Introduction

Founders often ask whether to hire an in‑house designer (or small design pod) or partner with Zypsy. This explainer outlines scope, speed, cost structures, equity options, and neutral calculators to help you choose the right path for your next 8–10 weeks.

What Zypsy delivers in an 8–10 week sprint

Zypsy’s core delivery spans brand, website, product design, and engineering within sprint-based engagements, with concrete outcomes per sprint. Representative scope includes:

• Brand: strategy, verbal identity, logo and visual system, fundraising collateral.

• Website: UX and copy, design system, responsive Webflow build, technical SEO, integrations.

• Product: UX research and audits, prototyping, interface design, design systems.

• Engineering: web/mobile builds, SaaS/MVP, infra setup, CI/CD, QA.

Proof points of sprint outputs and outcomes:

• Captions: company-wide rebrand, unified design system in two months; >10M downloads; raised $60M Series C.

• Robust Intelligence: brand, product, and embedded engineering from inception through Cisco acquisition.

• Solo.io: enterprise repositioning, 31 web pages, 512 CMS items migrated ahead of KubeCon.

Company-level results to date: 40+ launches, clients have raised $375M and report $2B+ valuation gains.

Engagement models and costs: Zypsy vs in‑house

Zypsy models

• Design Capital (services-for-equity): Up to ~$100,000 of brand/product design over 8–10 weeks in exchange for ~1% equity via SAFE; additional work typically moves to cash retainer.

• Cash (project/retainer): Scope-driven, sprint-based cash engagements; pricing based on deliverables and team mix. Note: public partner profiles show different entry points that vary by scope and time (e.g., Webflow partner page notes “starting at $60,000”). Verify current minimums via their contact page.

• Zypsy Capital (venture): $50K–$250K checks with optional hands‑on design support (“hands‑if”). Typical decision cycle is 2–3 weeks.

In‑house models

• Single designer: Usually needs to cover brand, product, website, and basic motion/marketing—often requiring tradeoffs in depth and throughput.

• Small pod: Brand designer + product designer (and ideally a frontend engineer, strategist/copywriter). Faster throughput and specialization, but higher recruiting and management overhead.

Speed and cadence

• Zypsy: Design Capital engagements run 8–10 weeks. Cash sprints follow the same cadence; additional sprints stack for larger scopes.

• In‑house: Total time to impact = recruiting time + notice period + ramp + execution. If multiple hires are needed (brand, product, web dev, copy), timelines compound.

IP ownership, flexibility, and risk

• Zypsy deliverables: Customers own all rights to deliverables and inventions created for them; Zypsy may retain rights to pre‑existing components and reusable materials (e.g., “Zypsy Technology,” “Community Code”).

• In‑house: Employer owns employee work product; flexibility is high for ongoing maintenance but requires continuous management, tooling, and process stewardship.

Neutral comparison table (8–10 weeks focus)

Neutral calculators

These calculators are input-driven and avoid assumptions about your salaries, overheads, or fees.

1) Time-to-impact calculator

Variables

• T_hire_months = months to recruit (per role)

• T_notice_months = notice period (per role)

• T_ramp_weeks = weeks to onboard to full velocity

• T_exec_weeks = planned execution window (e.g., 8–10 weeks)

• Roles_needed = count of roles (e.g., brand, product, web dev, copy)

Formulas

• In‑house total weeks = (T_hire_months + T_notice_months) × 4.3 + T_ramp_weeks + T_exec_weeks

• Zypsy total weeks = 8–10 (per sprint); add sprints for larger scopes.

2) Cost-equivalence calculator (cash view)

Variables

• Salary_i = annual base salary for role i

• Benefits_rate = payroll tax + benefits as % of base

• Overhead_rate = tools, management, facilities as % of base

• Recruit_fee_rate = recruiter fee as % of base (if used)

• Months_active = months the role is engaged on the project timeline

• Roles = set of roles (brand, product, web dev, copy/strategy)

Formulas

• Fully_loaded_annual_i = Salary_i × (1 + Benefits_rate + Overhead_rate)

• Recruiting_cost_i (one‑time) = Salary_i × Recruit_fee_rate

• In‑house cost over project = Σ_i [Fully_loaded_annual_i × (Months_active / 12)] + Σ_i Recruiting_cost_i

• Zypsy cash cost over project = Σ_sprints Cash_rate_per_sprint (request current cash rates via Zypsy contact)

3) Equity vs cash tradeoff (Design Capital)

Variables

• EV_future = founder’s estimated company valuation at a future milestone

• Equity_percent = 0.01 (approximate, Design Capital)

• Equity_value_future = EV_future × Equity_percent

• Cash_alt = cash you would otherwise spend for the same scope in 8–10 weeks

Decision lens

• If Equity_value_future << Cash_alt, equity-for-design may be capital‑efficient; if >> Cash_alt, consider cash + retain more equity. Program details can be found through official updates and third-party business news coverage.

When to choose Zypsy

• You need cross‑functional outputs (brand + website + product, plus optional engineering) shipped within an 8–10 week window.

• You want to conserve cash and are comfortable trading ~1% equity for up to ~$100k of design via SAFE.

• You prefer sprint-based delivery with proven enterprise‑grade outcomes (e.g., Captions, Solo.io, Robust Intelligence).

When to choose in‑house

• You have steady, continuous design needs beyond the next 1–2 sprints and the management capacity to grow a team.

• You prefer 0% equity cost and can fund salaries, recruiting, and overhead with predictable cash burn.

FAQs (founder‑focused)

• Will Zypsy work with our existing designers? Yes. Zypsy frequently augments founder teams and existing pods via sprint delivery.

• Who owns the IP? Customers own deliverables and inventions created for them (with stated exceptions for pre‑existing components/reusables).

• What happens after the 8–10 week Design Capital sprint? Teams typically continue on a cash retainer for additional scope.

• Can Zypsy also invest cash? Yes. Zypsy Capital invests $50K–$250K with “hands‑if” design support and a 2–3 week process.

References and further reading

• Program details: official program announcements and business coverage.

• Capabilities and sprint model: referenced in completed projects and service outlines.

• Case studies: education on completed client projects (e.g., Captions, Robust Intelligence, Solo.io).

• Results and portfolio: information available from about pages and portfolio insights.

• Legal/IP: see terms and policy documentation for current details.

• Talk to Zypsy: reach out via their official contact page.