Services · Melbourne, AU

Nothing here we haven't run ourselves.

AI agents, mobile apps, online stores, Shopify apps, SaaS and the growth work around them. We build yours and, if you want us to, stay on to run it.

Six live productsWeb · iOS · Android · Shopify

Start a project See what we take on
(01)What we take on

Each kind of work here already runs in a product of ours.

We have no client case studies yet, so we point you at things you can open and use. Try one before you decide whether to write to us.

  1. 01 / 06

    AI agents and assistants

    The worst thing a business chatbot can do is make something up. The ones we build answer only from what you've approved and email you the rest, question attached, the way Lily does at Benvena's front desk. EscapeTo has an AI Camping Assistant for campers' questions. More on how we build agents.

    See it working in Benvena EscapeTo

    Website chat · 22:18Answered by Lily Example
    1. Visitor: I've never done yoga, and I have a bad knee. Do you have a class for beginners?
    2. LilyYes. Foundations is the beginners' class, on Tuesdays at 18:00 and Saturdays at 09:00. Mats are provided, and your first class is free. I can't give advice about injuries, but I can pass your question about your knee to the studio owner. What's your name and email?
    3. Visitor: Mei Lin, m••@example.com. I'm hoping to start this Saturday.
    4. Lily: Thanks, Mei. I'll send your question to the owner now.
    5. ✓ Approved fact

      Foundations (beginners): Tuesday 18:00, Saturday 09:00. Mats provided. First class free. Injury questions are passed on.

      Approved by the studio owner · 14 Oct
    6. Question emailed to the owner
    1. Where her answer came fromEverything in her reply is in one fact the studio approved.
    2. She stops at the kneeShe won't guess about knees, prices or anything she wasn't given.
    3. What the owner finds in the morningA handover email with the question Lily couldn't answer, ready for a reply.
    Example conversation, as shown on benvena.aibenvena.ai ↗ (opens in a new tab)

  2. 02 / 06

    Mobile apps

    People keep an app when it does one job quicker than the website. We build native iOS and Android apps around that job. Camping Australia has apps on both stores, and EscapeTo has one for iOS.

    See it working in Camping Australia EscapeTo

    The Camping Australia app's home screen: a search bar, a Campsite Explorer button and 'Find the spot. Pack the gear.'
    Camping Australia
    Planning a road trip in Camping Australia on a phone: 'Pick a start, then where you're headed', above a list of caravan parks with add-to-trip buttons.
    Camping Australia · trip planner
    EscapeTo on a phone: a road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles drawn on a map, with a Save trip button.
    EscapeTo
    Camping Australia and EscapeTo, on the phonecampingaustralia.com.au ↗ (opens in a new tab)

  4. 04 / 06

    Shopify apps

    A merchant installs an app to make one annoyance go away, so we keep ours narrow. We build them for the Shopify App Store or for a single store, and Spambuster and Cart Spy are both ours.

    See it working in Spambuster Cart Spy

    The reCAPTCHA Spambuster website: 'Return spam to sender', beside a purple envelope stamped 'return to sender'.
    An example Spambuster log from its website: form submissions marked blocked or passed.
    reCAPTCHA Spambuster · Shopify App StoreView on Shopify ↗ (opens in a new tab)

  5. 05 / 06

    SaaS products

    For someone with an idea for subscription software, from the first version to something a stranger can sign up to and pay for. Benvena, Cart Spy and Spambuster are software we still run.

    See it working in Benvena Cart Spy Spambuster

    Facts for a hair salonExample
    1. 01Open Tuesday to Saturday, 9:00–18:00. Closed Sunday and Monday.Opening hours✓ Approved
    2. 06Cancellations with less than 24 hours' notice are charged 50%.BookingsWaiting for approvalLily won't use this until you approve it.
    3. 08Children's cuts (under 12) are half price on weekdays.PricesNot approvedLily won't use this. Questions about it go to you.
    Benvena admin · example facts from benvena.aibenvena.ai ↗ (opens in a new tab)

  6. 06 / 06

    Growth and SEO systems

    People search for the thing they want and rarely for the business that sells it. So EscapeTo has pages for popular regions and routes, written for the camper who searches for one by name.

    See it working in EscapeTo Oz BBQ Camping Australia

    EscapeTo's road-trip planner: a route from San Francisco to Los Angeles on a map, with campsites near the stops listed beside it.
    • Regions
    • Yosemite
    • Yellowstone
    • Moab
    • Routes
    • Pacific Coast Highway
    • Blue Ridge Parkway
    • Route 66 West
    EscapeTo · plan a road trip, browse regions and routesescapeto.travel ↗ (opens in a new tab)
(02)How we work

Four steps, and we plan the fourth from the first call.

A product spends far longer being run than being built, so we plan the running first. Six products of our own have taught us more about that part than any other.

  1. Step 1: Talk

    We start with a call about who it's for and what would make it worth paying for.

    You'll haveA written scope and a plan for the first release.

  2. Step 2: Build

    We send you builds to try as it takes shape, so you can tell us early when something feels off.

    You'll haveA build to try, and a note on what changed.

  3. Step 3: Launch

    We handle the fiddly jobs around going live, the same ones we do for our own launches.

    You'll haveStore listings and search set-up.

  4. Step 4: Run

    We look after it once it's live, including the small fixes nobody plans for, for as long as you want us on it.

    You'll haveUs looking after it, with fixes and updates.

    Then back to build

Ways to work with us

Where you start depends on whether the product exists yet.

Each one starts with an email and a call, and we write the scope down before we build anything.

  • Build something new

    We take an idea and a written scope to a live first release, whether that's an app, a store, an AI assistant or a SaaS product.

    Suits
    Owners with an idea and no product yet
    Lasts
    Until launch, and then you decide whether we stay on to run it

  • Build it, then we run it

    We stay after launch and keep changing it as you need, so your time goes back to running the place.

    Suits
    Owners who want the product looked after without hiring developers
    Lasts
    For as long as you want us on it

  • Pick up what you have

    For an app, store or Shopify app that has nobody looking after it now. Send us what exists and we'll start by reading through it.

    Suits
    Owners whose developer has moved on, or whose product has stalled
    Begins
    With a look at what you have, and a written plan if we're the right people for it

Step one is a call, and you don't need a brief for it.

Start with step one
(03)Why a studio with its own products

We run every one of our products ourselves.

There are six of them, and nobody else fixes them. That habit is what you'd be hiring.

  1. Built for whoever inherits it

    The person who maintains the code matters as much as the person who signs off the design. Usually that's us, so we write it to be read.

  2. We already know the paperwork

    Store reviews, listing rules and privacy policies catch owners by surprise. We've been through them on the App Store, Google Play and the Shopify App Store.

  3. Being found is part of the job

    A store nobody visits is an expensive hobby. Search and content go into the plan for your product along with the features.

  4. You won't need a second studio for the app

    If your website later needs a phone app or a Shopify app, we've built both for ourselves, and the work stays with the same people.

See all six products →
(04)How we use AI

We'd rather an assistant pass a question on than guess.

Lily, the front desk inside Benvena, works that way, and so would anything we build for you. A wrong answer late at night does more harm than a right one the next morning.

  1. Only facts you've approved

    Your assistant answers from facts you've signed off, rather than whatever the model happens to remember.

  2. Anything else comes to you by email

    When the answer isn't in those facts, the question is emailed to you instead, so you can answer it yourself.

  3. A person sets it up

    We set Lily up for each business by hand, usually within about a week, and we'd take the same care with yours.

  4. We say what isn't ready yet

    Benvena's phone answering is coming soon, not live yet. We'll be as plain about what yours can't do yet.

(05)Before you email

Three questions worth asking any studio.

Who would I be dealing with?

A studio in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. JOLA PTY LTD, ABN 65 159 395 114.

Do you only build your own products?

No, we take on client work as well. We have no client case studies to show yet, so our own products are the proof, and running them has taught us what software needs after launch.

Can you take over an existing app or store?

It depends on what's there. Email contact@jola.com.au with what you have. We'll tell you what we'd change first, or that we're not the right people for it.

Send us the idea, even a rough one.

A few lines is plenty to start, and we'll write back with the questions we need answered.

contact@jola.com.au

This opens your email app. Nothing is sent until you press send.

Use the contact page See the work

What to put in the email

  • What it isSomething new, or something you already have.
  • Who it's forYour customers, your team, or both.
  • Where it runsWeb, iOS, Android, Shopify.
  • What you're working towardsA launch or a busy season you're aiming at, if there is one.