11 It Consultant Success Stories [2024]
Are you an IT graduate still looking for that dream job? Then becoming an IT consultant might be the right choice for you.
An IT consultant is an external analyst in charge of evaluating a company’s IT systems and helping them meets its business objectives. IT consultants analyze and diagnose a company’s IT infrastructure, understand the client’s needs, and design solutions to help companies’ IT problems.
In this list, you'll find real-world IT consultant success stories and very profitable examples of starting a IT consultant that makes money.
1. iContact ($50M/year)
Ryan Allis co-founded iContact by recognizing a pain point early on through his experiences with digital marketing. His journey began as a young entrepreneur who started various ventures, like a computer consulting business when he was 11 and a web marketing consultancy by 16. While handling web design jobs, he noticed how tedious and inefficient existing email marketing solutions were, especially as most were desktop-based and not user-friendly.
This revelation came to a head when he partnered with Aaron Houghton, whom he met through the Carolina Entrepreneurship Club at UNC. The duo discussed creating a web-based email marketing tool that would simplify email newsletter distribution for small businesses. They validated their idea by offering free services to local businesses, such as Jimmy John's Sandwich Shop, to demonstrate the tool's effectiveness. Learning from initial user feedback and adjusting their approach, they managed to generate recurring revenue and acquire paying customers.
One of their early challenges was managing their resources; they bootstrapped the company, working in frugal conditions without a salary for years. Additionally, an instance of a critical server crash taught them the importance of system reliability and customer trust. Surviving these hurdles with persistent efforts and smart pivoting, they refined their product, proving the business model was not only feasible but scalable. By focusing on getting things right with the product and maintaining a close relationship with initial customers, they learned the importance of real-world validation and adaptability in their startup journey.
How much money it makes: $50M/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 250
Discover how Ryan Allis turned a $4,000 server investment into a $169 million acquisition by Vocus, overcoming technical and financial challenges through strategic pivots in email marketing for small businesses.
2. CVPartner ($5.5M/year)
Erling Linde and Nicolai Nielsen came up with the idea for CV Partner by closely observing the challenges faced by IT consultants. While working at different software companies, Erling noticed how time-consuming and inefficient it was to manage resumes and case studies for bids and proposals. He conducted informal surveys with friends in the industry, asking them about their biggest pain points, and consistently heard about the difficulties of managing and updating employee information that was scattered across various formats.
Erling and Nicolai first met at a startup event and discovered their skill sets complemented one another—Erling had a strong technical background, while Nicolai focused on user experience. They initially built a basic solution and tested it with pilot customers, such as a small consultancy. Early feedback highlighted the functional potential but also pointed out the need for significant design improvements, which Nicolai took the lead on.
They faced several challenges during this ideation phase, from not having initial contracts prepared to pivoting from unprofitable consumer-focused ideas. Through these experiences, they learned the importance of validating the business need directly with potential customers and iterating based on real user feedback. This iterative process, coupled with their complementary skills, set the foundation for CV Partner's successful development.
How much money it makes: $5.5M/year
How many people on the team: 40
Discover how CVPartner, a SaaS company solving resume management inefficiencies, scaled to over $5.5 million in annual revenue through direct outreach, SEO, and word-of-mouth, paving the way for a $25 million valuation.
3. Twelvedevs ($1.2M/year)
Andrey and his co-founder Alexander were working as programmers in a software development outsourcing company when they decided to start their own company. Inspired by stories of small teams achieving success, they came up with the idea of creating a small team of 12 top developers. However, they soon realized that they needed to expand their teams to grow the company, leading to the formation of Twelvedevs, an IT consulting and custom software development company. Since its launch in 2012, Twelvedevs has completed over 70 projects in various industries, including Fintech and logistics, and has become one of the leading custom software development companies with over $100k in revenue per month.
How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $300
How many people on the team: 50
Twelvedevs, an IT consulting and custom software development company, shares its success story after 9 years of completing more than 70 projects across various industries, having over $100k revenue per month, fifty employees, and a soon-to-be-opened branch in the U.S. for Fintech and logistics.
4. Levisoft ($504K/year)
Ricardo Cardona launched Levisoft in 2016 out of necessity while studying in Mexico with only $200 monthly support from his family. What started as a hustle to cover basic expenses has now become a profitable business, generating $300,000 net profit annually by offering diversified software development services.
How much money it makes: $504K/year
How much did it cost to start: $350
How many people on the team: 8
Discover how Levisoft.io built a $300,000 net profit business by delivering scalable low-code and software development solutions with a lean, high-output model that includes a dedicated team of 7 specialists, enabling rapid deployment and exponential growth for startups.
5. Karma ($420K/year)
David and his co-founder Stas recognized the issue of team inefficiency firsthand while running their web development agency. They noticed that even with a great team, employees often worked in silos, leading to delayed projects and increased costs. This observation motivated them to build Karmabot as an internal tool to better align their team on Slack and boost collective performance through a rewards system.
Before fully committing to the idea, they experimented with existing tools but found them lacking, particularly in linking productivity directly to employee bonuses. This gap led them to develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) integrating instant recognition and leaderboard features to track team performance more effectively. They refined their product based on initial feedback and internal testing, ensuring it addressed both their employee engagement needs and provided valuable insights for performance management.
During the ideation phase, they encountered challenges such as making the system user-friendly and ensuring it provided actionable insights. By iterating through multiple versions and incorporating advanced technologies like Natural Language Understanding, they overcame these hurdles, developing a robust solution that not only suited their needs but also resonated with larger organizations facing similar issues. The key lesson they learned was iterating based on real-world use and feedback to create a product that truly solves a pressing problem.
How much money it makes: $420K/year
How many people on the team: 20
6. Data Fetcher ($276K/year)
In 2020, Andy learned about a Google Sheets add-on called API Connector, which imports your data into a simple Google sheet.
Around the same time, Andy noticed the rise in popularity of Airtable.
Since Google Sheets and Airtable were close in compatibility, Andy decided to build a similar type of data integration tool for Airtable.
Andy’s 3-step method for coming up with ideas is helpful context for understanding how he came up with the idea: - Find a platform that is already growing massively. - Look at already successful tools for more mature platforms. - Build an equivalent tool for the new platform.
How much money it makes: $276K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 0
Data Fetcher is a no-code tool that imports data into Airtable which has reached 190 paying customers in just over a year after launch and is making $6500 in MRR, with a goal of reaching $30k+ in MRR, for aspiring founders looking to bootstrap an app to life-changing revenue as a solo founder.
7. iDigitize ($168K/year)
iDigitize leverages low-code/no-code technologies to help companies overcome their fear of investment by providing cost-effective and efficient services. Mumtaz Kazi, the founder, saw the potential of Microsoft Power Platform during his time in the healthcare sector and decided to spread the word and create a business that offers process automation, training, and analytics services. Through word of mouth and utilizing LinkedIn, iDigitize has attracted and retained customers, and their future plans include becoming a Microsoft Gold Partner and launching a product on the Microsoft Marketplace.
How much money it makes: $168K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1.4K
How many people on the team: 5
iDigitize founder Mumtaz Kazi shares how she started an online business providing process automation, training, and analytics services, becoming a Microsoft Partner and academic partner of prestigious universities in less than a year, and plans for the future including launching a product on Microsoft Marketplace.
8. Rank Trends ($72K/year)
Md. Yousuf Ali, the founder of Rank Trends and Khan, came up with the idea for his business after discovering the potential of digital marketing through oDesk. With his background in web design and development, he launched Rank Trends to provide SEO, web design, and graphics design services. The business quickly gained traction and was recognized as the "Best SEO Service Provider in Bangladesh 2019." Today, Ali is expanding his retail business into the online space and plans to resume activities for Rank Trends soon.
How much money it makes: $72K/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 2
This case study features Md. Yousuf Ali, the founder of Rank Trends, who shares how he started a successful digital marketing agency, which generated a revenue of over $6k per month through SEO and video production services.
9. Siva Solutions Inc. ($60K/year)
Senthil Kumar, the founder of Siva Solutions Inc and American Dental Software, was inspired to start his business after his wife, who is an oral surgeon, told him about the exorbitant prices charged by website developers in the dental industry. As a software developer himself, Kumar saw an opportunity to offer affordable website development solutions specifically tailored to dentists. He incorporated features such as 3D dental education videos and interactive patient forms into the websites, ultimately helping dentists improve their online presence and streamline their processes.
How much money it makes: $60K/year
How many people on the team: 20
Senthil Kumar spearheads Siva Solutions Inc, a game-changing digital marketing and software development company which caters to dentists using an array of well-crafted products to manage patient data and inquiries, thus enabling efficient management of processes, while boosting them to the 1st page on Google.
10. AYH Consulting Ltd ($60K/year)
Founder Sami Abid came up with the idea for AYH Consulting Ltd while working in various jobs where he implemented technology systems to streamline operations. After gaining recognition for his work, he began offering his services on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, eventually earning enough to quit his day job and focus on running his automation business full-time.
How much money it makes: $60K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 1
AYH Consulting Ltd is a service-based business that helps automate businesses using low-code applications, bringing in an average of $6k/month, with a stable retainer income, offering a good customer experience, and considering diversifying its income stream in the future through digital products.
11. Access Database Support ($25.2K/year)
Dan Khadem, the founder of a database consulting service and a commercial actor and model, came up with the idea for his businesses through a natural progression from his day job and a chance opportunity. As people began asking him for help with database projects outside of his regular work, he realized he could turn his technical skills into a side business. In the acting and modeling industry, his first gig came about when a friend sent his fitness photos to someone in the industry, leading to an offer for a modeling job.
How much money it makes: $25.2K/year
How many people on the team: 1
Dan Khadem started a successful database consulting service for small and medium-sized organizations (earning about $2,000 per month) and transitioned into commercial acting and modeling, earning around $400 for 1-2 gigs per month, and is looking to sign with an agent to increase his earnings.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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