From Billable Hours to Scalable Products
Digital agencies typically grow by taking on more projects and increasing team capacity. This model works well for delivering client services, but it also creates a structural limit: revenue remains closely tied to billable time.
Many agencies therefore explore ways to complement project work with reusable solutions. Instead of building the same functionality repeatedly, recurring implementations can be turned into products that are used across multiple projects. This shift from pure service delivery toward scalable products is increasingly discussed within the TYPO3 ecosystem.
Insights from the recent Business Insights podcast illustrate how agencies approach this transition in practice. One of the primary voices in the discussion is Florian Keitgen, who has worked on TYPO3 agency projects for more than a decade and now focuses on product development at TYPO3 partner agency b13. As he puts it:
“We don’t really want to sell hours. We want to sell solutions.”
Florian Keitgen, Head of Product Development at b13
The Limits of Project-Based Work
Agency projects are designed to solve specific problems for individual clients. Over time, however, teams begin to recognize repeating patterns. Similar requirements appear across projects: editorial workflows, automation tasks, user management, and accessibility improvements.
These recurring needs often reveal opportunities for reusable solutions. What initially starts as a project-specific implementation may eventually evolve into something that can benefit multiple organizations.
Keitgen describes how this realization often emerges directly from day-to-day project work:
“Some products come out of a concrete development for one customer, and then you realize: this isn’t the only customer who has this problem.”
In some cases, the signal comes from small operational issues that repeatedly interrupt project workflows. Keitgen recalls one example where a simple administrative task turned into a recurring support request: “In that project alone I received 35 tickets in one year saying: ‘Can you create a user for me?’”
When similar requests appear across multiple clients, turning the underlying solution into a reusable product can reduce repetitive work while improving processes for editors and administrators.
When a Feature Becomes a Product
Turning a feature into a product introduces a different set of requirements. A project-specific implementation only needs to function in a single environment. A product must work across many organizations, infrastructures, and editorial workflows.
This inevitably requires compromise. Not every feature request can be included, and decisions must balance flexibility with maintainability.
“A product that works for many will always have cases where customers say: ‘I would like to have this as well,’” Keitgen notes.
For this reason, many product initiatives begin with a clearly defined first version. Additional functionality is added gradually based on feedback and adoption.
Product Development Inside an Agency
Product development does not necessarily require a completely separate team. In many agencies it evolves from existing project structures where developers, designers, and UX specialists contribute based on their expertise while continuing to work on client projects.
“We don’t have one person we call ‘the product developer’. We look at who in the company has the right experience for the idea,” Keitgen explains.
Remaining close to project work is often essential for identifying meaningful product opportunities. Direct client interaction provides insight into real-world workflows and recurring challenges.
“Having your ear close to the customer helps with product development.”
Pricing & Product Marketing
Pricing products can also be challenging for organizations accustomed to project-based billing. In project work, pricing is typically linked to hours or scope. Product pricing, however, depends on the perceived value of the solution rather than the time spent building it.
“That’s a struggle with every product,” Keitgen says, describing the internal discussions that often accompany product launches.
Developing a product is only the first step. Making it visible to potential users can be equally demanding. Smaller agencies often lack the resources to run large-scale marketing campaigns while continuing their core project business.
“For a single agency it’s very complicated to also do large-scale marketing for products on the side,” Keitgen explains.
As a result, product visibility often relies on existing networks, reputation, and collaboration within the TYPO3 community.
From Project Experience to Scalable Solutions
For agencies working with TYPO3, recurring demands in project work can reveal opportunities to build reusable solutions. When these solutions evolve into products, they allow agencies to apply their expertise at scale across multiple projects instead of repeatedly solving the same problem.
The transition from billable hours to scalable products does not replace project work. Instead, it adds another dimension to the agency model—one that can extend the reach and long-term impact of solutions developed within the TYPO3 ecosystem.
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This article draws on insights shared in the TYPO3 Business Insights podcast. The full episode is available here, along with a complete English transcript available here.
