Ian Swain — fractional tech & ops partner · Philadelphia

I run the tech and operations side of your business, so you don't have to.

Your website, your data, your tools, your security — handled by one person, instead of a team you can't afford or five vendors you have to chase. I spent 14 years running operations before I built the systems. Now I do both, for businesses without someone in-house.

One point of contact Source code stays yours No long contracts
14 years running operations Full source code — yours to keep Live in days, not months Based in Philadelphia
How to work with me

Three ways to work with me. Priced to your job.

No packages to squeeze into. I look at what you actually need and give you the number up front — you say yes before I start.

Most popular

I handle your technology, every month.

Your website, your email, your backups, your security — all of it looked after so you never think about it and never have to hire someone. Something breaks, you text me. Something needs changing, it's done. Ongoing, month to month.

See what it would cost
One job

I'll build the thing you need.

A new website. A tool that does the job you're doing by hand. One thing that's broken, fixed properly. I build it, put it live, and hand you the keys — you own it outright. Usually done in a week or two.

Get a price
Bigger job

I'll build the system that runs your business.

Your customers, your jobs, your quotes and your paperwork in one place instead of five — with the repetitive parts done automatically. Built around how you actually work, tested on your real information, and yours to keep.

Get a price

Not sure which one you need? Get a free automation audit — answer a few questions and get back a written report on what's costing you time and what to fix first. No call required, nothing to pay.Run the free audit

Proof

Not mockups. Builds you can watch.

Every link here loads — no cold starts, no “coming soon.” Four applications I built and host, running right now, plus demos you can open and real sites in production.

A build in motion, and demos you can try
Working demo

AI guest chatbot — restaurant demo build. Answers hours, menu, and reservation questions around the clock — a full working example of what a restaurant would get. Press play.

What I handle

Everything on the technical side. One person.

The whole digital and operational surface of your business — built, connected, and kept running. Take one piece, or hand me all of it.

01

Websites

Designed and coded from scratch — no page builder, no theme. Fast, mobile-first, and built to turn visitors into customers. A new site, or a rebuild of the one that looks like it was made in 2015. The code is yours.

Scope
One-off build
02
upkeepOngoing

Site care & changes

The edits, updates, and fixes a live site always needs — plus hosting and uptime — handled without you filing a ticket and waiting a week. I keep it fast, current, and online so you can forget it exists.

Scope
Monthly
03

Business software & automation

Custom tools built around how you actually work — a customer database, a booking system, an invoicing or reporting dashboard, a full operations hub — plus the automation that moves data between them. I built one to run my own business (OPERARI); I can build yours.

Scope
Built to spec
04

Analytics & reporting

Tracking set up properly, then turned into something you'll actually read — a plain-English report on what's working, what isn't, and what to do next. Numbers that drive decisions instead of sitting in a dashboard nobody opens.

Scope
Setup + monthly
05

Business cybersecurity

The basics done right for a small operation — hardened sites and accounts, backups that actually restore, and monitoring that flags trouble early. Practical protection, not enterprise theater you'll never use.

Scope
Audit + monitoring
How it works

Three steps. No mystery.

01

You describe the problem

Plain language. What's eating the time, and what it should look like once it's fixed. No jargon needed on your end.

02

I build it and show you

I design, build, and deploy. You watch it run live before the final invoice — no scope creep, no surprise bill.

03

You own it

Full source code and documentation at handover. Keep me on for ongoing care if you want it — you're never locked in.

The usual dev shop
  • Long contracts with no exit — fees forever
  • They keep the code; you can't leave
  • Weeks of discovery before you see anything
Working with me
  • Own the build outright — or keep me on, your call
  • Source code delivered; yours to keep or move
  • Running live in days, not weeks
About

14 years running operations.
Now I build the systems.

I spent 14 years in operations — retail, multi-channel, front-of-house. I watched good teams lose hours a day to work a decent system handles in seconds. So I learned to build the systems.

Two ways to work with me, and you pick: I build something and hand you the code to own outright, or I stay on as the person who runs your whole technical side. No lock-in either way.

I work with small businesses that need their whole technical side handled but aren't ready to hire someone in-house for it.

What I build with
PythonJavaScript / NodeFlask / FastAPIHand-coded front-endsLocal AI (Ollama, Whisper, ComfyUI)PostgreSQL / SQLiteTested & security-auditedn8n automationRender / Vercel / Netlify

I run the AI locally — models, voice, and image generation on my own hardware. A build can skip the per-seat SaaS fees and keep your data in-house.

Start

Tell me what's
eating your time.

contact@iswain.dev

Describe the task — I'll tell you if it can be automated,
and what it'd take. Usually a same-day reply.

Available Mon–Sat · 9am–9pm ET

Start a project →