“Every new episode means a day of copy and paste.”
A nine-show podcast network. Each morning a system checks every feed, transcribes new episodes, writes the article and emails the guest.
1,231 episodes transcribed · zero failures · 933 articlesYou bring the idea. I work out how, then I build it.Bring me an idea or a problem. I work out how, then I build it.
Or bring the problem. Leads disappearing, a report that eats an afternoon, two systems that won't talk.Something you want built, or something that keeps costing you: leads disappearing, a report that eats an afternoon, two systems that won't talk.
Dev shops build only what you spell out. Consultants hand you a plan and leave. I figure out what will actually work and build it, one developer, month to month.
No pitch. We'll talk as long as it's useful, and not a minute longer. You'll leave knowing what I'd build first, whether or not you hire me.
Marc Olsen. I answer the phone and I run the build.
You don't need to know what to build. You just need to know what you want.
You know what you want built.
A booking flow, a quoting tool, a dashboard, an app you sketched on a napkin. Tell me in a sentence. I'll tell you if it's the right build, then build it.
You only know what's broken.
Leads go quiet. Someone retypes the same data every week. Two tools refuse to talk. Tell me what it's costing you. I'll find the cause, tell you what to build (sometimes nothing), and build it.
Dev shops don't think. CTOs don't build. You get both.
A dev shop builds exactly what you spec, even when the spec is wrong. A CTO or consultant hands you a plan and leaves you to find someone to build it. Either way, you end up being the go-between.
| Who you hire | Works out what to build | Builds it | You talk to them directly | Commitment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dev shop or agency | No | Yes | Through a project manager | Project contract |
| Fractional CTO or consultant | Yes | No | Yes | Retainer |
| Freelancer or contractor | Rarely | Yes | Sometimes | Hourly |
| Digital Marc | Yes | Yes | Yes | Month to month |
Dev shop or agency
- Works out what to build
- No
- Builds it
- Yes
- You talk to them directly
- Through a project manager
- Commitment
- Project contract
Fractional CTO or consultant
- Works out what to build
- Yes
- Builds it
- No
- You talk to them directly
- Yes
- Commitment
- Retainer
Freelancer or contractor
- Works out what to build
- Rarely
- Builds it
- Yes
- You talk to them directly
- Sometimes
- Commitment
- Hourly
Digital Marc
- Works out what to build
- Yes
- Builds it
- Yes
- You talk to them directly
- Yes
- Commitment
- Month to month
What owners usually hand me first
“I can't tell which leads came from where.”
A media company's application funnel. Every submission now lands in the CRM with its traffic source attached. The old version never captured it.
Built · live since September“Our website and our CRM don't talk.”
A dentist-educator's site. Every signup goes to the CRM and the newsletter at once, and the team gets an alert if a sync ever fails.
Built · 49 pages live at cutover“Our customers would refer friends if it were easy.”
A cookie shop. The campaign idea came from a marketing partner. I built the system behind it.
1,759 signups · 1,071 referrals · 166 redeemed“The weekly report takes someone an afternoon.”
Campaign reports that used to be pulled by hand now arrive by email and text on schedule.
Built · runs on schedule“Episodes, articles and newsletters, and nobody keeping them in sync.”
A business podcast's site. Episodes move from production to the website on their own. The newsletter drafts itself Friday and sends Tuesday.
Built · still runningTell me in a sentence. You'll get it in writing before I build anything.
01Tell meA sentence is enough. No forms, no discovery fee.
02I scope itI check whether it's the right thing to build. Sometimes the answer is smaller, or different.
03You sign offA written scope: what gets built, what it touches, what it doesn't, about how long. Nothing gets built off a conversation alone.
04I build itBuilt, tested, documented and handed to you. Then the stream moves to the next thing on your list, in your order.
Your list, worked in your order
See every service- AI agents and automationThe jobs someone does by hand every week
- CRM setup and cleanupPipelines, follow-up and the automations nobody switched on
- Websites and landing pagesBuilt to send every lead where it belongs
- IntegrationsYour tools passing data to each other instead of to you
- Dashboards and reportsThe numbers you want, without asking three people
- Audits and rebuildsSystems someone else built and left behind
See the kind of thing that gets built
A workstyle profile for hiring. Candidates answer a short survey, and it shows how they like to work next to what the role needs, with a plain explanation of the fit. It's a working example of a custom tool built around one business problem. Take it yourself and see your own results.
You own every line, and you can see all of it
No black boxes. Every build is documented. Every account is in your name. Each month you get a log of what got done.
If you ever want to take it in-house, you can, and I'll help your person get up to speed. Most people would rather I keep going. This site is built the same way: your visit and the call booking run on the kind of system I build for clients.
See what's happening under the hood
You'll talk to the person running the build
I'm Marc, a marketing engineer in Utah. I've been building for businesses since 2016: sites, CRMs, integrations, automations and the occasional whole app.
I started on the marketing side, so I work out what the business needs before anything gets built. That's the part dev shops skip.
You get one person. I answer the phone, I run the build, and I'll explain any of it in plain English. When a build needs more hands, I bring in developers I trust, and you still deal with me.
One build stream: $2,000 to $7,500 a month
Where you land depends on how much you're building. Light, steady work sits near the bottom. A full-speed stream with several builds in a row sits at the top. We'll settle the number on the call, in writing.
One build stream, worked in your orderMonthly
Scoping and written scopesIncluded
Everything documented and in your nameYours
Pause or cancelAny month
Is this you?
This is for you if:
- You have a list of things you want built, or a problem that keeps costing you.
- You make the call on the budget.
- You'd rather have one person who thinks it through than a team that waits for a spec.
- You want to own what gets built.
It isn't if:
- You're shopping for the lowest price.
- You need a fixed bid for a finished app.
- Someone else has to approve the spend.
- You still need convincing that any of this is worth doing.
Questions people ask before the call
- Do I need to know what I want built?
- No. Bring the problem. Working out what to build is part of the job, and it's included.
- How is this different from a dev shop or a CTO?
- A dev shop builds what you specify. A CTO tells you what to build. I do both, so nothing gets lost between the plan and the build, and you're not stuck translating between them.
- What if one person isn't enough?
- For bigger builds I bring in developers I trust and have worked with. You still have one person to talk to, and that's me.
- Do I own what you build?
- Yes. The code, the accounts and the documentation are yours. If we stop working together, all of it stays with you.
- What happens if I want to stop?
- Pause or cancel any month. No long contract.
- What kinds of businesses do you work with?
- Owner-run businesses where the owner makes the call: clinics, home services, media and podcast companies, coaches, local shops. If you've got a list and a budget, the industry matters less than you'd think.
Here's what I'll ask you on the call
No script to sit through. Just a conversation. These are the questions I usually ask, so you know what to expect.
- 01What's going on in the business right now?
- 02What's on your list? The things you want built or keep putting off.
- 03If everything ran the way you picture it, what would be different?
- 04If you asked your business a question today, like which leads turned into revenue, could you get the answer?
- 05What have you already tried?
Then I mostly listen. Before we hang up, I'll tell you what I'd build first and whether I'm the right person for it. If I'm not, I'll say so.
If you can picture it, it can probably be built.
I'll tell you honestly if it can't, or if it isn't worth it. No pitch, and no clock. Ten minutes or an hour, whatever the conversation needs.
Rather text than talk? Text me at 385-293-3310 and we'll do it that way. Or email help@digitalmarc.com.