Rescue & Finish a Stalled Software Project
When a developer or agency left your app half-built or unstable, I take it over after a Codebase Assessment, stabilize it, and finish the agreed scope in fixed monthly phases. For Laravel, Vue/Nuxt, Go and Python apps. From $1,300 ($1,000 founding) per monthly phase. Every rescue starts with an assessment.
See a sample report, proposal and weekly update- Price
- from $1,300
- Founding
- from $1,000
- Timeline
- 1 month each
- Format
- Fixed scope, fixed price
- Hours
- US Eastern Time, async
Who this is for.
A good fit if
- Founders with an app 50–90% done and no developer
- Agencies whose subcontractor disappeared mid-project
- Teams whose app works but breaks with every release
- Founders who outgrew a no-code app (Bubble, Glide, Softr) that is now slow or brittle
Common triggers
- The previous developer stopped replying
- The launch date is slipping and nobody can say when it’ll be done
- Every fix causes a new bug
Not a fit if
- You haven’t done a Codebase Assessment (that’s the first step)
- The stack is outside Laravel, Vue/Nuxt, Go or Python (I can assess, but not finish)
- You need a full-time developer or daily meetings
What I do, and what you get.
What I do
- Start from the Codebase Assessment’s findings and your priorities
- Phase 1: stabilize (secure access and secrets, working deploy, backups, tests for key flows, fix blocking bugs)
- Agree a fixed list of work for each monthly phase before it starts
- Finish features from that list, with tests
- Deploy each phase to staging for your review, then to production
- Send a short written update twice a week and a phase report
What you get
- Phase plan with a fixed list per phase
- Access, secrets and deploy under your control
- Working code for each phase’s list, with tests, deployed
- Phase report: done, not done, what’s next
- Handover notes and runbook at the end
Your part
- A completed Codebase Assessment
- One decision maker who answers within 2 business days
- Transfer of accounts (hosting, domain, repo, third-party services) into your name
- Testing each phase on staging
Included
- Stabilization in phase 1
- Fixed list per monthly phase
- Tests for key flows touched
- Staging and production deploy
- Twice-weekly written updates
Not included
- Work outside the phase list (change order)
- Stacks other than Laravel, Vue/Nuxt, Go, Python
- Design and branding
- Mobile apps
- Disputes with the previous developer
Fixed prices, agreed before work starts.
Fixed list agreed before each phase
Stabilize, then finish: 2–3 monthly phases, $2,600–3,900 ($2,000–3,000 founding). Codebase Assessment first (from $520), credited toward the rescue.
Build your scope
- Timeline
- 1 month each
- Payment
- Monthly milestones, each paid at the start of the month
- Earliest start
- Oct 5
Founding price: 3 of 7 spots left, until Mar 31, 2027 — one-off work, in return for a testimonial. How it works
Prices are in USD, paid by bank transfer against an invoice. Work under $1,000 is paid upfront; larger work is 50% to start and 50% before handover, or monthly milestones. How working together works
Variations
- Near done
- One or two phases of finishing and launch prep.
- Unstable but live
- Stabilization and bug fixing first, features later.
- Agency takeover (white-label)
- Updates go to the agency, and its client never needs to know.
- Needs an upgrade too
- A Laravel Upgrade or End-of-Life Upgrade folded into a phase.
- Outgrown a no-code app
- A Bubble, Glide or Softr app rebuilt in phases on Laravel + Vue/Nuxt and Postgres, with data moved over and the old app kept running until the switch.
How it runs.
- 01
Codebase Assessment
Every rescue starts with a Codebase Assessment.
- 02
Phase plan
You get a phase plan and the first phase list, then an invoice for phase 1.
- 03
Stabilize
I stabilize the app and deliver phase 1 with a report.
- 04
Next phases
Each next phase list is agreed and prepaid, and the cycle repeats.
- 05
Final handover
You get a final handover, with an optional care plan.
Where I have done this before.
Anti-Piracy Video LMS
Took a platform from a first version to a full Laravel rebuild that was in use 2021–2023.
Read the case study →SaaS backend · Cloud marketplaceLicensing & Entitlement Platform
Led design, reviews and release of a production Go service with 654 tests.
Read the case study →SaaS · Cloud marketplace · Server automationWordPress Hosting Control Panel
Carried one Laravel + Vue product through three generations alone.
Read the case study →Questions buyers ask.
Why can’t you quote the whole thing now?
I haven’t seen the code. The assessment turns a guess into a plan.
What if you find more problems mid-phase?
They go on the list for the next phase, or into a change order if they block the current one. You decide.
Can we stop after any phase?
Yes. Each phase ends with working, deployed code and notes.
Will you talk to the previous developer?
I’m happy to ask them technical questions, if they’ll answer. I stay out of disputes.
How fast can you start?
I publish a next start date; rescues run one at a time.
Ask about Rescue & Finish.
Tell me what you have and where it hurts. I reply within one US business day with either a fixed quote or the entry step that makes a fixed quote possible.
Helpful to include
- Stack and versions
- What’s done and what’s left
- Who built it, and are they reachable?
- Do you own the repo, hosting and domain?
- Launch date and why
- Assessment done (Y/N)
More in Project Rescue & Takeover
Codebase Assessment
A fixed-price, written review of your existing app: code quality, security basics, tests, dependencies, hosting and what it would take to finish, fix or upgrade it. For founders and agencies taking over or rescuing a project. From $520 ($400 founding), about 1–2 weeks. The fee is credited toward follow-on work.
AI-Built App Rescue
A new service: a fixed-price audit of an app built with Lovable, Bolt, Cursor or similar tools, covering data access rules, exposed keys, auth, backups and deploy, with a clear fix plan. I make the fixes on Laravel, Vue/Nuxt, Go, Python and Postgres/Supabase SQL. Audit from $390 ($300 founding), about a week.
Ownership & Access Check
A new service: I find where your domain, DNS, hosting, email, code and app accounts live, whose name each one is in and who can log in, then give you a one-page map and a plan to move everything into your name. From $195 ($150 founding), about a week. For owners whose developer left or went quiet.