Software studio · Mount Maunganui, NZ

A software studio building
its own products.

Drift Labs designs, ships, and runs a small fleet of apps for people who do real work — with AI in the loop from the first line of code to the way each product runs.

Our products · in the water
Live · App Store SailDash

Two devices.
Every boat in sync.

A coaching dashboard for Optimist sailing. Sailors' phones and the coach's RIB share live GPS, start sequences and cues — one session, everyone on the same page.

PlatformiOS
StageShipping
Made forCoaches
View on the App Store
SailDash start-timer screen, synced across every device
Coming soon Tydra

Talk the variation.
Get the invoice.

On site, just record a voice memo of what changed — the extra parts, the hours. Tydra's AI transcribes it and itemizes the line items, ready to push to Xero. No paperwork at the end of the day.

ForTradies
InputVoice memo
OutputXero invoice
Join the early list
Tydra home screen — hold to record a job
In build Tabnudge

Get paid without
the awkward follow-up.

Cashflow follow-up for Xero tradies. Reminders that adjust when customers reply, drafts ready for your approval — you only step in when a job needs a real conversation.

TypeWeb · Xero
StageBeta soon
ForTradies
See how it works
tabnudge.com
Tabnudge — cashflow follow-up for Xero tradies
Live · Web sailboard.app

The tactics whiteboard
for sailors & coaches.

Draw any on-the-water situation on a grid where one square is a boat length, animate it to the racing rules, then turn it into a protest sheet, a PDF, or a jury replay. Optimist to keelboat.

TypeWeb app
StageShipping
ForSailors
Open the board
sailboard.app
sailboard.app — the tactics whiteboard for sailors and coaches
Live · Web sailtally.app

Score the race.
Share the results.

Regatta scoring for race officers. Take entries on a link, enter finishes on a phone, score to the Racing Rules of Sailing, and publish a live scoreboard the whole fleet can open — before the boats are ashore.

TypeWeb app
StageShipping
ForRace officers
See live results
sailtally.app
sailtally.app — regatta scoring and live results
The lab · always tinkering

Not just apps — experiments.

Between products, we test what AI can actually do. Some of it ships. Some of it just teaches us something. Both count.

AI as the product

Voice in, structure out

Turning messy human input — a rambling voice note, a photo of a whiteboard, a crumpled receipt — into clean, usable data. The Tydra pattern, pointed at new problems.

AI runs the studio

The studio that runs itself

Support that answers its own emails, changelogs that write themselves from our commits, marketing that drafts and measures itself. We use our own products as the test bed.

In the open

Lab notes

A running log of what we tried with AI this week — the wins, the dead ends, and the occasional tiny free tool that escapes into the world.

Frontier play

On-device & on the water

Local models for privacy-first apps, multi-agent setups where AIs hand work to each other, and real-time AI woven into the sailing fleet.

Jump straight to a product
5
Products in the fleet
2
Live on the App Store
100%
Built with AI in the loop
1
Tiny studio, Mount Maunganui
How we work

A studio that ships like a team of many.

Drift Labs is a small studio, not a big agency. AI is part of how each product gets designed, built, and run — which means an idea can go from sketch to the App Store without waiting on a roomful of people.

01

Build with AI

We pair human judgement with AI that writes, tests, and refactors alongside us. Smaller scope, faster loops, fewer reasons to wait.

02

Products people want

Every product starts with a real, specific job — a sailor in a gust, a sparky on site. We design the workflow first, then wrap the tech around it.

03

Run it lean

AI helps market and operate what we ship, so each product can stand on its own. We stay small on purpose and let the work scale.

What we believe

Small tools,
made on purpose.

Start from a real moment

A sailor reading speed in a gust. A sparky pricing a variation from the ute. We build for the specific instant a tool earns its place — not a feature list.

Cut until it's sharp

Most of the work is deciding what to leave out. A product that does one thing cleanly beats one that does five things you have to learn.

AI in the loop, not on the marquee

We use AI to design, build, test and run — quietly, where it makes the product better. The point is the product, not the buzzword.

Ship, then stay

Launch is the start. We keep each product alive, listen to the people using it, and let the good ones grow into the next thing.

Questions

The short answers.

What is Drift Labs?
A small New Zealand product studio. We design, build and run our own software — focused apps for people who do real work, like sailors, coaches and tradies. Drift Labs is the company behind products like SailDash, Tydra and Tabnudge.
Do you take on client work?
Mostly we build our own products. If you've got an idea that fits how we work — small, sharp, a real job to be done — we'd still love to hear it. The fastest way is to email us.
What do you mean by "building with AI"?
AI is part of our whole pipeline — it helps us write and test code, design interfaces, and even run support and marketing. That's how a tiny team ships and maintains a fleet of products. It works in the background to make each one better, not as a gimmick bolted on top.
Where can I get the apps?
SailDash is live on the App Store, and sailboard.app and sailtally.app run right in your browser. Tydra and Tabnudge are on the way — pick a product above to follow along or join the early list.
Where are you based?
Mount Maunganui, New Zealand — building for sailors and tradespeople here and anywhere else the products are useful.

Building something,
or just curious?

Drift Labs is always working on the next product. Reach out, or follow along as the fleet grows.