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How have you had success finding larger corporate clients? I've been working at 20 person agency as Director of Engineering for 5 years, but we generally run $5

by hansef 16y ago

How have you had success finding larger corporate clients? I've been working at 20 person agency as Director of Engineering for 5 years, but we generally run $500k+ year long webapp builds in Rails, not $12k corporate sites. I'm trying to catch up on some debt, and have the client and team management experience to put together some "mini-agency" projects like, but am not sure how to go about finding the sort of client who needs this type of site.

bluekite2000 16y ago
How did you go about finding these 500K+ web apps? What kind of clients are they? What kind of apps do you do for them? If you dont mind me asking
- hansef 16y ago
  The guy who founded the company, and with whom I've been working closely for over 5 years, is technical with a design background, but also happens to be a bizdev god. He's in SV (I'm in Portland, along with several of our other employees), and knows a lot of the right people. We do some startup builds, but also a lot of projects that add directly to people's bottom lines - for example, an admissions and course management system for a university, which will contribute directly to them being able to get an accreditation rating they're seeking, and which will return the cost of the work to them (conservatively) at a 10x multiple. Of course, these aren't lump sum, flat bid projects - they're paying for an agile team over the course of a year or so.
hundredwatt 16y ago
Thinking back, I realized that all my larger contracts have been with companies where I had an inside contact (friend who was working there). Also, look for companies in fields outside of internet technology. They certainly won't be spending $500K on webapps, but do want a modern presence online. I'd recommend asking friends/family if there company is unhappy with their current website or other technology services. The market rate for design agencies is probably $15-50K, so an individual who can do it for slightly less than that and in a friendly manner is highly attractive.
- bluekite2000 16y ago
  Have you been able to grow beyond the "inside contact" deals? And by "look for companies in fields outside of internet tech" can you give some examples?

by hansef 16y ago

bluekite2000 16y ago

How did you go about finding these 500K+ web apps? What kind of clients are they? What kind of apps do you do for them? If you dont mind me asking

hansef 16y ago
The guy who founded the company, and with whom I've been working closely for over 5 years, is technical with a design background, but also happens to be a bizdev god. He's in SV (I'm in Portland, along with several of our other employees), and knows a lot of the right people. We do some startup builds, but also a lot of projects that add directly to people's bottom lines - for example, an admissions and course management system for a university, which will contribute directly to them being able to get an accreditation rating they're seeking, and which will return the cost of the work to them (conservatively) at a 10x multiple. Of course, these aren't lump sum, flat bid projects - they're paying for an agile team over the course of a year or so.

hundredwatt 16y ago

Thinking back, I realized that all my larger contracts have been with companies where I had an inside contact (friend who was working there). Also, look for companies in fields outside of internet technology. They certainly won't be spending $500K on webapps, but do want a modern presence online. I'd recommend asking friends/family if there company is unhappy with their current website or other technology services. The market rate for design agencies is probably $15-50K, so an individual who can do it for slightly less than that and in a friendly manner is highly attractive.

bluekite2000 16y ago
Have you been able to grow beyond the "inside contact" deals? And by "look for companies in fields outside of internet tech" can you give some examples?