Most startups that succeed end up making solutions that are good, and good solutions require very little in terms of tech support. An ideal support agent would

Most startups that succeed end up making solutions that are good, and good solutions require very little in terms of tech support. An ideal support agent would not only address each concern, but eliminate it from showing up again by fixing the solution (such as fixing the code or improving the manual or web page to say "we're working on X, but this functionality isn't supported yet"). That requires an intimate understanding of the business model and code, and the ability to make those changes. Being a consultant usually doesn't carry that kind of latitude. A much bigger opportunity is supporting solutions that are marginal or downright awful. Those come from big companies and governments. Unfortunately that support space is crowded, and full of unhappy people on both sides of the phone. If you're really jazzed about being a get-the-bugs-out service provider, I'd guess one way to bring maximum value would be in the form of an limited-term quality assurance programmer, who is paid as an employee or contractor to take calls and fix code and manuals. That's hard to scale, though. In the end, it sounds like you're proposing a consulting business that's labor-intensive, full of entrenched competitors, and can be outsourced to places that pay very little (but won't be). Your distinguishing characteristic is perhaps a higher quality and a focus on cash-starved companies. The only way I see of making that work, and it's a longshot, is structuring a way where you get paid with equity, such as warrants (1 per e-mail, 3 per call). The trouble is that the most successful companies will probably be the ones that use your services least.