Who’s behind raising water?
We spent 25 years in IT support for the creative industries and worked closely with the same clients through every change of kit and system. Over that time you see the real struggles: admin done by hand because nothing quite fits, and heavy monthly costs for software that has grown bloated or fallen behind.
The new tools of the last few years have changed what one person can deliver, and a career spent on the client’s side of the desk is the right preparation for using them. We build bespoke software people really need, for the people who really need it. Every build starts from the client’s needs, and a developer’s assumptions get no say.
Each tool does one workflow well and belongs to you outright. Most cost less than a year of the subscription they replace. We’re based in Cheltenham, and happy to meet in person anywhere around Gloucestershire.
How we work
We'll tell you when not to hire us
If your current software is genuinely the better deal, or a £30/month tool already solves your problem, you'll hear that on the first call. A custom build is often the right answer, but not always.
Fixed price or no deal
You approve one number before any work starts, and because we build with AI tooling rather than billing by the day, it lands at a fraction of a traditional developer's fee. If we scoped it wrong, that's our cost, not yours.
You own what we build
The code, the data, the accounts: all yours. There's no lock-in and there are no hostage fees. The optional care plan exists because most clients want a human on call, not because you're trapped.
Small by design
raising water takes on a handful of clients at a time. You deal directly with the person who builds your tool, not an account manager relaying messages to a dev team.
Secure by default
Every tool is hardened as it's built, not bolted on afterwards. And if you'd like a second pair of eyes on code you already run, we'll review it and tell you honestly what we'd tighten. There's usually something.
The honest test
You shouldn’t take a website’s word for any of this, ours included. So we built a set of free tools that let you see for yourself what a small piece of custom software can do. Try one with a real task from your week. If it’s useful, imagine the version built around your exact workflow.