying data between them and auditing by hand. We built a custom system from the ground up so her team could stop wrestling software and return to clients.
"Every part of this project has been smooth, with clear communication and frequent check-ins throughout."
Todd’s scheduling system was aging out. We rebuilt it end to end, reservations, partner data, and session tracking, and shipped it on time, live in production from day one.
"Their ability to consistently connect development work to real business value set them apart."
Dr. Ian needed a patient app for medication tracking, weight tracking, and inventory. We delivered the MVP in under three months, with 35,000 lines of code and 25,000 lines of tests.
"This would have taken other agencies double or triple the time."
We built Pilot West Studios to be the anti-agency agency.
We believe that client care should be the value around which, all other concerns orbit. We started Pilot West because we kept meeting owners with awful experiences with software agencies. It was striking that most of those experiences weren't malicious, they were just regular old carelessness.
We had a hunch that we could do better.
Before we even had an official name, clients started calling us their technical "co-pilots". We named our business after the golden era of 60's Pan-American flight, where outstanding customer care (and maybe a nice suit) defined the American mindset.
We hope to get the opportunity to serve you. If nothing else, go grab yourself a box of cookies.
Discovery starts within the week. Hands-on work begins in days, not months. Most clients see something usable against their North Star objective in three to four months.
A flat monthly rate, customized to the scope of your engagement. The model is intentionally cheaper than hiring a senior US developer in-house ($120K to $200K plus benefits) and more flexible. You scale up or down month to month. Exact pricing comes out of the free strategy call, once we understand the scope.
Yes. You own everything we ship from day one. No license terms, no buybacks, no holding the codebase hostage if you ever decide to leave. We hand you the keys.
You cancel. There's no contract, no penalty, no last-month invoice trick. We work month-to-month so the relationship is always your call. Our never-ending money-back guarantee always applies.
Yes. Every developer is based in the US. No offshoring, no overnight handoffs, no time zone friction. You work with senior US engineers who understand your business in plain English.
A senior US developer costs $120K to $200K a year plus benefits, equipment, and recruiting time. Beyond that, talented senior US developers are hard to find and hard to keep. With us, a developer drops into your business at a flat monthly rate, with the rest of our team available behind them as supporting resources. No hiring or HR overhead, and you can scale resources up or down as the work shifts.
Mid-sized distribution, manufacturing, construction, healthcare, and professional services companies, usually between $5M to $100M in revenue. If you're outside that range, we still may be able to serve you. Our free consultation call can help us understand whether if we're a good fit.
Yes. We integrate with legacy systems (Visual FoxPro, Visual Basic, PHP, Excel-based workflows, take your pick) and we work alongside in-house teams. You don't need to rip out what's working. We replace what's broken and connect what isn't.
A thirty-minute consultation call allows us to outline your North Star, the one business objective your software should be moving. Most people arrive asking for a specific thing: a new ERP, a portal, a workflow tool, and leave with a clear, measurable path to improvement. We help you talk through what you're actually trying to solve, then walk through whether custom software is the right path. If something off-the-shelf would do the job, or if the underlying issue isn't really a software problem, we tell you, and point you toward the right solution. Either way, you leave with clarity.
At any point, and for any reason, if you decide our working relationship isn't working we will refund your entire last month to you. This guarantee stands if we're in the first month, the tenth, or beyond. There are no clauses, no carve-outs, we hand this to you in writing on every contract. Is this unreasonable? No, not really. People rarely refund excellent work.
We've worked across industries with compliance baselines, including healthcare data, financial data, and internal audit requirements. On the strategy call we dig into the specifics of your environment and tell you honestly whether we can meet them. If we can't, we say so.
In less time than it takes to grab a coffee with a friend, you can get a read on where the hours are going, what is worth fixing first, and what a rebuild would actually cost in time and money.