[the programme]
Most "incubator programmes" are a deck of slides and three pizza dinners. This isn't that. Twelve weeks of structured product work, mentored by founders who've actually shipped, paid the whole way through.
[01] the offer
The Technical Co-founder Residency is a 12-week sprint where you build a real software product from zero. You pick a vertical. You find real users. You ship something they actually use.
You don't do this alone. You're mentored by founders who've shipped before. You have access to the Akvasoft team, infrastructure, and design support. You're paid for the full 12 weeks if you're selected.
At the end of 12 weeks, one of three things happens:
We connect you with investors and help you build it into something bigger.
You join Akvasoft as an engineer.
You leave with a portfolio piece, a paid 12 weeks, and a network. No hard feelings.
[02] who it's for
Most engineering roles ask you to ship features against a spec. This one asks you to figure out what's worth building.
You're not getting handed a Jira board. You're getting a vertical, a problem to validate, and twelve weeks to find out if you can build something people will actually pay for.
The work is harder. The reward — if you build something real — is bigger.
If you want a comfortable predictable role, this isn't it. If you want to find out what you're capable of when you own the whole product, send us a pitch.
[03] what you get
Real salary, full programme. Not a stipend. Not equity-only. If you're selected, you're paid.
Sahan and the Akvasoft team have been in your seat. Weekly reviews. Real product feedback. No gatekeeping.
Infrastructure, design support, QA, user research help. The same resources our paying clients use.
If your project grows, we connect you with investors and help you scale it. Your idea stays your idea.
If your project doesn't grow but you proved you can ship, the best engineers join Akvasoft as full-time team members.
Akvasoft works with founders in the US, Canada, Australia, and the Nordics. You meet them.
[04] the twelve weeks
Most "incubator" programmes are a bunch of slides and three pizza dinners. This is twelve weeks of structured product work. Here's how it actually goes:
You're not on your own. You have weekly 1:1s with Sahan, Eminda, or Eranga, plus access to the Akvasoft team across timezones.
[05] mentors and resources
You're not figuring this out alone. The Technical Co-founder Residency gives you direct access to the Akvasoft cofounders, the same infrastructure our paying clients use, and a team across timezones available for sparring.
Sahan — founder and CEO of Akvasoft. Has built and shipped products across healthcare, events, civic tech, and aviation analytics. Knows what twelve weeks of real product work looks like because he's done it.
Eminda — cofounder and CTO. Leads scalable product development and technical auditing across Akvasoft's client work. Reviews architecture and technical decisions.
Eranga — cofounder and COO. Runs R&D and project management. Helps you scope, plan, and ship without the twelve weeks turning into sixteen.
Akvasoft team — engineers and QA across timezones. The same people who work on our paying clients' products are available for sparring sessions when you need them.
Infrastructure: AWS or Cloudflare credits, deployment pipelines, monitoring.
Design support: Akvasoft's design and UX practice provides input on key UI decisions and design reviews.
User research help: We help you find the first ten users, run interviews, and synthesise findings.
QA: When you're ready to ship, our QA team runs a real empathy audit on your MVP — the same audit our paying clients pay for.
Tools: Claude API access, Linear, GitHub, Slack. The standard stack.