Two-sided marketplace
Supply onboarding, demand search, escrow payments, ratings, disputes. Used in ACE Tuition, PetSitters App.
NH · Industries · since 20224 verticals · shipped product in each
NerdHeadz·Industries we ship for·v2026
Software for the industries we already know.
We list a vertical only when we have already shipped a product in it. FinTech, EdTech, Logistics, PetCare — plus other verticals on request when the regulatory layer is mappable. No tourism, no learning on your dollar.
// 00 · What is this
Industry experience, not industry tourism.
NerdHeadz is a Sheridan, Wyoming software development studio that ships in four industries — FinTech, EdTech, Logistics, and PetCare. We list a vertical on this page only when at least one product is live in production behind it — no aspirational categories, no industries we would like to learn on.
Our depth sits in regulated FinTech and EdTech, with operational work in Logistics fleets and PetCare marketplaces. If your vertical is on the list, the timeline and price you read here are real numbers — not a generic agency rate card.
- Verticals shipped
- 4 industries
- Regulated work
- PCI · KYC · COPPA · FERPA
- Operating since
- 2022 · Sheridan, WY
- Engagement
- Fixed · Pod · Discovery · Retainer · T&M
// 01 · Industries
Four verticals. Each with a shipped product behind it.
Every card on this page links to at least one live product. Click through to the case study, or scroll the capabilities to see what a build in that vertical actually involves.
FinTech
Banking · payments · capital markets
Regulated software that handles money.
KYC/AML flows, PCI-aware payment infrastructure, real-time ledgers, on-chain primitives, investor dashboards. We ship apps that pass an audit, not just a demo.
Capabilities
- KYC & identity verification
- PCI-compliant payment flows
- Real-time ledgers & reconciliation
- Tokenization & on-chain settlement
- Investor & deal-flow CRMs
- Audit logs & SOC2-ready ops
EdTech
Learning · tutoring · credentials
Platforms that teach, test, and certify.
AI tutors, two-sided learning marketplaces, assessment engines, institution dashboards. We build for the long sessions and the messy edge cases — not just the demo path.
Capabilities
- AI tutoring & coaching
- Assessment & grading engines
- Tutor / student marketplaces
- Cohort & curriculum management
- Live class infrastructure (Zoom, LiveKit)
- Credentialing & certificates
Logistics & Mobility
Trucking · last-mile · dispatch
Dispatch, routing, and the integrations no one wants to write.
TMS platforms, driver apps, ELD integrations, real-time fleet tracking. We have shipped the boring, regulated, GPS-heavy systems that move trucks for a living.
Capabilities
- Transportation management (TMS)
- Driver & dispatcher mobile apps
- Real-time GPS tracking
- ELD & telematics integrations
- Routing & multi-stop optimization
- Carrier & broker portals
PetCare
On-demand · field ops · scheduling
Real-time matching for pet owners and providers.
On-demand pet sitting, walking, grooming, vet booking. Booking, scheduling, dispatch, ratings — and the field-ops surface caregivers actually use on a phone, between visits.
Capabilities
- On-demand booking & dispatch
- Caregiver mobile apps (iOS/Android)
- Geo-matching & ETA
- Verified caregiver onboarding
- Tipping, ratings & disputes
- Recurring care plans
// 02 · How we choose
We say no to industries we cannot ship for.
Four filters every potential vertical has to pass before we agree to build in it. Defense, pharma manufacturing, and unregulated gambling do not pass — and we say so on the call.
01
We have shipped one before
Every industry we list has at least one product live in production. We do not learn on your dollar — we have already paid the tuition.
02
The regulatory layer is mappable
Fintech and edtech are doable; defense and pharma manufacturing are not. We pick verticals where the compliance posture can be designed into the product, not bolted on.
03
There is a real product underneath
We ship software, not slide decks. If the project needs a pitch deck more than it needs an app, we will tell you and refer you to a strategist.
04
The team can ship in 12 weeks
If a vertical needs an 18-month integration cycle before the first user logs in, it is not a fit for us. We optimise for getting real users on real software within a quarter.
// 03 · Compliance & timing
What changes when the vertical is regulated.
Regulated industries are not slower because we are slower — they are slower because the data model has to be designed against the regulation before the first commit. Here is what that looks like, ranged.
Vertical
Regulators & standards
Engineering deltas
Typical timeline
FinTech
KYC · AML · PCI-DSS · SOC2
Identity layer, ledger correctness, audit trails
14 – 20 wk to MVP
EdTech
COPPA · FERPA (US K-12)
Age gating, content moderation, parental consent
8 – 14 wk to MVP
Logistics
DOT · ELD compliance · GDPR (EU)
Real-time GPS, telematics, offline-first driver apps
10 – 16 wk to MVP
PetCare
Payments licensing · platform liability
Trust & safety, escrow, recurring billing, disputes
8 – 12 wk to MVP
// 04 · Patterns we reuse
Six patterns we have shipped enough times to ship fast.
Most products fit one of these shapes. Recognising the pattern is what lets us deliver an MVP in 6 – 12 weeks instead of 6 months.
Regulated identity layer
KYC + document upload + sanctions screening + audit log. Reused across Propbase, Smart SETC, GHLASS.
Real-time dispatch
Geo-matching, driver / caregiver mobile app, ETA, status updates. Behind Trucking88 and PetSitters App.
AI tutor & coach
RAG ingestion, retrieval, tool-using agent, eval harness. Behind FutureSpark and the AI grading layer in ACE Tuition.
Multi-tenant B2B console
Tenant isolation, RBAC, billing, audit logs. Behind Smart SETC and SalesPipe.
Mobile-first consumer app
Native iOS / Android with auth, payments, push, deep links. Behind PetSitters App and the FutureSpark mobile build.
✺Selected work
One product per industry, picked.
// 06 · Engagement
Six ways to work with us.
Match the engagement model to the maturity of the project. We will tell you on the discovery call which one fits — and which does not.
/01
PoC · Prototype
Validate the idea before committing
A clickable prototype or focused proof-of-concept, on us. Best when you need to convince a stakeholder, de-risk a UX hypothesis, or pressure-test the idea before scoping a real build. We pick this up after a 30-minute call.
RangeFree
Book a call →/02
Discovery sprint
Pre-build teams who need a real plan
A 1 – 2 week paid engagement that produces a written brief, a click-through prototype, and a quote you can take to a board. Refundable against a build. Free for projects we already see a clear shape for.
RangeFree – USD 5k
/03
Fixed-scope build
Founders & product teams with a defined MVP
A bounded scope, a fixed price, a hard launch date. Best when the brief is clear and the product can be carved into a 6 – 16 week window.
RangeFrom USD 5k
/04
Embedded pod
Scaling teams that need senior capacity now
A team of 2 – 5 senior engineers and a designer who work inside your repo, your stand-ups, and your access controls. Three-month minimum, monthly rolling thereafter.
RangeFrom USD 5k / mo
/05
Retainer support
Post-launch maintenance & iteration
On-call coverage, monthly feature sprints, monitoring, and minor scope. Basic support starts at $2k/mo; active feature work runs $5k – $15k/mo. Most clients keep us for 6 – 18 months after launch.
RangeFrom USD 2k / mo
/06
Time & materials
Open-ended scope, exploratory work
Hourly billing against a tracked, weekly-reported burn-down. Best for unknown unknowns — research spikes, integrations with unclear surface area, or early-stage exploration that resists fixed scope.
RangeFrom USD 60 / hour
// 07 · Definitions
Industries, defined.
Plain-English definitions for the verticals our clients ask about most. Written for humans first, answer engines second.
What is fintech software development?
Fintech software development is the practice of building applications that handle money, identity, or financial market data — banking apps, payment platforms, investment dashboards, lending tools, or crypto products. It differs from generic software development in that it is shaped by KYC and AML requirements, payment-card industry standards (PCI-DSS), audit trails, and (often) securities regulation. NerdHeadz has shipped fintech products including Propbase, Smart SETC, and GHLASS.
What is edtech software development?
Edtech software development is the practice of building learning, tutoring, and credentialing platforms. For US K-12 audiences it is shaped by COPPA (children under 13) and FERPA (student records). The product surface itself ranges from AI tutors and assessment engines to two-sided tutor marketplaces and institution dashboards.
What is logistics software?
Logistics software is the family of applications that move physical goods — transportation management systems (TMS), dispatch platforms, driver mobile apps, route-optimization engines, and warehouse management systems. Logistics builds are typically shaped by ELD compliance (US trucking), real-time GPS data, and offline-first mobile UX for drivers in low-signal environments.
What is a petcare platform?
A petcare platform is a two-sided software product that connects pet owners with service providers — sitters, walkers, groomers, trainers, vets — and runs the booking, payments, scheduling, and trust layers between them. Engineering surfaces include verified caregiver onboarding, geo-matching, recurring service plans, in-app messaging, ratings, and dispute resolution.
What is a marketplace platform?
A marketplace platform is a software product that connects two sides of supply and demand — buyers and sellers, riders and drivers, owners and caregivers — and runs the trust, payments, and dispute layers between them. Key engineering surfaces include identity verification, escrow and split payouts, geo-matching, ratings, and moderation.
What is a B2B SaaS application?
A B2B SaaS application is a multi-tenant software product sold as a recurring subscription to other businesses. The defining engineering challenges are tenant isolation, role-based access, audit logging, billing (usually Stripe Billing), and SSO. NerdHeadz builds B2B SaaS on Next.js, Postgres, and Supabase or a custom auth layer.
// 08 · Frequently asked
Questions, answered plainly.
The questions every client asks before signing a vertical-specific build. If yours is not here, the fastest answer is a 30-minute call.
We regularly ship in four verticals — fintech, edtech, logistics, and petcare. Every industry on this page has at least one shipped product behind it. We list a vertical only when we have already taken a product to production in it.
We specialise. Most of our repeated experience clusters in fintech and edtech, with deep operational work in logistics and petcare marketplaces. We turn down projects in verticals we have not shipped in.
Regulated industries (fintech, edtech for K-12) add a compliance design phase up front. We map the data model against the regulation before the first commit, set up encryption and audit logs from day one, and structure the codebase so an external auditor can trace the data flow. The build itself is roughly 20 – 30% slower than an unregulated product of the same scope.
Rarely. We will only consider it if the regulatory model is mappable in a week of research and the product idea sits cleanly in patterns we know (a marketplace, a SaaS, a mobile app). For everything else we refer you to a specialist.
Defense, pharma manufacturing, gambling, healthtech with clinical-device certification, and projects whose primary value depends on us writing a paid pitch deck rather than shipping software. We are happy to recommend specialists when we are not the right fit.
If your project sits in fintech, edtech, logistics, or petcare — yes. Our portfolio at /portfolio is filterable by industry. If you do not see your exact niche, the closest analogue is usually a fair proxy for cost and timeline.
The base price does not — but the scope often does. A fintech MVP carries 2 – 4 weeks of compliance work that a petcare app does not. We tell you the loaded number, not a generic agency rate card.
Yes. Our embedded pods (from USD 5,000 / month) work inside your repo, your access controls, and your compliance posture. We sign DPAs for GDPR work as standard.
Sheridan, Wyoming, US. We have been operating since 2022 and work with US, EU, LATAM, and Middle East clients remotely. For regulated work we route data through US or EU regions per the client requirement and route access through the client’s identity provider.
A 30-minute discovery call. Bring the regulator name, the product idea, and a rough budget. We will tell you on the call whether we are the right fit and, if not, who is.
Let’s ship
Tell us which industry you are building for.
Thirty minutes, no slide deck. Bring the regulator, the product idea, and a rough budget. We will tell you on the call whether we are the right fit — and if not, who is.