Founder
CJ Visser
Technology leader and former EllieMD CTO. Brings the experience of building a software business to the decisions we make with clients.
LinkedInAbout Bluebird
Boutique by design.
Accountable by habit.
Good software starts with people who care about the business behind it. We’re a team of engineers, builders, and operators who take that responsibility personally.
In short
A small senior team, with a long view.
- Since 2018For founders, scale-ups and established groups
- An international teamSouth African roots, people across time zones
- Ten engagements at mostAt any one time, each with a named lead
- Engineering partner of Software Station AIA separately owned AI product that we help engineer
Our story
Software that endures beyond us.
Since 2018CJ Visser founded Bluebird in 2018 with one conviction: build software that endures beyond us. The partners who joined soon after made it theirs, and from the beginning we have measured it in a phrase: “success is longevity.”
Some of us have carried the business, not only the engineering. At EllieMD, CJ served as CTO through Bluebird, combining technology leadership with core platform engineering as the business grew. Read the EllieMD story
Today, our work spans new ventures and the systems established businesses rely on, from telehealth and open banking to construction, mining and climate. Each field has taught us something, above all that no two problems are the same. We take time to understand yours, bring a point of view, and stay accountable for what we build.
The folded bird in our mark reflects our approach: something made with care, from deliberate parts, that holds together.
How we engage
Five principles, every engagement.
- 01
Engineering that lasts
We learned our standards where failure isn’t an option, in banking, payments and healthcare. Every client gets them, whatever the industry: reliability, security, and software that holds up to everyday use.
- 02
Boutique by design
A senior team shaped around your project, not a template. You work directly with the people making the decisions and doing the work.
- 03
We love AI, and know when to use it
We use AI to improve how we work and what we build, with the judgement to choose where it can make a meaningful difference.
- 04
Business-minded partners
Sometimes the best product is the one never built. We have sat on the client’s side of the table, and we advise like owners before we build.
- 05
Open to equity and revenue-share
For the right ideas we take outcome risk: a stalled pilot taken to production on revenue share, a venture build part-funded with equity.
Our people
Engineering experience, commercial perspective, care for the detail.
The people who lead the work, and the people you’ll talk to.
Product
Wester Visser
A qualified Industrial Engineer with a focus on the operational side of the business: delivery, partnerships, and keeping to our commitments.
LinkedIn
Tech
Rikus Louw
Guides the architecture behind our work, with experience in financial software and the systems businesses depend on.
LinkedIn
Tech
Nicholas Zaverdinos
Leads our technical direction, bringing engineering experience and a practical approach to new tools.
LinkedInExperience we bring
A wider perspective on what good software takes.
Our team has also built for Liberty, Old Mutual and PepsiCo. This is experience from their careers, distinct from Bluebird’s client engagements.
Where we are
An international team. South African roots.
Our roots are in South Africa. Today, our people work across countries and time zones, building software for clients around the world. We agree collaboration times around your team.
Company details and how to reach usA good place to start
What are you building next?
Tell us what you want to achieve. We’ll work out the right way to build it together.
Talk about your project