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Ask HN: Start a web application maintenance only company?

7 points by redmaple ↗ HN
I've been freelancing/contracting for a while now. I really enjoy fixing/improving existing web apps more than creating something from scratch.

Is it reasonable to offer maintenance-only service to small (<20 person) boutique digital agencies even if they have in-house devs ? The benefits I see are:

1. In-house devs will be free to work on new projects rather than fixing new issues

2. I can offer off-hours maintenance so this might be helpful in some cases

3. Team augmentation - fill in for a dev if they are unavailable (eg. vacation)

5. Same timezone (EST - PST work hours) availability and quick turnaround

6. Available by email, slack, phone

wdyt ? Is this reasonable ?

I'm located in Ontario, Canada.

7 comments

[ 104 ms ] story [ 2745 ms ] thread
indescions_2018
Yes, it's a terrific stepping stone to providing premium services as well. You may find you and your team naturally gravitating to a core competency that really interests you. Such as voice services, media streaming, etc.

Just be aware of the potential liabilities. Clearly demarcate ownership of all assets in contracts. As well as any obligations for future services. At some point a client may decide they can save costs by "cutting out the middle man" and negotiating directly with you!

desaiguddu
Good luck with this. We have been working on something similar for Mobile applications.

There are two aspects we are focusing at this moment:

A.) Rescue Projects: Projects which other team has messed up or left unattended. We take over these projects & ship the same in reasonable shape.

B.) App Fixers: We have created a website specifically for App Maintenance & Upgrades. https://app-fixers.com (We cover maintenance contracts, App Store upgrades, OS Upgrades related changes, Screen Upgrade related changes)

Start talking about this in the community. You will receive great contracts soon :) Cheers

siquick
Spending your days trawling through other peoples uncommented, undocumented, and ineligible code sure is soul-destroying.
malux85
Well, he/she likes doing it, and you clearly don’t, so there’s supply and demand, right?
scmoore
You might read up on http://www.appaftercare.com/, the guy who started it is named Einar Vollset. It's a similar idea (I think) and he has published a lot of material about getting started with it.
josh_nyc
What kind of pricing are you thinking of, for say, 20 hours / week remote help in maintaining an existing system for a small shop? (LAMP / AWS stack)
redmaple
Can you email me at hi@greenpine.co with your requirements? I'm still planning this put so I'd love to get your input on multiple things.