“I need an app.”
Maybe.
What is the app for? If your customers already message you on WhatsApp or find you on Facebook, an app only adds cost. Somebody has to look after it every month.
If you really need one, I will say so, and I can build it.
Don't spend money on technology you don't need.
Tell me what is going wrong in your business. I will help you figure out what to do about it.
Sometimes the answer is to build something. Many times it is not. You don't have to know which one. That is my job.
What people ask me
You may need it. You may not.
Most people come to me with the answer already decided. Someone told them. So I ask a few questions first.
“I need a website.”
Maybe.
What do you want it to do? If people only want your address, your phone number, your prices and a few photos, that is a small job. It should cost like a small job.
A bigger website does not bring more customers by itself.
“I need a system for my customers.”
Maybe.
How many customers do you have? If you have a few hundred and your staff know them by name, a new system can mean more typing, not less.
If you have thousands of customers and orders go missing, that is different.
“I need AI.”
First tell me what takes too much time.
Sometimes AI is the right tool. Many times the time is lost on something simple. The same thing typed twice. A file nobody can find.
We fix that first. It is cheaper and it works right away.
I am not saying no to these things. I am saying we should check first.
About your money
Your money is your business's money.
I will not ask you to spend it on something you do not need.
- If a simple website does the job, I will not build a big one.
- If cheap hosting is enough, I will not sell you a costly server.
- If WhatsApp already works for your customers, I will not replace it with an app.
- If a spreadsheet solves it, I will not write software.
- If you already pay for something that can do the job, I will show you how to use it.
- If the work really has to be built, I will tell you why, and I will build it properly.
Before you agree to anything, you will know two numbers. What it costs to build. What it costs every year to keep it running. People usually forget the second one.
How it works
Five steps.
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You tell me the problem
In your own words. No technical words needed.
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I learn how your business works
What you sell. Who buys it. Where the time and money go.
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First we look at the simple options
Sometimes you already have what you need. Sometimes the answer is to do nothing.
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I tell you what I think you should do
What I would do, why, and what it will cost.
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If it has to be built, I build it
It belongs to you. The accounts stay in your name. You can give the work to someone else any time.
If you do need something built
What I can do.
These are only tools. We choose one after we know the problem, not before.
- Websites So people can find you, see what you sell, and call you.
- Selling online Take orders and payments without typing everything again.
- Tools for your staff For the daily records and lists that are kept by hand now.
- Repeated work The same small job, done again and again, every day.
- Apps When people really need it on their phone.
- Servers and hosting The size you actually use. Nothing bigger.
- AI On one job, where it saves real time.
If none of this is right for you, I will tell you that too.
Before you write to me
Things I will not do.
I am not trying to be difficult. These things cost money and usually fix nothing.
- Build an app because another shop has one.
- Add AI because AI is popular this year.
- Sell you a big server when a small one does the same work.
- Build things nobody asked for.
- Make something complicated so it looks impressive.
- Put you on monthly payments you do not need.
- Tell you what to build before I understand your business.
Work
Some things I have actually worked on.
One is a product I built myself. Two are businesses I work with. Most of that work does not show on the website at all.
Built from scratch
Mitra Yatra
- What it is
- Carpooling between cities in Nepal. Somebody driving from Kathmandu to Pokhara, Chitwan or another city shares the empty seats with people going the same way.
- Where it came from
- People were already doing this by hand in WhatsApp groups. One person posts that they are driving somewhere. Another person asks for a seat. The demand was already there. It was just happening in a messy way.
- What I did
- I watched how people were doing it, studied it properly, and turned it into a product. The idea, the research, the design, the building and the running of it are mine. It is ready to use now. It starts with cars between cities and can grow from there.
Behind the scenes
Dina Upadhyay
- What it is
- A political leader in Nepal. The website is the part you can see.
- What I did
- Digital strategy, campaign support, branding and the technical work. Most of it was deciding how things should be presented and where technology actually helped. This kind of work is sensitive, so I keep the details private.
Ongoing business work
Global Opportunities Nepal
- What it is
- An education consultancy. They help students get admission and student visas for studying abroad.
- What I do
- More than the website. I work on their marketing and how the business looks online. I also look at how they present themselves, where money goes out without bringing enough back, and how the daily work can be done better. To a student, most consultancies look the same. Part of my work is finding what makes this one different.
Want to see what I build? My GitHub has the projects, experiments and code behind some of the things I work on.
View GitHub →About me
It is only me.
I am Diggaj Upadhyay. I work on the everyday digital side of a business. How customers find you. How orders and questions come in. And which daily work a computer should do instead of a person.
I spend more time on the business than on the technology. What you sell. Who buys it. What the way you work now costs you. Building is the easy part. Choosing the right thing to build is the real work.
There is no team here. You talk to me, and I do the work. If a job needs another person, I will tell you.
Your turn
Tell me what is wrong.
You do not need to know what to build. You do not need to know any technology. Just tell me what is not working.
Do you want to talk instead? Message me on WhatsApp or call +977 9855087522.
The first conversation costs nothing. If I think you do not need anything, I will say that.