small, bespoke software tools
I fix the faff.
I find the workflow that's quietly costing your team hours, and build one small tool to sort it. No bloat. No lock-in.
Why work with niggle
solves real problems
built around how you actually work, not how software thinks you should.
fast to build
small scope, quick turnaround. fast to value, not a six-month project.
made by one person
direct and dependable. you talk to the person who builds the thing.
what I build
If your team does it,
I can build a tool for it.
There's no fixed menu. A few of the shapes it takes:
- booking systems
- quote builders
- intake & triage bots
- ops dashboards
- the Friday report, automated
- a news-intelligence platform
- kit & asset tracking
- client portals
- that spreadsheet, but alive
- approval flows
- data plumbing between systems
- …whatever yours is
From a five-minute annoyance to something genuinely new. Even AI products that didn't exist before. If it can be built, it's on the table.
…but I know where to draw the line.
Small and bespoke is the whole point. Anything heavy on personal data and GDPR, secure logins at scale, or massive file storage, I'll wave you toward a specialist, and tell you straight. No half-built risks with your name on them.
- GDPR-critical data
- secure logins at scale
- massive file storage
- bloated platforms
- ten-step onboarding
why now
Bespoke used to cost a fortune. Now it doesn't.
A tool built just for you used to mean a five-figure budget and a six-month wait, so most teams settled for off-the-shelf software that almost fit. The way I build now, a tool made exactly for your workflow costs a fraction of that, and lands in days. For the first time, bespoke is the cheaper option.
And I price against what the problem's costing you, so the fix pays for itself.
how it works
From tangled to sorted.
- 01
Shadow
Half a day on-site. I watch how the work flows and hear where it snags.
- 02
Distil
I turn all of that into a plain-English picture of your biggest time-sinks.
- 03
Pick the win
We choose the one tool with the highest impact and the lowest fuss.
- 04
Build
Fixed price, fast turnaround. A tool fitted exactly to you, nothing spare.
- 05
It's yours
No lock-in. Built simple enough for your team to run, and I'm a phone call away.
What I need from you: one person who can answer questions quickly. That's the whole secret to moving fast.
Every business has them.
Those tiny annoyances that steal time.
I build small tools that fix them.
So your day runs smoother.
about
Niggle is me, Sam.
I've spent years in media and production, solving exactly these kinds of operational headaches from the inside. My background is at Omni in Bristol, managing medium-sized digital teams: DevOps, software engineers at every level, designers, user testers and project managers.
I've overseen the build of web platforms and systems for the NHS, Oxford University, Ping News, the UN and the maritime industry, to name a few. On every one of them I've gone deep into the workflows, the pain points and the complex integrations. New technology doesn't scare me: I can always find a solution, and I'm full of ideas for better ones.
The point is simple: I think fast, and I think like someone who's sat in your business, not like a software company trying to sell to it.
get in touch
Got a niggle?
Tell me what's driving your team mad. First chat's free, no pitch.