Show, don't pitch.
We build the real thing and show you as it comes together.
About
A studio that ships.
EmbarkDev is a full-stack studio in Sarasota, Florida. We build websites, ship apps, and put AI to work. Fast, clear, and usually fixed-scope, from day one.
Why this exists
Straight to the work.
Hire most firms and you hire everything around the work too: account managers, handoffs, status calls, and a layer of people standing between you and whoever actually builds the thing.
EmbarkDev keeps that layer thin by default. You work directly with the senior people doing the design and the build, and when a bigger project calls for more structure or more hands, we add it deliberately, with vetted senior people, not layers for their own sake. We shape each engagement to the work: often a fixed scope and price, sometimes discovery or a staged build when that's what the work calls for. Either way, you own everything we make.
We do four things: modernization, AI automation, websites, and mobile apps. We pick what fits the job. And we'll tell you when we're not the right fit, which happens more than you'd think.
Randy Staats · Founder & Principal
Who you work with
Randy Staats.
EmbarkDev is led by Randy Staats, a technology executive who has spent twenty-five years leading engineering, product, data, security, and cloud organizations — as a CTO, VP of Technology, Director of Engineering, and Senior Director of Data Engineering — and who never stopped building.
He's hands-on in every EmbarkDev engagement: the architecture calls, the build, and the conversations. When a project needs more hands, vetted senior collaborators join the work. So when we say you work directly with the people doing the work, this is who that means.
What we believe
Four opinions that shape the work.
Clear scope, clear price.
You'll know what you're getting, and what it costs, before we start. Fixed price, retainer, or hourly, whichever fits the work.
Right tool for the job.
We pick what fits the job, then tell you why.
You own all of it.
Code, content, infrastructure, accounts, yours outright to take anywhere.
Where we are
A Gulf Coast studio.
We're based in Sarasota, Florida, with a home base just south in Nokomis on the Gulf. We meet in person with clients across Sarasota, Venice, Bradenton, Tampa, and Naples, and work remotely with clients across the country and around the world.
The water is a few minutes away. The dog sleeps under the desk.
Choose your path
From 0→1 launches to modernizing what you already have, we take both paths the same way. A free call, a written scope, and steady shipping from the first week.
Build something new.
0 → 1A website, a product, or a tool that doesn't exist yet. We take you from idea to launched while the momentum that started it is still there.
Modernize what you have.
UpgradeRebuild legacy systems, add AI to existing tools, or bring tired interfaces up to standard, without a year-long replatform.
Not sure which fits? Tell us about it