What it is
One business a quarter. Custom software, built free.
Cobenian FREE Build is a quarterly program. Each round, we choose one established small business and build the custom software that solves its biggest operational problem, at no cost to them.
Once a quarter
One round every three months, each with its own application window.
One business per round
Chosen on merit against four published criteria.
Free, a $20,000 value
Up to 80 hours of senior engineering, $0 to you.
Two weeks
Scoped with you first, then built and handed over in a two-week window.
Not chosen this round? Apply again next quarter, and we can email you when the next round opens. Or don’t wait: we build custom software for clients all year. Talk to us →
Who does the work
Bryan Weber, Cobenian’s founder. 25+ years of building software.
He writes the specification with you, builds the project himself and hands it over in person. Nothing is passed to a junior team.
How it works
Four steps, done before the holidays
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By Nov 6
Apply or be nominated
Tell us about the problem and what it costs you. It takes about ten minutes.
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Nov 9 to 13
Five finalists
Each finalist gets a one-hour working session on their problem and a written recommendation.
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Nov 16
One is selected
We choose one business against the published criteria and agree on a written scope.
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Nov 30 to Dec 11
Built in two weeks
A progress update every working day, then handover to you. Your software and data stay private.
Two weeks goes further than most people expect. With the scope agreed up front and one senior engineer working only on your project, 80 hours is enough for a real, working tool in production, not a prototype.
Who it is for
An established business with a problem software should have solved by now
- A US business in any industry. It suits firms of roughly 10 to 200 people best, but any size may apply
- At least two years in operation
- A manual process, an overgrown spreadsheet, or systems that do not talk to each other
- A decision-maker who can answer questions within a day during the build
What we can build
Start from the problem. We’ll propose the shape.
We build whatever shape solves your problem. A web app is one option among many, and we never force a problem into one.
An overgrown spreadsheet everyone is afraid to touch
A proper tool with validation, history and reports, and an import from the spreadsheet
Two systems that don’t talk, so someone retypes data
An integration or sync, with an exception queue for what can’t match
A report someone assembles by hand every week
An automated report or dashboard, delivered on a schedule
A repetitive back-office process
A workflow automation: email in, documents generated, approvals routed
Equipment, sensors or machines producing data nobody uses
Software for hardware: data capture, signal processing, alerts and analysis
Field staff working from paper or texts
A mobile-friendly app or form that works on a phone
A desktop tool, a command-line utility or an API another system needs
Exactly that, packaged and documented
Something else entirely
Tell us the problem. We’ll propose the shape.
Example builds
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Before: An overgrown spreadsheet
After: A proper tool
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Before: Retyping between systems
After: An automatic sync
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Before: A weekly hand-built report
After: A scheduled dashboard
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Before: Machine data nobody reads
After: Alerts when it matters
What you get
Working software that is yours to keep
- A written specification you approve before we start
- Working, tested software for the agreed scope, built to professional standards: accessible (WCAG 2.2 AA), secure and documented
- The source code. You own what we build for your business; Cobenian’s reusable parts come with a permanent, royalty-free license (details)
- For web and cloud software, a cloud account you own or hosting by us for a monthly fee. Software for your own machines or devices is installed there
- A handover document and a walkthrough session
- Free publicity: we feature your business by name in the videos, build updates and white paper we publish, and promote them on Cobenian’s channels
What we ask
Let us tell your story
- Short video interviews at the start, at handover and a month later
- Before and after measurements for a white paper, published January 19
- Permission to post daily updates, shown with sample data only
- A short statement of your honest opinion of the experience
- Your time for questions during the two weeks
Selection
Chosen on merit, not drawn from a hat
Every application is scored against the same four criteria.
Business impact
A specific problem with a cost you can state in hours or dollars
Fit to two weeks
One clear deliverable, with the data and systems accessible
Readiness
A decision-maker available throughout the build and willing to appear on camera
Story
A problem many similar businesses share, with a result we can measure
The terms
Free should not mean surprises
The full terms are in the program documents, which you can review at any time:
Delivered as-is. The software comes with no warranty and no included support after handover.
You pay your own running costs. Hosting and third-party services are billed to you, either by each provider in your own cloud account or by us if we host it for a monthly fee. Software for your own machines or devices is installed there, with no hosting bill. We design the software to keep those running costs low.
Fixed scope. We build what the written scope says, in the two-week window.
Optional maintenance and security plan. Available at handover for $500 a month. There is no obligation to take it.
Private by default. Your software and data are not published. We tell the story, and promote your business, with video and a white paper.
AI development tools. We use AI development tools, including Anthropic’s Claude, to write specifications, code and tests, so some of your project information will pass through them. By taking part, you accept that this information is processed under those providers’ terms, including Anthropic’s privacy policy. We work from sample or anonymized data wherever real data isn’t needed, and we tell you before real data is used.
Not eligible this round. Projects handling health records or card payments, and safety-critical systems. It is not that we cannot build them: regulated work needs compliance time that does not fit a two-week build. We may also decline any application at our sole discretion, for example where accepting free work could conflict with the applicant’s procurement, ethics or gift rules, as is common for government bodies.
Apply
Ten minutes to apply for free software, a $20,000 value
Applications close November 6, 2026.
We collect the details you enter to assess your application and to contact you about it. We do not sell them or share them outside Cobenian, except with the service providers that host our forms and email. We keep applications after the round closes so we can consider them for later rounds. Submissions that are never confirmed by email are deleted after 48 hours, and if a nominated business does not apply, we delete its contact’s name and email 90 days after the round closes. We may use information from applications, combined and anonymized, in published research about small businesses, for example a yearly report. We never publish anything that identifies you or your business without your permission, and we only report groups of at least 10 businesses. To have yours deleted, email info@cobenian.com. See our privacy policy for more.
Your application
Tell us about the problem, what it costs you today and what you have tried. We confirm your email before anything is submitted.
Start your applicationNominate a business
Advisers, accountants and IT providers: if a client of yours fits, put them forward. It takes two minutes. We email them once about it, never more than once a round, and they can opt out for good with one click.
Nominate a business →Not ready this round?
We run this every quarter. Leave your email and we will tell you when the next round opens.
Tell me about the next round →Questions
What people ask first
Is it really free?
Yes. We charge nothing for the build. You pay your own hosting and any third-party services the software uses, and there is no obligation to buy anything afterward.
Why are you doing this?
We would rather show how we work than describe it. The recipient gets working software and free publicity for its business, and we get a story we can tell.
What kind of project fits in two weeks?
Probably more than you expect. One clear job: replacing a spreadsheet with a proper tool, connecting two systems so nobody retypes data, or automating a report. If yours is bigger, we will scope the most valuable piece.
Who owns the software?
You own the software we build for your business: your data, your configuration and the code written only for you. Cobenian keeps its pre-existing tools and the general-purpose parts it builds along the way, and gives you a permanent, royalty-free license to use, run and modify them as part of your software. You get the source code. Web and cloud software runs in a cloud account you own, or we host it for you for a monthly fee if you prefer. Software for your own machines or devices is installed there.
What happens after handover?
The software is yours, delivered as-is. You can maintain it yourself, hire anyone you like, or take our optional maintenance and security plan at $500 a month.