A · Retainer
Fractional Product Team
Your embedded engineering and design team. Senior engineers plus AI tools — no hiring ramp, no overhead.
From $20,000/month · 3-month min
Learn more A Cultivated Mindset / Charlotte, NC / Est. 2011
Your engineering team. Without the overhead.
ACM is a fractional product team that ships custom software in weeks. We pair senior engineers and designers with AI tools so your product moves — no hiring ramp, no bloated SOW, no mystery.
Trusted by leading brands.
Active & past engagementsBank of AmericaWells FargoFiservDuke EnergyCushman & WakefieldBaringsNC DOTCharlotte WaterBank of AmericaWells FargoFiservDuke EnergyCushman & WakefieldBaringsNC DOTCharlotte Water
EPRIPremier HealthcareThe CitadelACNIndustrial Inspection & AnalysisHelios Education FoundationGYMONKEEDisctopiaAlexander Art FoundationPride PREPRIPremier HealthcareThe CitadelACNIndustrial Inspection & AnalysisHelios Education FoundationGYMONKEEDisctopiaAlexander Art FoundationPride PR
Microsoft Funded Partner
2025 Crowns of Enterprise Nominee
Next Charlotte Program Recipient
Beyond Open Grant Recipient
01 / Process
From first call to embedded team in under 30 days.
We don't run six-month RFP processes. Every engagement starts with a fit call, moves through a structured discovery, and can be running in production within 4–8 weeks.
01
Fit Call
We talk about what you're building, where you're stuck, and whether ACM is the right fit. We ask questions and give you a straight answer.
FreeStep one
02
Discovery Sprint
We map your architecture, prototype the riskiest assumption, and hand you a delivery roadmap. If you move forward, this fee is credited back.
$7,500Low-risk on-ramp
03
Pilot Sprint
Fixed scope, fixed price. We ship something real — an MVP, a modernized feature set, or an internal tool. Often the on-ramp to a retainer.
$25k–$100kPilot sprint
04
Fractional Product Team
A dedicated team: senior engineer(s), designer, solutions architect, AI-accelerated workflows baked in. Monthly scope reviews. 30 days' notice.
$20k–$50k/moEmbedded team
02 / Services
Four ways we plug into your team.
Most clients start with a sprint and roll into a retainer. Some start with a retainer from day one. Design and workflow automation are included in retainers or available standalone.
B · Project
AI-Accelerated Sprint
Fixed scope. 4–8 weeks. Something ships. MVPs, modernizations, and internal tools — all on a hard delivery date.
From $25,000 · 4–8 weeks
Learn more C · On-ramp
Discovery Sprint
Two weeks. A real roadmap. Architecture, prototypes, and a delivery plan. Credited back if you continue.
$7,500 · 2 weeks · Credited back
Learn more D · Add-on
Design & Workflow Automation
UX design and workflow automation included in retainers or available standalone. Real design systems, not screenshots.
Custom · Included or standalone
Let's talk 03 / Featured Work
What “ships in weeks” looks like.
01 / 05
04 / Who runs this
Built by people who've shipped real software since 2011.
15yrs
In business · est. 2011
18+
AJ Wiley · Microsoft platform yrs
45
Products shipped
704
Area code · we answer the phone
Patrick Hill started ACM in 2011while finishing his Master's in IT at UNC Charlotte. He wasn't trying to build a consulting firm. He wanted a shop that could actually execute — one where the people who talk to clients are the same people who write the code.
Fifteen years later, ACM is still that. Patrick runs every engagement. AJ Wiley, Senior Solutions Architect with 18+ years on the Microsoft platform, leads technical delivery on complex enterprise and public-sector work. The team is small by design: every client gets senior attention, not a junior handoff.
We're based in Charlotte at 2459 Wilkinson Blvd. We run a monthly tech and design networking event called Cultivated Pixels (third Wednesday at Town Brewing Co). We're a Microsoft funded partner. And we build the same kind of software for clients that we'd build for ourselves.
Our story05 / By the numbers
15
Years in business · est. 2011
45
Products shipped
4–8wk
Typical sprint delivery
$20k/mo
Starting retainer investment
18+
AJ Wiley · Microsoft platform years
05
Awards & recognitions · Small Business of the Year, Innovation Award CLT
06 / Community
We build more than software. We build community.
Cultivated Pixels is ACM's monthly gathering for Charlotte's tech and design community — developers, designers, founders, product people.
No keynotes. No pitch decks. Just good people talking about what they're building.
If you're in Charlotte and you care about craft, come find us. Third Wednesday of every month at Town Brewing Co.
Learn about Cultivated PixelsCultivated Pixels
Third Wednesday
7:00 PMTown Brewing Co · Charlotte
7:00 PMTown Brewing Co · Charlotte
07 / What clients say
What clients say when the project is done.
“ACM gets things done in weeks — not months. They make it feel personal, not transactional. Exactly what you want in a development partner.
Jarron Thomas
Founder, GYMONKEE
“Patrick and the ACM team have a rare right-brain/left-brain mix. They understand the business problem before they write a line of code.
Ben Leeson
VP, Wells Fargo
“Working with ACM felt different from day one. They're problem solvers who actually listen — and then they build it.
Nepherterra Best
Chief Content Officer, Pride PR
08 / FAQ
The questions we get on every fit call.
Do you work with companies outside Charlotte?+
Yes. Most of our retainer clients communicate via Microsoft Teams and Asana. We're Charlotte-based, but we've worked with teams across the US. We do prefer clients who value async communication and can work without weekly in-person meetings.
How does the fractional team model actually work?+
You get a defined team — engineers, a designer, and an architect depending on the engagement — with a monthly scope commitment. We work in your tools (or help you set up better ones), ship every sprint, and hold a monthly scope review to reprioritize. It's a retainer, not a project contract.
Why do you publish your prices?+
Because the moment we ask you to get on a call just to find out if you can afford us, we've wasted both our time. Prices are on the pricing page. If the numbers don't work, we can point you to options that might.
What makes you different from a traditional agency?+
Three things. First, we use AI tools that compress delivery timelines — we're not doing the same thing faster, we're doing it differently. Second, the people you talk to are the people who build. No account managers in the middle. Third, the retainer model means we're incentivized to keep delivering — we don't disappear after launch.
What happens after the Discovery Sprint?+
You get a delivery roadmap and a prototype of the riskiest assumption. Most clients move into a Pilot Sprint or directly into a retainer — but you're not obligated to. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you, and the work is yours to keep.
Do you do AI slop?+
No. We use Claude Code and other AI tools to accelerate first drafts, repetitive logic, and boilerplate. Every line that ships is reviewed and owned by a senior engineer. We use AI the way a good carpenter uses power tools — with precision and full accountability.