# Kugie

> Embedded technology partner for Indonesian lifestyle brands. Senior-only,
> single-vertical, async-first. These docs are the opinionated source of
> truth for how Kugie operates — read them before contacting us.

Kugie is a Jakarta-based studio for lifestyle brands: coffee, F&B, fashion,
hospitality, wellness, hobby retail. We embed with one client per vertical
at a time, deploy to first-party clouds, and staff every account with
senior engineers. The pages below explain the operating model in detail.

## Operating principles

- [We are expensive, and we are worth it](https://kugie.app/docs/principles/expensive-and-worth-it): First-party cloud only, senior engineers only, no headcount markups. Why our pricing is higher than the Indonesian market and what the premium buys.
- [One vertical, one client](https://kugie.app/docs/principles/vertical-exclusivity): We will not work with two businesses in the same vertical. Definition of vertical, what this caps, and why we still hold the line.
- [We work asynchronously, and we work fast](https://kugie.app/docs/principles/async-and-fast): Decisions live in writing. Acknowledgement SLAs are aggressive, resolution is honest. We will not start work without a timeline.
- [We embed in your team](https://kugie.app/docs/principles/we-embed): In-person at kickoff. Inside your Slack, your WhatsApp groups, your internal meetings. We are not your vendor, we are your tech team.
- [Our tools are your tools](https://kugie.app/docs/principles/our-tools): Big tech runs on open source. We do too. The stacks we deploy for you are open and ownable — and we open sourced our own products, Summit and Swivel, so you are never locked in.
- [We monitor everything, and we tell you first](https://kugie.app/docs/principles/we-monitor-everything): Grafana stack deployed from day one. You hear about incidents from us, not from your customers. Postmortems within five business days.

## Fit

- [Who we work with](https://kugie.app/docs/fit/who-we-work-with): Lifestyle brands selling to consumers who care about the brand. Coffee, F&B, fashion, hospitality, wellness, hobby retail.
- [Who we don’t work with](https://kugie.app/docs/fit/who-we-dont-work-with): Software product companies, unreliable infrastructure, synchronous-heavy cultures, open-ended retainers, vertical competitors. The honest disqualifiers.

## Team & engagement

- [The team behind Kugie](https://kugie.app/docs/team/about-the-team): Setasena and Gerald. Indonesian startup builders trained to be both engineer and on-call operator. Why we can give you business context, not just code.
- [How to work with us](https://kugie.app/docs/team/how-to-engage): The path from first conversation to kickoff. What we ask on the first call, how we qualify, what happens if we are not a fit.

## Optional

- [Pricing](https://kugie.app/pricing): Public engagement pricing.
- [Contact](https://kugie.app/contact): Start a conversation with the team.
- [About](https://kugie.app/about): The Kugie story and the people behind the studio.
- [Work](https://kugie.app/work): Case studies from current and past engagements.
- [Blog](https://kugie.app/blog): Notes from the studio — engineering and brand growth essays.