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← Services you can sell · Mission 16 of 22

Build MCP servers for software companies: the new integration gig

Plenty of small software companies have a good API, customers asking for "it in Claude", and no time to build or maintain an MCP server. Build the official one for their API, hand it over tested and documented, and look after it as the spec moves. Few people can do both the build and the security properly, which is exactly why it pays.

200 minIntermediateTools: Free tools and your time. The client pays for hosting; testing in Claude works on a free accountStep 1 free
A working portfolio piecea remote MCP server over Streamable HTTP, with a token gate, rate limit, input checks and 13 passing automated checks
A target list methodhow to find software companies with an API and no MCP server, and score which ones to pitch
Two fixed-price packages and a care plan, with the hours behind every number and real UK rate comparisons
  • The paperwork and the pitch: emails, discovery questions, proposal, scope page, security checklist, contract outline, a weekly routine and a first 30 days
Before you start
01/08Spot the gap, and know what it takes0 done
STEP 01 of 08~15 min

Spot the gap, and know what it takes

Know exactly what you're selling, who buys it, what you're up against and what it'll cost you in hours before you spend an evening on it.

  1. Every AI app now wants to use other software. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the standard plug for that: an MCP server sits in front of a product's API and offers the AI a set of tools. The official site lists Claude, ChatGPT, VS Code and Cursor ↗ among the apps that support it, and each documents connecting to remote servers over the internet: Claude ↗, ChatGPT ↗, VS Code ↗ and Cursor ↗.

  2. So a staff-rota app, an invoicing tool or an analytics product suddenly has a new question from customers: "can I use you from inside Claude?" Big companies have teams for this. A 15-person software company has three engineers working on the product, and nobody whose job is to read a spec.

  3. Why there's ongoing work, not just a one-off buildMCP moves fast. After the first dated revision in November 2024, there were new ones in March 2025, June 2025, November 2025 and July 2026. The 2026-07-28 changelog ↗ removed protocol sessions and the old initialize handshake, and deprecated Dynamic Client Registration in favour of Client ID Metadata Documents. Meanwhile Claude's OAuth client follows the 2025 authorization specs ↗ and ChatGPT recommends Client ID Metadata Documents ↗. Someone has to keep a server working across all of that. That's your monthly fee.

  4. The offer, in one line"I build and look after the official MCP server for your API, so your customers can use your product inside Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and VS Code. Fixed build fee, optional monthly care."

  5. What you're up againstKnow this before a prospect says it to you:

    • Generic gateways. Zapier's MCP connects AI apps to thousands of apps ↗, and Composio does something similar for developers. For a customer who just wants "my account in Claude", that can be enough.
    • Generators. Stainless ↗ and Speakeasy ↗ generate MCP servers from an OpenAPI spec. If a company already pays for one of them, they may only need help configuring it.
    • Unofficial community servers on GitHub, usually needing a raw API key pasted into a config file, often abandoned after a few months.

  6. Your edge is the official server: the company's own name in Claude's directory, their own sign-in, tools designed for how their customers actually work, and someone accountable for security. When a gateway really is good enough, say so. That candour is what gets you the referral later.

    TipWhat it takes. This is developer work: you write and debug real code in Python or TypeScript, with HTTP, JSON schemas and OAuth basics. Software companies take time to decide, so plan on one to three months of steady research, demos and emails before the first paying client. Average cold email reply rates are low (4.1% ↗ across 11 million emails in Hunter's 2024 data), which is why this mission leads with demos built on the prospect's own API. You're also responsible for security, because a badly built server can leak a company's customer data; step 6 shows how to build it properly. Who this suits: developers who enjoy reading specs and can give it around 9 hours a week for two or three months. Keep your day job while you land the first clients. Everything in this mission is free, so there's nothing to spend upfront.
✓
CheckpointYou can say the one-line offer out loud, name the three alternatives a prospect might mention, and you've blocked out 9 hours a week for it.
If it breaksI've never built an MCP server + 1 more
I've never built an MCP server
Do Build your own MCP server first, all of it, including the security step. Then come back. Selling something you can't yet build is how people get hurt.
Won't the AI companies or the SaaS companies just make this automatic?
Some of it, yes, and generators already exist. What doesn't automate well is deciding which tools a product should offer, wiring them to the company's own auth, and taking responsibility for security and upkeep. Price and pitch that judgement, not the typing.
Still stuck? Ask the community
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