What services does Hone Studio offer?

Hone Studio offers three integrated services: Web Design & Development (Kajabi, Shopify, Squarespace, Next.js, custom apps), AI & Automation (workflows, CRM, AI tools, email flows, chatbots), and Strategy & Research (market research, competitive intel, discovery, audits).

What makes Hone Studio different from an agency?

Unlike agencies where you work with multiple people who rarely talk to each other, Hone Studio is one senior partner who handles strategy, systems, and websites together. This means faster decisions, tighter execution, and no miscommunication between departments.

Who does Hone Studio work with?

Hone Studio works with founders, small businesses, and agencies who need ops and tech support without building a full team. Clients range from education businesses to VC firms to e-commerce brands.

How do I get started?

Start by booking a discovery call through the contact page. We'll discuss what you're working on, identify where I can help, and map out a plan if it's a good fit.

About

Niell Alfajora

Founder, Hone Studio

I build the strategy, the systems, and the website — and I'm the same person in all three meetings.

Founders and small teams hire me when they need someone who can think about the business and build the thing. Not a developer waiting on a brief. Not a strategist who hands off a PDF. One person who does the thinking and the building, so nothing gets lost in translation.

Background

How I Got Here

I started building websites for small businesses. Kajabi sites, Shopify stores, WordPress redesigns. The kind of work where you're on a call with the actual founder and you're figuring out what they need — not what looks good in a case study.

That kept pulling me into bigger problems. A client needed email automations. Then a CRM setup. Then competitive research before a rebrand. Instead of saying “that's not what I do,” I learned it. Honestly, I found it more interesting than just building another website.

One thing led to another and now I build AI-powered internal tools for a VC firm during the week and ship sites and systems for founders on the side.

The through line isn't “I like figuring out how things work” — everyone says that. It's that I'd rather understand the whole picture than be an expert on one corner of it. I'd rather know why we're building something before I open a code editor. And I'd rather be the person who connects the dots than the person who paints one of them really well.

That's the name, by the way. Hone: to sharpen. Take something that's already working and make it cut.

Currently

Building

AI tools that automate company research, web scraping, and retail intelligence for the investment team.

Based In

Philippines, working with clients internationally.

Principles

How I Think About Work

Honest By Default

If something won't work, I'll tell you before you spend money on it. If there's a better path, I'll show you — even if it means less work for me. I'd rather lose a project than build the wrong thing.

One Brain, Not One Team

You get a senior partner who knows your business inside out. Not a project manager relaying messages between a designer, a developer, and a strategist who've never been on the same call. Faster decisions. Tighter execution. No telephone game.

Outcomes Over Output

A beautiful site that doesn't convert is just expensive decoration. I care about what the work does for your business. Pages shipped is not a metric I track.

Everything Touches Everything

Strategy informs design. Design shapes the tech stack. The tech stack creates constraints for strategy. When one person handles all three, those connections happen automatically instead of getting lost in handoffs.

Toolkit

What I Work With

I'm platform-flexible — I pick the tool that fits the business, not the one I'm most comfortable with.

Web

Next.jsReactTypeScriptJavaScriptFirebaseTailwind CSSLiquidVercelShopifyWebflowFramerKajabiSquarespaceFigmaGoogle WorkspaceHTML/CSS

AI & Automation

GenkitAPI IntegrationsData PipelinesAI WorkflowsClaudeOpenAIGeminiPerplexityApps ScriptCRM AutomationsLead EnrichmentChatbotsGoogle SheetsExcel

Strategy

Funnel PlanningOffer PositioningSourcing SystemsMarket ResearchCompetitive IntelSEOCRODiscovery WorkshopsRoadmappingWebsite AuditsAudits

Design

IllustratorPhotoshopFigmaBrand KitsWeb GraphicsCanva

Off the Clock

What I'm Reading

I rotate between nonfiction that challenges how I think and fiction that makes me forget I'm reading.

Currently working through

The Red Rising series

by Pierce Brown

Started as a guilty-pleasure sci-fi binge, turned into one of the best explorations of leadership, revolution, and what it costs to build something new. Three books in, three to go.

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