The 12 Questions People Ask First
Send whatever this page misses to nour@arkn.co and we will add it.
What does a build cost?
Builds run $1,000 to $20,000 fixed, depending on scope. Retainers run $500 to $6,000 a month, cancellable any month. You get a written number 3 working days after the call, and booking the call costs nothing.
Who actually builds it?
We do. Before ARKN we spent 8 years running a marketing agency, and the person who prices your build is the person who builds it.
Who am I contracting with?
A company registered in the Netherlands, invoicing in US dollars, under Dutch law, with our signature on the contract. Ask for the whole document before the call and we will send it the same day, unsigned, so your lawyer reads it first.
What if we stop working together?
Nothing stops when we do. The build already sits in your own accounts under your own credentials, so it keeps running whether we are involved or not. You keep the workflows, the written documentation and the recorded walkthrough, and any competent developer can pick it up without asking us anything. A retainer runs month to month and ends on 30 days notice. There is no exit fee and nothing is held back.
What does it cost to run each month?
Your own automation platform account, $60 to $250 a month on your card, plus model calls on your own OpenAI or Anthropic key. We take no margin on either. Self-host the platform and the first number drops to near zero.
Can I talk to a client?
Not yet. The clients we can name are under NDA, and we would rather say so here than after you ask. Read the build sheet instead. It is written before you pay any invoice, and the test each workflow has to pass is written inside it.
How long does it take?
One workflow runs 2 weeks from a signed build sheet. A connected set of 3 to 6 runs 4 weeks. Add the 3 working days we need to write the build sheet, so 6 weeks from the call is the honest number if you book this week.
What happens if it breaks?
The system posts the failure into a channel you name inside 2 minutes. We answer inside one business day. The 30 days after go-live sit inside the build price, so no invoice reaches you before day 31. After that a light retainer covers monitoring and repair, or you take nothing and we quote each repair.
Will you quote from a form or a phone call?
No. We price a build after watching the work move on your screen for 30 minutes, and that call is free. A questionnaire tells us what you think the problem is. The screen share shows us where it actually stops.
Do you take a margin on the tools?
No. Your automation platform bills your card directly, and your AI usage runs on your own key. We show you both bills before you sign.
Why is the price fixed?
Hourly hands you an estimate on a build you cannot audit, and every week it runs long pays us more. The build sheet names each workflow and the test that passes it, so an overrun is ours to absorb and not a change order landing on your desk in week 3.
Does the AI send things to my customers on its own?
No. Anything carrying a price or leaving under your name stops at a person you name in the build sheet. The workflow drafts it, your person opens the draft, fixes what is wrong and clicks send. Taking that gate out needs a written instruction with your signature.
