Studio reel
A short animation: a rough wireframe is drawn, what isn’t needed is struck out and what’s missing is added, and it becomes our own products — Rooftop Wealth, WellFam, Sizzle, ExpressoCards and Pet Passport – Vault. Then: now and then, we build yours too — websites, apps, consultation, made-to-measure software and launch films. It ends on “Let’s build yours.”
Taking on new client workCanada & U.S.Updated September 2026
Version2 Labs
An independent software studio. We reimagine what a useful app should have been, and build that.
- Practice
- Product design, web and iOS development, product consultation
- Own products
- Five, across money, health, food, gifting and pets
- Work with
- Independent businesses, founders, practitioners
- Contact
- connect@version2labs.app
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Profile
An independent studio that reimagines everyday software. We take apps people already rely on, ask what a genuinely useful version would have been, and build that from first principles.
We start with the problem, not the category: what the person is actually trying to do, what gets in their way, and what they would miss if it were gone. Everything else is left out. The result is smaller, faster and easier to trust than what it replaces.
Five products so far, across money, health, food, gifting and pets, all designed and built in-house.
Now and then, we bring someone else’s idea to life, held to the same standard.
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Own products
Each one began as a specific problem someone had. Stated here as the problem, and what we built.
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Rooftop Wealth
Retirement planning in plain language, for Canadian households.
- Problem
- Retirement planning is written for people who already have an advisor. Everyone else gets a wall of acronyms (RRSP, TFSA, FHSA, CPP, OAS) and has to guess which account, in which order, and how much.
- Built
- A planner that models every account together, projects to age 95, stress-tests the plan with Monte Carlo runs, and answers questions in plain words. It covers couples, too.
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WellFam
A family’s lab results, readable and tracked over time.
- Problem
- Lab reports arrive as one-off PDFs, one person at a time, with nothing connecting this year’s numbers to last year’s. A slow trend can hide in plain sight.
- Built
- WellFam reads the lab PDF, charts each biomarker over the years, and keeps every family member in one place.
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ExpressoCards
A card that says what you mean, sent as a link that opens like a gift.
- Problem
- Store-bought cards give you someone else’s words, and e-cards land like spam. Saying it well takes long enough that it often doesn’t get said.
- Built
- You pick the feeling, get guided help with the line, and send a link that needs no app and no signup. Premium cards are animated and interactive.
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Sizzle
The recipe, rescued from the video, photo, voice note or link it was stuck in.
- Problem
- The recipe you want is buried in a ten-minute video, a screenshot, or a page of backstory. You only needed the ingredients and the steps.
- Built
- Paste a link, snap a photo or say it out loud, and Sizzle returns a clean recipe. It scales servings, and cook mode gives you large text, per-step timers and a screen that stays awake.
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Pet Passport – Vault
A pet’s records, vaccines and reminders in a private vault on your phone.
- Problem
- Vaccine certificates, microchip numbers and vet paperwork are scattered across drawers and inboxes. They are never at hand when a groomer, kennel or border agent asks.
- Built
- A multi-pet vault for documents and scanned certificates, with care reminders. Everything stays on the device. It’s a one-time unlock, with no subscription.
02
Client work
Now and then, we bring someone else’s idea to life. A few projects at a time, so each one gets real attention.
When we take on your idea, it gets the treatment ours get: taken apart to what’s true, then built properly. You deal directly with the people building it.
Websites
A fast, well-written site that makes your business easy to find and easy to trust. It is built so you own the domain, the hosting and the code.
- Design and build
- Copywriting help
- Search basics and analytics
- Booking, forms, payments
From $399 · see packages
Apps
iOS and web apps, from a first prototype to the App Store. We have been through review, in-app purchase and privacy requirements for our own apps, so you don’t have to learn them.
- Prototype to release
- Native iOS and web
- Subscriptions or one-time unlocks
- App Store submission
Consultation
For owners and founders deciding what to build, what to cut, and what to charge. The advice is written, short and opinionated, and you can act on it with or without us.
- Problem and scope write-up
- What goes in v1, and what doesn’t
- Pricing and packaging
- Review of an existing product
Made-to-measure
Software for one specific need: a learning lab for your child, a tool for your team. It installs on any device, or ships as a native iPhone app.
- Built around one need
- Web, iOS; Android or Windows on request
- Private by default
- The code is yours
From $499 · see an example
Also: Launch films, short product ads made from your real screens, with an original score. From $99 · watch the films
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Method
Six rules we apply to every product, ours or yours, in this order.
- 01
Start from the problem, not the product.
We don’t start by asking how competitors do it. We write down what is actually true about the problem, then build the smallest thing that solves it.
- 02
Subtract until it breaks. Add back only what’s missing.
Every feature has to earn its place. We cut to the point of failure, then return the one piece that was carrying the weight.
- 03
One screen, one job.
A screen that tries to do two things does both badly, and the person using it has to do the sorting. We do the sorting first.
- 04
Make the default the right answer.
Most people never change a setting, so the default is a real decision, made carefully on their behalf.
- 05
Fast is part of the design.
People stop reaching for a tool that hesitates. We build for the moment someone is in a hurry, because that is when it counts.
- 06
If it doesn’t help on a bad day, it doesn’t help.
The real test is whether someone tired, distracted and short on time can still get through it. The demo is not the test.
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Contact
Tell us about the problem, not just the feature list. If we aren’t the right fit, we will say so and try to point you to someone who is.
- Emailconnect@version2labs.app
- Based inKitchener–Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
- WorkingWith clients across Canada and the U.S., remotely