Episode 48: Best Practices Isn't a Differentiator
Interview: How The Gnar Wins with Productized Offers, Fast Onboarding, and a Bug-Free Warranty
Behind the Agency Podcast with Mike Stone, Co-Founder & CEO at The Gnar (Boston-based software development agency)
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Prefer the highlights? Key takeaways and summary below.
TL;DR – Key Takeaways
The Gnar was born out of layoffs… and a tight team that wanted to keep building together.
Their sweet spot is 0→1 product work: taking an idea (or roadmap chunk) and getting it to production fast.
“We use best practices” is like “I eat vegetables.” True, but most people don’t actually do it.
They created real differentiation by packaging their work: Ideate, Ignite, Embed.
They offer a bug-free warranty for the first year on code they ship (rare in dev shops).
They’re obsessed with speed to productivity: shipping production code in week one.
Partnerships aren’t just for lead gen—they’re a “hub-and-spoke” model to deliver more value without clients juggling vendors.
Their GTM is still mostly referrals, but they’re leaning more into LinkedIn + thought leadership + better website assets.
Their next big frontier: AI integration as a packaged offering (and staying sharp as tools change fast).
Does This Sound Familiar?
Your pitch says senior engineers, clean code, modern practices, strong communication. So does the shop that just undercut you by 20%. The buyer can't tell you apart, so they pick on price and you get to be annoyed about it.
Mike Stone's version of this is that saying you use best practices is like saying you eat vegetables. It's probably true. It also doesn't separate you from anybody.
So The Gnar made the difference checkable instead of claimed. They packaged the work into three named offers, Ideate, Ignite and Embed, so a buyer can see what they're getting rather than reading adjectives. They ship production code in the first week, which turns speed from a promise into something you notice immediately.
And they put a real cost behind the claim. Code The Gnar ships carries a bug-free warranty for the first year, which almost nobody in custom development offers, because it only makes sense if the practices are actually there.
Now, that's the useful test for your own pitch. Find the claim you make that a competitor would be afraid to guarantee, then guarantee it.
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Meet the Guest
Mike Stone is the Co-Founder and CEO of The Gnar, a Boston-based software development agency that helps small-to-mid sized companies launch new tech initiatives—especially in the early “0 to 1” stage.
Mike’s background includes time in professional sports, and you can feel that influence in how he talks about teams: culture, collaboration, and doing the fundamentals consistently.
The Gnar started as nights-and-weekends contract work with his co-founder Nick Maloney—and after a startup pivot + layoffs, they went full-time and brought key teammates along for the ride.
Episode Summary
1) The origin story: layoffs turned into leverage
Mike and Nick were working at a health & wellness startup building products to help people form better daily habits.
When the startup pivoted and layoffs hit, they were ready. Their nights-and-weekends work became the foundation for going full-time—and they scooped up great teammates who’d just been displaced.
It’s one of those “looks obvious in hindsight” stories… but Mike was clear: it was messy at first, and they just kept moving.
2) The sweet spot: “innovation SWAT team” for 0→1 builds
Early on, The Gnar did mostly staff augmentation engineering.
Over time, they realized they’re strongest when they deploy a full product team to take something from concept (or early roadmap) to a real, production-ready foundation.
That “0 to 1” focus is important because it forces you to care about fundamentals: architecture, testing, CI/CD, code reviews, and a clean agile process—stuff that’s boring to talk about but brutal to skip.
3) The best analogy of the episode: the gym
Mike said differentiation is hard because what they do is “simple and difficult at the same time.”
His analogy landed:
Going to the gym and eating better is simple. It works. Everyone knows it.
Most people still don’t do it.
Same thing in software. Best practices are known. Many teams still cut corners. The Gnar tries to win by actually doing the fundamentals consistently, then backing it up with specific proof.
4) Differentiators that aren’t fluff
They’ve turned “quality” into concrete promises:
Bug-free warranty: for the first year after launch, if there’s a regression in their code, they fix it for free.
Rapid onboarding: they aim to ship production code in the first week.
100% U.S.-based experienced talent
Dedicated full-time engineers (no context switching)
Founder oversight on every project
A “Project Success” role focused on outcomes, timeline, budget, and client happiness (lighter than a full PM, but designed to keep projects on track)
None of this is sexy marketing. That’s the point. It’s operational differentiation.
5) Productization: Ideate → Ignite → Embed
This was one of the strongest parts of the conversation.
They created 3 core packages:
Ideate: discovery + wireframes + visual exploration + clickable prototype (investor-friendly)
Ignite: turn that prototype into a production product (often combined with Ideate into a “get to market” package)
Embed: place their engineers inside your team to speed up roadmap delivery
This structure does a few things at once:
de-risks the initial decision for clients
creates clear “entry points” into working together
makes the sales conversation feel less like “custom everything” and more like a proven path
Mike also mentioned they provide a development estimate at the end of Ideate—and clients own everything, with no obligation to build with them (though most do).
They also offer a free code audit as another low-friction way to start a relationship.
6) Going to market: fundamentals + experimentation
Like most dev shops, their biggest engine is still repeat work and referrals.
But they’re actively building other channels:
more consistent LinkedIn content
shifting thought leadership from “ego content” to “proof of experience + helpful guidance”
website redesign
considering webinars, Loom videos, and deeper educational assets
using AI tools to drive efficiency in sales and marketing workflows
A moment I liked: you both acknowledged tools come and go (cold email, LinkedIn tactics, etc.), but Mike pushed the “don’t chase tactics without message clarity” idea.
They used the phrase message-market fit, and that really frames the GTM challenge well:
If you’re “a software agency that builds anything,” you’re competing with “fintech product consultancy that only builds fintech.” The narrower message usually wins the first impression—even if the generalist could do the job better.
Their packages are partly a way to create clarity without forcing a single-industry niche.
7) Partnerships: mostly delivery-first, but strong upside
Their partnership model today is more “hub-and-spoke” for delivery:
They bring in trusted specialists so clients don’t have to manage a pile of vendors.
But you also discussed how productized entry offers can make partnerships easier—because partners can “test” collaboration with a smaller scoped engagement before sending bigger deals.
And you both hit a real point a lot of agencies miss:
Partnerships work best when there’s minimal overlap—more “Venn diagram” than head-to-head competition.
8) The future: AI as both an internal advantage and a client offering
They’re seeing more AI integration work already, and they’re moving toward packaging that (he mentioned something like “Gnar Integrate”).
Mike’s take wasn’t “AI replaces dev.” It was: AI forces agencies to stay sharp, pick smart bets, and get really good at delivering AI solutions that are actually tied to a product’s real workflow—not just bolting on a chatbot.
Notable Quotes
“Differentiation is hard… it’s basic best practices. Simple and difficult at the same time.”
“If I went to the gym every day and ate better, I’d be healthier… but I don’t.”
“We pride ourselves on shipping production code in the first week.”
“Message-market fit… you can only go so far saying ‘we build anything for anyone.’”
Related Episodes
Ep. 53: How a WordPress Agency Wins Enterprise Publishers Without Enterprise Headcount
Ep. 12: Strategy Is the Only Thing That Cannot Be Commoditized
Ep. 51: How a Python Agency Turned Engineer Preferences Into a Market Position
Learn More / Get in Touch
Website → thegnar.com
LinkedIn → Mike Stone (best place to follow his thinking)
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