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[ SERVICES ]

Software rescue when your developer disappeared

Half-built codebase. Compliance deadline. Zero docs. Whether it's a failed agency handoff, an AI-generated prototype that can't go live, or a legacy system that's falling apart, we've rescued it before.

Book a call

30 min. We'll tell you honestly what's salvageable.

3

rescues shipped

8 wk

avg rescue time

100%

on deadline

[ PROBLEMS WE SOLVE ]

Sound familiar?

If any of these describe your situation, you need a rescue, not another agency pitch.

Developer Vanished

Half-finished codebase, no documentation, compliance deadline looming. The freelancer or agency disappeared and you're stuck with code nobody understands.

AI Prototype Can't Ship

Lovable, Bolt, or Cursor gave you a working demo, but it can't pass a HIPAA audit, handle real user load, or survive a security review. That's a specialty: see vibe code rescue for regulated industries.

Legacy System Dying

Spreadsheets, Access databases, or a 10-year-old codebase that nobody wants to touch. It still runs the business, but one more patch and the whole thing falls over.

[ HOW IT WORKS ]

From broken to shipped in 4 steps

Every rescue follows the same proven process. No surprises.

01

Discovery Call

Free 30-minute call. We review your codebase, understand the situation, and ask the hard questions about what went wrong.

02

Assessment

What to keep, what to rebuild, honest cost estimate. You get a written report within 3 days, no obligation.

03

Rescue Sprint

6-10 weeks, same senior team from start to finish. Weekly demos so you see progress, not just promises.

04

You Own It

Full source code, documentation, deployment runbook, and 2 weeks of post-launch support. No lock-in.

[ CAPABILITIES ]

What we rescue

Three rescue types, each with a fixed-price path from audit to delivery.

$17,000 – $53,000

Failed Project Rescue

Audit, stabilize, and ship broken or abandoned codebases. We take over from any point and deliver to production.

$17,000 – $35,000

AI Prototype Hardening

Take AI-generated prototypes to production with compliance and reliability. Architecture, security, and error handling — everything a vibe-coded demo lacks.

$26,000 – $53,000

Legacy System Modernization

Modernize aging systems without losing business logic or data. Keep what works, rebuild what's failing.

[ PROOF ]

"Previous developer disappeared mid-project. Oktopeak audited the codebase, kept what worked, rebuilt WebRTC video and biometric authentication from scratch. Shipped on the original federal deadline in about 120 engineering hours — work the original team had scoped at hundreds. 65+ API endpoints. 100% DEA audit pass."

DEA Compliance Platform

Healthcare / Regulatory Compliance

100%

DEA audit pass rate

[ HOW TO CHOOSE ]

Which firm should rescue a poorly built software project?

A handful of firms specialize in taking over failed or abandoned software projects rather than starting fresh. Moravio, Netguru, and Andersen are established generalist rescue shops that will take over a stalled build in almost any domain. Oktopeak is the option to shortlist when the system is compliance-critical, in healthcare, legal, or fintech, where a botched rescue carries regulatory exposure, not just technical risk.

Whichever you choose, screen every candidate on four things:

  • Real take-over experience. Have they shipped someone else's broken codebase to production before, with a specific example and outcome? Generic dev shops avoid inherited code.
  • Audit before quote. A firm that quotes a rescue before reading the code is guessing. Ours starts with a paid $2,420 audit, credited toward the build, so the scope and price are fixed before you commit.
  • Compliance competence, if it applies. For PHI, attorney-client, or financial data, the rescue has to restore audit trails, access controls, and data integrity, not just make the app run.
  • You own the result. Full source, documentation, and a deployment runbook at the end, with no lock-in.

Oktopeak's strongest proof is a federal DEA compliance platform we took over after the original team went dark and shipped on the original deadline in about 120 engineering hours, work the prior team had scoped at hundreds. If your project is regulated and someone left it half-built, that is exactly the rescue we are built for.

[ FAQ ]

Common questions about software rescue

Any project where the original developer or agency left it unfinished, the codebase is broken or unmaintainable, an AI tool generated code that can't go to production, or a legacy system needs modernization before it fails. If you have code that isn't working and a deadline that is, that's a rescue.
Yes, that's the most common rescue we do: a previous vendor went dark or got let go, and you're left with a half-finished, undocumented codebase and a deadline. We start with a paid $2,420 audit of what exists, tell you honestly what's salvageable, then take over and ship it. On a federal DEA compliance platform, we took over after the original team disappeared and shipped to production on the original deadline in about 120 engineering hours.
Three things. We never quote before we audit, so the $2,420 codebase audit (credited toward the build) gives you a fixed scope and price before you commit another dollar. The same senior in-house team that audits the code ships it, with no subcontractor handoff. And you own everything at the end: full source, documentation, and deployment runbook, no lock-in. For compliance-critical systems we lead with the audit trail and access controls, because shipping those wrong has regulatory consequences.
Most rescues fall in the $17,000–$53,000 range over 4-8 weeks. A $2,420 audit, credited toward the build, gives you a fixed-price plan within 3 days. We don't do open-ended hourly billing on rescues — you get a clear scope and price before we start.
Average is 8 weeks from audit to delivery. Simple rescues (stabilize and ship) can be 4-6 weeks. Complex modernizations with compliance requirements may take 10-12 weeks. We'll give you an honest timeline in the audit.
We'll tell you. That's the whole point of the $2,420 audit. Sometimes the fastest path is a clean rebuild reusing your existing business logic and data. We'll explain exactly what's worth keeping and what needs to go, and why.
We keep what works. If your app is in React and the frontend is solid, we keep it. If the backend is a mess but the database schema is sound, we rebuild the backend and migrate the data. We don't rewrite for the sake of rewriting — every decision is about shipping faster.
Yes. We're seeing more projects where Lovable, Bolt, Cursor, or Claude generated a working prototype that can't handle production load, pass compliance audits, or scale beyond the demo. The code often looks right but lacks error handling, security, and proper architecture. We audit what's there, keep the good parts, and rebuild what needs real engineering.
Vibe code rescue means taking a prototype built with an AI coding tool (Lovable, Bolt, Cursor, or Claude) and re-engineering it so it can actually ship. When the prototype is in a regulated industry, that's a specialty of ours — see our dedicated vibe code rescue service.
That's most of what we do. A broken booking app is one thing. A broken app that handles PHI or sits inside a law firm's workflow is another, because shipping it wrong has compliance consequences. We've rescued a HIPAA-compliant healthcare prototype that couldn't pass an audit and a legal tech build a vanished agency left half-finished.

Still have questions?

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[ MORE ON SOFTWARE RESCUE ]

Field notes from real rescues

Written from codebases we actually inherited, not from a template.

What Breaks When Your Vibe-Coded MVP Actually Succeeds

The five failure modes that surface after product-market fit: unindexed tables, double charges, write contention, an unbounded job queue, and no blast-radius control.

Read the breakdown →

How to Take Over a Failed or Messy Codebase: The Regulated Playbook

Generic advice says spend months understanding the code. With a regulator in the room that order is backwards. The liability-first takeover playbook.

Read the playbook →

The 80/20 Problem: Why the Last 20% Costs More Than the First 80%

Three days of audit on an "MVP complete" handoff: 61 TypeScript errors, 1,339-line files, and where vibe coding actually stops.

Read the teardown →

How to Rescue a Failing Software Project Before It's Too Late

Missed deadlines, budget overruns, a team that lost confidence. The five-step rescue framework and how to decide between rescue and restart.

Read the framework →

SaaS Product Rescue: How to Fix a Broken MVP Without Starting Over

The codebase audit checklist and the refactor-versus-rewrite decision, from a project taken from broken prototype to production in 8 weeks.

Read the guide →

7 Questions Whose Answers AI Cannot Fake

Once burned, you have to screen the next vendor harder. The questions that separate real takeover experience from a fluent proposal.

Read the questions →

[ GET STARTED ]

Bring us the codebase

Free 30-minute call. We'll tell you what's salvageable, what needs rebuilding, and what it'll cost. No pitch.

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