Industry
Why Your Last Agency Went Quiet
The mechanics behind the disappearing agency — how the sale, the handover and the incentives create it, and the four questions that let you spot it before signing.
This is the most common thing clients tell us before they start. It is rarely malice. It is what the structure produces, and once you see the structure you can avoid it.
How it happens
- The person who sold it does not build it. Their target is signed contracts. Once yours is signed, their attention moves — correctly, by their incentives.
- Your project is handed to whoever is free. Not whoever understood your business in the pitch.
- It is quietly subcontracted. Your work goes to a partner shop you never meet, one more layer from the person who understood the brief.
- Your account is small relative to their biggest client, so when both need attention, you lose. Every time.
Four questions before you sign
- Who writes the code — name, and can I talk to them today?
- Is any part of this subcontracted?
- Where does the repo live during the project? (The answer should be: your account.)
- How many other projects will this engineer be on in the same sprint?
How to notice it early
| Signal | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Demos become slides | Nothing is actually running |
| “The developer is on leave” twice in a month | You are sharing them with a bigger account |
| No repo access after week one | Leverage is being kept |
| Updates only when you ask | Your project is not on anyone's morning list |
Our answer to all four questions is the same: the founder is on every call, the code is written inhouse, and the repo is yours from day one. That is not generosity — it is the only arrangement in which the questions have easy answers.
Questions
How do we get our code back from a vendor who has gone quiet?
Start with the contract's IP clause and ask in writing for a repo transfer and infrastructure credentials. If the code was never in your account, treat recovery as a project — we have done several.
Can you take over a half-finished project?
Yes. We read what exists, tell you what is salvageable and what is not, and quote the remainder fixed-price. The read is free.
