# Surinder Thakur · AI Product Designer and Builder

> I design and build custom AI solutions, tools and agents people actually use, for founders and growing teams. Most of the work is internal operations that off the shelf software does not fit: invoicing, finance ops, HR, approvals and onboarding. I work between Dubai and India, for UAE, US and EU teams.

- 19 years in UX and product design.
- Design manager for 2 years at Puffy, a $1B brand.
- At Puffy: 30+ A/B tests in 2 years, mostly on product pages, across 1M+ sessions.
- Nielsen Norman Group User Experience Certification, 93.4%.
- Human Factors International: Certified Usability Analyst (CUA), 83%, and Certified Digital Persuasion Analyst (CDPA), 90%. Proctored exams.

## Used and trusted
Most AI builds work in the demo, then people go back to spreadsheets. Mine are built for the weeks after launch.
- Money. My builds: pay inside your rules, with a 10 minute undo. Most AI builds: act on their own.
- Answers. My builds: show the source, so your team can check. Most AI builds: give no source.
- When unsure. My builds: stop and ask a person. Most AI builds: guess.
- Success. My builds: measured by weekly use. Most AI builds: measured at launch.
- The money rule: Agents pay only inside the rules you set. Each payment waits 10 minutes before it goes out, so you can undo it. Anything outside the rules waits for a person.

## Who does the work
People never say where a product hurt them. They just leave. So I own every project myself, from first sketch to live product. No account managers and no handoffs.
- I design it. HFI and NN/g certified.
- I lead and build it myself. When the work needs more hands, I bring in senior specialists I trust.
- You talk to me, every week, with a live demo of what changed.
- What I build with: Claude, Claude Code, Cursor, Figma, Next.js, Vercel, Supabase, Voyage AI and Cohere Rerank.
- Most of my clients found me through a referral.

## Prices
- [Pricing](https://www.surinder.design/pricing): each step, what it includes and how it is priced, the founding rate, and price questions. [Plain text](https://www.surinder.design/pricing.md).
- Free scope call: 30 minutes, no pitch. Scope and price in writing within 24 hours.
- Blueprint: 2 weeks, $3,500 at the founding rate (list $5,000), credited to your build. A business case in numbers, a working prototype you can click, and a build proposal with a fixed price and timeline. Paid upfront. Every build starts here.
- Build: from $20,000, typically $30,000 to $60,000. Led by 1 senior from start to finish, a live demo every week, scope and price fixed in writing. Paid in 2 or 3 milestones set in the proposal, each when it is done and shown working. No separate deposit, because the Blueprint is already credited to the build.
- Retainer: $8,000 a month at the founding rate for the first 12 months, then $10,000 (list). Billed monthly. Month to month with 30 days' notice, because you should stay for results, not a contract. Work on the live tool after launch: each week we agree what ships and you see it live, weekly use is tracked, what slows people down gets fixed, and small features get added. A new tool or a big feature gets its own fixed proposal.
- Founding rate: for the first 5 clients, in return for a case study after launch. The founding retainer rate holds for the first 12 months. Nothing is shown before launch, and your name can stay anonymous.
- Prices in USD, fixed in writing before work starts. No hourly billing.
- Not a fit: generic chatbots, design only projects and hourly work.

## Work (each links to the real thing)
- [Agents take the order. People keep the decisions.](https://www.surinder.design/saga/case) (B2B agentic, Dutch B2B commerce · Blueprint prototype, 2 weeks): Most urgent B2B orders still end on the phone. Result: An urgent order in minutes, not an hour · Modeled, from the prototype.
- [Agents do the research. Every answer cites its source.](https://proux.design) (AI SaaS, Built solo, live at proux.design): UX advice was opinion, so teams argued. Result: Every answer cites its source, across 350+ UX principles · Live now.
- [Repositioned as attainable luxury.](https://puffy.com) (D2C commerce, Puffy · design manager, 2 years): A premium mattress, sold on a discount-style site. Result: +67% YoY revenue · Measured year on year, validated by A/B test.
- [Prahar](https://prahar.surinder.design) (Mobile app): Agents plan your day. Agentic workflow.
- [The work board](https://www.surinder.design/work): every project and insight on one board. [Plain text](https://www.surinder.design/work.md).
- [Ordering agent](https://www.surinder.design/work/ordering-agent): An urgent order in minutes, not an hour · Modeled, from the prototype. [Plain text](https://www.surinder.design/work/ordering-agent.md).
- [ProUX](https://www.surinder.design/work/proux): Every answer cites its source, across 350+ UX principles · Live at proux.design. [Plain text](https://www.surinder.design/work/proux.md).
- [Repositioned as attainable luxury](https://www.surinder.design/work/puffy): +67% YoY revenue · Measured year on year, validated by A/B test. [Plain text](https://www.surinder.design/work/puffy.md).

## Client words
- Arthur Andreasyan, Founder, Puffy: "Designs implemented have had positive impact on user experience and bottom line growth." (+21% mobile checkout conversion)
- Carlos Arias, Founder, Medellin.co: "He consistently delivers on time often ahead of schedule and his professionalism is unmatched." (3 months design to market)
- Avin Kline, CEO, Lucyd: "If he says he will do something, there's no question that it will get done." (On time every time)

## Answers
- Ask Surinder: a chat on every page. Ask about the work, the process or
  the prices. Answers come from this site only.
- Insights: 16 straight answers on custom AI tools and agents, in 4 topics. Every one is a card on [the work board](https://www.surinder.design/work). Each has its own page, and a plain text twin at its address plus .md.

## Clients

Trusted since 2007. Fintech, commerce, edtech, healthcare, real estate, SaaS and mobile apps. Now I bring that to AI tools and agents teams keep using.

Clients: Puffy, Whisper Invest, Alucor, Enov8, Medellin, BidOnHomes, Ramsha Homes, AIBA World, Olam Solutions, Zoom Errands, LivOn4ever and ooliv.

## What I build

The 4 kinds of product I build most, each with an agent at work.
- Fintech: new customers quit halfway through signup. An agent reads each document and fills the form, so customers type less. You check only the fields it flags.
- Commerce: buyers still order by email and phone. A buying agent turns each message into an order, so buyers keep their routine. It reaches your ERP only after you approve.
- Operations: your team still copies data between tools. Agents run invoices, approvals and onboarding across your tools, by your rules. Anything over your limit waits for you.
- Mobile apps: people install the app, then stop opening it. An AI layer plans each user's day, so the app earns its place. It says what it moved, and why.

## In their words, on camera

8 short videos: 4 clients, then 4 designers I trained.

- Avin Kline, CEO, Lucyd, USA: "Their quality is phenomenal. They deliver what they say they're going to do."
- Sheila Raper, MD, AJElite Homes, USA: "He's very collaborative and easy to work with. He wants to produce what's best for you and not what's best for him."
- Uli Schönleber, Founder, Ooliv, Germany: "Thank you very much for delivering awesome artwork over the last 10 years."
- José Navarro, Founder, Barefoot Media, Australia: "There's just never anything that is a bother to them. They are listening all the time."
- Phulvinder Singh, Design lead, Ikokas Technologies, a designer I trained: "Before this, I would hand off a Figma file and hope for the best. Now I own the whole process."
- Priyanka Gill, Senior UI/UX designer, a designer I trained: "I grew more in this program than I did in the last two years, learning on my own."
- Ritul Chatterjee, Senior UI/UX designer, Grazitti Interactive, a designer I trained: "My manager noticed within the first week. Two months later I got promoted."
- Ashish Khurana, Senior UI/UX designer, a designer I trained: "I thought I was keeping up, but this program showed me the gap between using AI casually and professionally."

## Questions

### Who is this not for?
Generic chatbots, design only projects and hourly work. I take on custom AI tools and agents with a clear business goal. A tool with no goal has nothing to measure, so nobody can say it worked.

### What if the AI makes a mistake with money?
Agents pay only inside the rules you set. Each payment waits 10 minutes before it goes out, so you can undo it. Anything outside the rules waits for a person.

[Read full answer](https://www.surinder.design/work/ai-agent-mistake-with-money)

### Can I keep my project private?
Yes. Nothing is shown before launch, so no competitor sees it early. Founding clients agree to a case study after launch. Your name and any sensitive data can stay anonymous.

### Why is there a founding rate?
I am taking 5 clients at a lower price. In return, each agrees to a case study after launch. The Blueprint is $3,500 instead of $5,000. The retainer is $8,000 a month for your first 12 months, then $10,000. The offer ends at 5 clients, so no countdown rushes you.

### What does a build cost?
From $20,000. Most builds land between $30,000 and $60,000. The Blueprint ends with a fixed price in writing. You know the full cost before you commit.

[Read full answer](https://www.surinder.design/work/what-does-a-custom-ai-tool-cost)

### How do I pay?
The Blueprint is paid upfront, and all of it is credited to your build. The build is paid in 2 or 3 milestones, set in your proposal. You pay each one when it is done and you have seen it working. There is no separate deposit, because the Blueprint is already credited. The retainer is billed monthly and runs month to month.

### How long does a build take?
The Blueprint takes 2 weeks. Build time depends on scope, so the proposal fixes the timeline before you commit. You see a live demo every week until launch.

[Read full answer](https://www.surinder.design/work/what-you-get-from-a-blueprint)

### What does the retainer include?
It covers work on your live tool after launch. Each week we agree what ships, and you see it live. I track weekly use, fix what slows people down and add small features. A new tool or a big feature gets its own fixed proposal. You see its price before any work starts. It runs month to month, with 30 days' notice. You should stay for results, not a contract.

### What if the Blueprint says not to build?
That is a good result. You keep the business case and the prototype. Learning it cost $3,500. A build would have cost $30,000.

[Read full answer](https://www.surinder.design/work/what-if-the-build-does-not-pay-off)

### Can you work with a team across time zones?
Yes. Most of my client work has been for US teams, found through referrals. You get a live demo every week, whatever your time zone.