Grayhat

BACKGROUND

I am the Chief Business Officer of Playroom

We build social and multiplayer games, including AI-powered experiences like Death by AI, that bring people together through play.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

• Rebuild Death by AI from scratch for the Reddit platform, adapting the original game's core mechanics and experience to Reddit's ecosystem within a two-week development timeline.
• Develop a complete game infrastructure, including backend, frontend, AI integration, admin panel, daily challenges, and quests, integrated all within the Devvit infrastructure, with improved architecture and performance.
• Improve the original game's user experience, introduce additional safety checks, and incorporate feedback from the Playroom and Little Umbrella teams throughout development.

SOLUTION

Our CEO has previously worked with them.

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

1 Employee

We had an opportunity to bring Death by AI, our flagship game with over 50 million players in its first six months, to Reddit's new gaming platform.

The challenge was timing. We had a pretty tight deadline and budget, and needed someone who could move fast without compromising the experience.

We reached out to Grayhat's CEO because we knew they had experience with multiplayer games, web game development, and shipping React-based games quickly. This was also an early-stage partnership for us, so we wanted to test the waters and see how well we could work together.

Essentially, we handed them the game and asked them to build the entire Reddit version from scratch.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Developed four major components from scratch: game frontend, backend, AI layer, and administration panel, alongside daily challenges and quests.

Completed 3 client review cycles with the Playroom/Little Umbrella team, incorporating feedback and refinements to meet project expectations.

Delivered additional improvements beyond the original scope, including AI safety checks, UI refinements, and architectural and performance optimizations.

Delivered a complete recreation of Death by AI for Reddit in approximately two weeks.We shipped Death by AI to an entirely new platform in approximately two weeks. That's a big milestone for us, especially given how much needed to be rebuilt. The implementation was pretty much flawless. We had a few minor tweaks during our reviews, but honestly, we expected a lot more back-and-forth considering the scope. One engineer managed to deliver the full game, including the frontend, backend, AI systems, admin panel, daily challenges, and quests. And they didn't just recreate what we already had. They also improved parts of the UI, architecture, and performance, and added extra safety checks. For us, the biggest win was being able to move quickly on a new platform opportunity without pulling our own team away from everything else we were building. 

It was honestly pretty simple, which I appreciated. We had one kickoff meeting, and after that it was mostly daily updates on Discord. The engineer understood what needed to be done and just got on with it. There wasn't even a shared task board between us. I'm sure they had their own internal system, but we didn't really need one. They kept us updated, shared builds, and we reviewed things as they came in. We had three rounds of feedback, all collected in a single document. Every time, we'd send over our comments and they'd have everything resolved by the next morning. That was great. We did go about 1–2 days over the original timeline, mostly because of operational dependencies and some challenges with Reddit's new Devvit platform. But considering what they managed to deliver, that really wasn't a concern for us. Overall, super responsive, easy to work with, and very little management needed from our side.

Email or Messaging App

I don't think they're just developers. They're builders. I mean, one engineer managed to take our requirements, understand the Figma designs and overall direction, and build an entire game with VFX, SFX, gameplay, an AI backend, and safety checks. All without constantly coming back to us with questions. That's pretty impressive on its own. But I also really like their culture. They don't seem to get caught up in formalities or processes for the sake of having processes. They just want to build things and ship. We were still working through the contract and they'd already started getting things moving. We literally had our first build within an hour of signing! That kind of energy is something I really appreciate. Especially when you're building games and trying to move quickly.

Not much comes to mind, honestly. Maybe they could've flagged some of the constraints around Reddit's platform a little earlier, so we could've planned around them. But to be fair, Devvit is still pretty new, and we were learning about some of these limitations at the same time they were. Thankfully, the Reddit team was super helpful and quick to jump in whenever we ran into something. So nothing major. Overall, a great experience working with them.

BACKGROUND

I am the Founder/CEO of Enrichly

Enrichly is a marketplace that helps parents discover and connect with camps, activities, sports programs, and educational experiences for their children.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

• We brought Grayhat in at a very early stage, when Enrichly was still just an idea. Our first goal was to validate the concept through user interviews and research, understand how parents discover activities for their children, and turn those insights into a prototype that we could use for early validation and fundraising.
• Once we had validated the concept, the goal was to take the prototype and turn it into a functional MVP. That meant building out the backend and frontend, redesigning and expanding the UI/UX, and creating the core two-sided marketplace experience for both parents and activity providers.

SOLUTION

Previous Engagement

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me

2-5 Employees

SOLUTION How did you find Grayhat? Through a previous engagement. Why did you select Grayhat over others? The biggest reasons were culture fit, honesty, and their ability to understand the actual problem we were trying to solve. We also really liked the personalities on the team. They were approachable, kind, and easy to work with, which made a big difference for us as an early-stage company. How many teammates from Grayhat were assigned to this project? There were generally around 5–7 people involved across design and engineering, depending on the stage of the project. Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables. Grayhat worked with us from the product discovery and design stage all the way through to the MVP. Initially, they conducted extensive user interviews and research to understand parents' needs, how they discover activities for their children, and the broader marketplace opportunity. They then translated that research into the initial product experience and prototype. After the prototype stage, Grayhat developed the frontend and backend and redesigned and expanded the product's UI/UX. The resulting MVP included features such as search and filtering, interactive maps, child profiles, organization management, favorites, and different experiences for parents and activity providers. They also built the product as a PWA with a mobile-first experience, using Next.js and Express.js, giving it an app-like feel across Android and iOS.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

RESULTS & FEEDBACK What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success? The initial prototype helped us validate the concept and raise funds through a friends-and-family funding round. From there, Grayhat helped us move from an early prototype to a functional MVP with the core marketplace infrastructure in place, including the frontend, backend, and redesigned UI/UX. For me, one of the biggest successes was that they were able to work with us through such a large transition — from an idea, to research, to a prototype, and eventually to a working marketplace product.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs? We had weekly standups where the team presented their work, and the meetings were always well structured. There was a good balance between design and engineering contributions, and they paid close attention to our direction as founders. They also made a genuine effort to understand our target customer. Since we were building for parents in the Midwest, particularly around children's education and activities, this required understanding the psychology and day-to-day needs of a very specific audience. One of the engineers on the team was herself a working mom, and she did a brilliant job of understanding our requirements and looking at the product from the perspective of our users. That kind of empathy was particularly valuable.

Virtual Meeting

The people and the culture were probably the most impressive part. We had a relatively small team of around 5–7 people, but they brought together designers and engineers who worked well as a unit. Everyone was very well-spoken, kind, and professional. There was also a very genuine, almost homely feeling to working with the team. As founders, we felt that they listened to us and genuinely cared about understanding what we were trying to build rather than simply taking instructions and writing code. I particularly appreciated how much attention they paid to understanding our users and the reasoning behind our product decisions.

There are always things that could have been done better. In hindsight, we could have scoped certain things more clearly at the beginning, and I think there were opportunities to make greater use of AI to speed up parts of the development process. Given my own schedule as a founder, I also would have appreciated more support on some of the business-side aspects of the project. The lead was great, and I would have loved the same business energy from the rest of the teammates. That said, Grayhat remained professional throughout the engagement, and overall we had a very positive experience working with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief Executive Officer of Redpoint Summit

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Healthcare Software

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Grayhat to accomplish?

• Design and develop a dedicated Coag-Sense product page for the client’s website, presenting the product clearly and providing a polished, responsive user experience.
• Developed pages in ProRoofing KC, one of the best roofing contractors in Liberty, Missouri.
• Helped their client in email migration from GoDaddy Microsoft to a dedicated Microsoft email server
• Designed and developed Guardian Alpha's new website

SOLUTION

How did you find Grayhat?

• Online Search
• Other

Why did you select Grayhat over others?

High ratings

How many teammates from Grayhat were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Designed and developed a full website

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

My experience with Grayhat was great. The developer was very knowledgable and was able to unwind a mess of code that was created from another company.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

 The project was delivered on time

What was your primary form of communication with Grayhat?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Communication was good. She asked great questions and work was completed in a timely manner. I would work further with Grayhat and have two website projects that will be coming up in the next month or so that I plan on engaging with Grayhat on. I would and have recommended Grayhat because of their clear communication and the pride they take in doing a good job.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Grayhat could have done differently?

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Oasiz Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Consumer AI Lab turning fronteir capabilities into internet treasures.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Grayhat to accomplish?

• Maintain consistent quality under time pressure
• Build mobile-first, social-first experiences aligned with Oasiz's "AI-driven social gaming world" vision, including multiplayer, matchmaking, lobbies, invites, and progression systems.
• Serve as training infrastructure. Each title was open-source, and built to be structurally clear and robust enough to train Oasiz's AI game-creation pipelines.
• Oasiz Inc. engaged Grayhat to build a portfolio of original, production-ready social games for the Oasiz platform, while simultaneously generating reference titles used to train Oasiz's AI game-creation pipelines. The engagement had several interconnected objectives:
• Oasiz Inc. engaged Grayhat to build a portfolio of original, production-ready social games for the Oasiz platform, while simultaneously generating reference titles used to train Oasiz's AI game-creation pipelines. The engagement had several interconnected objectives:
• Reimagine classic game formulas with fresh, platform-native identity, for example Chess Revolution, Pro Pocket (8-ball pool), Zuno (Crazy Eights), Performative Cafe (portrait mobile-first cooking), Poker Vault (streamlined poker), and a Tank Game (Atari Combat).
• Deliver fast, high-velocity production cycles. Projects shipped in as little as 2 to 3 weeks (Zuno, Space Force) up to 3 months (Performative Cafe), proving repeatable rapid delivery.

SOLUTION

How did you find Grayhat?

Referral

Why did you select Grayhat over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Grayhat were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Oasiz Inc. engaged Grayhat to build a portfolio of original, production-ready social games for the Oasiz platform, while simultaneously generating reference titles used to train Oasiz's AI game-creation pipelines. The engagement had several interconnected objectives.
Build mobile-first, social-first experiences aligned with Oasiz's "AI-driven social gaming world" vision, including multiplayer, matchmaking, lobbies, invites, and progression systems. Serve as training infrastructure. Each title was open-source, and built to be structurally clear and robust enough to train Oasiz's AI game-creation pipelines.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

8 games delivered for a single client across diverse genres, all reaching completed or live status.

All titles live on the Oasiz platform and publicly playable

All titles adopted as training data for Oasiz's AI game-creation pipelines, a direct and repeatable signal of structural and technical quality.

Rapid delivery velocity: shortest projects delivered in 2 to 3 weeks (Zuno, Space Force), longest in 3 months (Performative Cafe).

100% completion rate across the engagement. No Oasiz project was cancelled or abandoned.

Sustained repeat business. Oasiz commissioned at least 8 projects, indicating strong ongoing satisfaction and trust.

Team scaling: engagements ranged from 2 people (Zuno, Space Force) up to 7 people (Performative Cafe), demonstrating flexible staffing.

Genre-first achievement: Performative Cafe was one of the first cooking games built as a portrait, mobile-first experience.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Consistently met deadlines and they were always quick to address any feedback. They would consitently go above and beyond to ensure our needs were always met. They have helped us across a lot of business-critical work, often under pretty intense time crunches, and the quality has never dropped because of it. Whether it is prototypes, game systems, design direction, polish, or getting things ready for partner/community moments, they consistently figure it out. What stands out most is that they do not just execute the ask. They take the time to learn our vision, our style, and the weird details that matter to us, then they build on top of that.

What was your primary form of communication with Grayhat?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Grayhat feels like a natural extension of our team. I genuinely leave most meetings with them impressed, because they almost always come back with work that is better than expected. You can tell there is a high level of care, taste, and attention to detail in how they approach things. It never feels like they are just checking a box. It feels like they actually understand what we are trying to build and care about making it great. Grayhat always seems to have an answer. No matter the scope or discipline, they are able to get the right people together, understand the problem, and push it forward. We have worked with them across several different kinds of creative/technical problems, and they keep knocking it out of the park. They are one of the rare external teams that actually feel like part of the company.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Grayhat could have done differently?

We probably could have saved some time by tightening the scope on some ambitious projects earlier on. Still, I love the "we will figure it out" attitude everyone brought to the table.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-Founder & CEO of ChatPay Technology

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

I’m the Co-Founder and CEO of ChatPay Technology, a technology company developing professional communications software for a global market. I manage product direction and worked closely with Grayhat throughout the design and development of the platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Grayhat to accomplish?

• Design a polished cross-platform professional communications experience for iOS and Android.
• Build the core account, user and communication functionality needed for the product.
• Develop supporting backend services and a scalable technical foundation for future product growth.

SOLUTION

How did you find Grayhat?

Website

Why did you select Grayhat over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned
• Other

How many teammates from Grayhat were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Grayhat worked with us across mobile product design and software development. The team created our Figma design system and supported implementation of a cross-platform Flutter application for iOS and Android, together with supporting backend services and a web dashboard. Their work covered a broad range of communications, account-management and product functionality. They also assisted with our web presence. We were particularly pleased with their ability to translate product requirements into polished designs and production-ready development work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Success was demonstrated by delivering working cross-platform applications for iOS and Android, a polished user experience, and the supporting backend services needed for continued product development and future growth.

Design and implementation of a bus roster app for the Sydney market

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Project management was straightforward. Grayhat communicated well, responded quickly, and were flexible when requirements changed. They were good at working through our feedback, solving problems without fuss, and keeping momentum on the project. We found them reliable, practical, and very easy to work with.

What was your primary form of communication with Grayhat?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their ability to understand what I was trying to build and then move very quickly from an idea or requirement to an actual implementation. They're an all-in-one beast, kind of like a Swiss knife for founders.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Grayhat could have done differently?

Some of the functionality complexity caused moments where the designer or developer just struggled with my instructions.