Custom Software · AI Integration · Mobile Apps
Your lighthouse in a sea of tech.
From website refreshes and quick-win AI automation to larger custom software builds, we help businesses choose the right level of technology investment — not just the biggest one.
What We Do
Business Services
Website refreshes, AI integration & automation, and custom software development — matched to the size of the problem you're solving.
Explore services →Products & Projects
We don't just advise — we ship. Alongside client work, we design and operate our own apps and experiments, including PlayNxt, PlayBeacon, and RootedPost.
Browse our work →Who We Work With
Built for businesses with a real problem to solve.
We work best with small and mid-sized teams — typically 5 to 100 people — who have a specific operational pain point and are ready to invest in solving it. You don't need to be technical. You do need to know what you want to fix.
You have a manual process eating 10+ hours per week
You've outgrown your current tools and need something purpose-built
You want to understand where AI actually fits before committing to a build
You don't have an in-house dev team — or want to extend it
Services
Websites & Growth Sites
Credibility-first sites and refreshes for businesses that need a stronger online presence, clearer messaging, and better conversion without overbuilding.
Starting at $1,000
AI Automation Quick Wins
Fixed-scope automations for repetitive work like lead follow-up, reminders, intake routing, and response-time gaps that are costing time or revenue.
Scoped after a short discovery
Custom Software & Mobile Apps
Purpose-built internal tools, workflow systems, integrations, and native mobile apps for iOS and Android — when the problem needs more than a simple site or quick automation.
Scoped to complexity
How It Works
We spend 30 minutes learning your workflow and goals. No pitch — just figuring out if we're a fit and what the right path looks like.
If it's a match, we define exactly what we'll build, the timeline, and the fixed cost. No surprises, no scope creep.
Iterative delivery with regular check-ins. You see progress early and often — not just at the end of a long runway.
Work Samples
A real estate title firm cut report audit time from 1 hour to 5 minutes
Auditors were manually comparing property reports against raw source data — a slow, error-prone process done entirely by eye. We built an internal AI-assisted audit tool that runs the comparison automatically and flags discrepancies for review.
95% reduction in audit time per report
A regional credit union unified its call center across multiple disconnected systems
Call center staff were switching between multiple apps, doing manual lookups, and copying data between systems on every call. We helped build a centralized platform that brought everything into one place — saving an estimated 500 staff hours per month.
~500 hours/month recovered · 3-month build
Products & Projects
All projects →
Thomas Tague — Founder
Software engineer turned product manager. Started Watchlight to apply the craft of software and the discipline of product thinking to problems worth solving. More about us →
From the Blog
All posts →What AI Automation Actually Looks Like for a Small Business
AI automation isn't a buzzword. Here's what it really looks like when a small business puts it to work, with honest examples, real costs, and no hype.
Read more →
Custom Software vs. Off-the-Shelf: How to Make the Right Call
Off-the-shelf software is faster to start. Custom software is faster to live with. Here's the framework I use, with real numbers, to figure out which one a business actually needs.
Read more →
How to Know If AI Is Actually Right for Your Business
Not every business needs AI. Here's the framework I use, backed by the data on what actually works, to figure out where it makes sense and where it doesn't.
Read more →
Ready to build something?
Tell us what you're working on. We'll help you figure out the path forward.
Book a free discovery call