AI automation + technical partner · Western NC + remote
Save hours every week with AI automation. And a technical partner for everything else.
AI automation is what we do every day, and most businesses can put it to work right now on the manual tasks that are stealing the week. From there we're the technical person your business doesn't have: the website, the search presence, the software, and the infrastructure underneath.
The work is led by a principal engineer with 12+ years building software, AI-augmented so one studio can carry the whole stack: automation, site, search, software, and infrastructure. You talk to the engineer doing the work.
Four leaks most small businesses can't see
You're invisible on search
Competitors hold the map pack and the AI answers. Your Google profile is half-built and your site never ranks for what people actually type.
Your site is slow or dated
It loads slowly, looks like a template, breaks on phones, and quietly turns away the people who do find you.
You're drowning in manual work
Leads slip through the cracks, you retype the same things daily, and the software that would fix it feels out of reach.
You're juggling vendors
A web person, an SEO person, an IT contact, whoever set up the domain. None of them talk, and they point at each other when something breaks.
Most agencies stop at the website. We build the systems behind it.
The website, the search presence, the software, and the infrastructure underneath are one system. We build them as one system, because we are the engineers, not a designer who outsources the hard part.
A typical web shop
- Builds a site, then disappears
- Hands you a list of SEO "recommendations"
- Can't touch the software underneath
- One of five vendors who don't talk
- You own the integration headache
Cruxsmith
- Builds the site and the systems behind it
- AI automation that gives your team time back
- Custom software in-house, not subcontracted
- One studio accountable for the whole stack
- One point of contact, range of a small agency
Who we work with
We lead with the two fields where our proof runs deepest. The work travels well beyond them.
Home services & trades
Roofing, HVAC, plumbing, remodeling. A fast site plus the system that catches the call, texts back in seconds, books the job, and earns the review.
For trades →Private schools & education
Independent and micro-schools. Get found by the right families, and the systems that turn an inquiry into a tour into an enrollment.
For schools →If your industry isn't here yet, that's fine. The work translates: we name what we don't know, lean on what you do, and use AI to research the rest before we build.
How we work
Fast loops, not a long blind build that misses the mark at the reveal. You see real work early, your expertise steers the details, we refine quickly.
The Crux Roadmap
A free fit call, then three business days of real, hands-on work across your site, search, and systems. The fee is refunded if you're not happy with what we show you.
Build the first pass
We build fast, using senior engineering, AI, and what we've learned works across industries.
You push back
You're the expert on your business. We surface our assumptions and ask you to correct them. We want the corrections; that's how the work gets right.
We refine and ship
We fold your corrections in and ship it. Then we stay on as the one partner for the whole stack.
Proof, not promises
A developer-led studio should show the machine, not just the dashboard. A few results from real client work:
Built & run in-house
"Developer-led" is literal. We ship and run our own production software across the web, native apps, and AI.
Peanut Gallery
A real-time AI commentary engine: live transcription plus multi-model orchestration streaming reactions in under 300ms. Real applied-AI engineering, open source.
peanutgallery.live →Tideward
A premium idle RPG shipping on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro, with offline progression and cross-device sync. Cross-platform native engineering.
tideward.app →manugames.com
An Astro publisher site with structured data, an RSS feed, and a devlog content strategy. Cruxsmith is a studio of Manu Games LLC.
manugames.com →Where we work
Based in Western North Carolina, engaged across the region and remotely.
Questions people ask first
What do you mean by "the systems behind your business"?
The software that runs underneath the website: lead pipelines that text you the second a form comes in, online booking and intake, review automation, integrations between the tools you already use, and internal dashboards. Most agencies stop at the website. We build what runs underneath it.
Do you only work with home services and schools?
Those are the two fields where we have the deepest proof, so we lead with them. The work travels: we build for professional and institutional services too. Our cross-industry range is the point. We ramp into a new field fast, with you in the loop on the details only you know.
Is it just AI? Who actually does the work?
A principal engineer with 12+ years building software at scale designs, reviews, and stands behind every engagement. AI is the accelerator that lets one studio deliver the range and speed of a small agency. You work directly with the engineer doing the work. No juniors, no handoffs.
What does it cost?
Every tier is published on the pricing page: entry products from $400 to $850, monthly retainers at $2,750 and $3,500, custom builds from $3,500. The path is the same either way: a free fit call, then the Crux Roadmap, a three-business-day hands-on start, fully refundable if you're not happy with what we show you.
Are you local?
We're based in Franklin, NC and work across Western North Carolina, the Asheville metro, and the Tri-Cities, plus remotely with the right clients anywhere.
Find your crux.
Start with a Crux Roadmap. A free fit call, then a clear diagnostic of the one or two moves that will move your business, and what it takes to build them.
Get your Crux Roadmap