Work with me

What you'd want to know before hiring me

Rates, hours, ownership — all of it, before the call.

I'm Manoj Pillai, an independent consultant in India. I build with Claude, move apps off Base44, and manage websites, cloud infrastructure and business data for clients overseas. This page answers the questions people usually save for a call — so when we do talk, we can talk about your project.

30 minutes, free, and a straight answer either way.

What I do

Four kinds of work, in plain words. If yours isn't one of them, I'll say so on the call.

Claude AI development

I build software on Claude, Anthropic's AI model — assistants, agents and automations that do real work inside your product or your operations.

Base44 to cloud migration

Base44's export gives you the frontend only; the database, logins and files stay behind. I rebuild those on AWS, Google Cloud or a dedicated server and move the whole app across.

How the migration works →
Websites and the full stack

I manage the whole stack — WordPress, Shopify, Wix and the AWS infrastructure underneath. One person responsible for all of it, instead of three vendors pointing at each other.

Business data and BI

I connect the tools you already use so their numbers land in one place. You stop copying figures between spreadsheets and start reading one live view of your business.

What does it cost to hire me?

My engagements run USD 5,000 to 25,000 a month. Where a project lands in that range depends on the complexity of the work and the length of the contract.

Hourly

For short, well-defined pieces of work.

Weekly

For focused sprints with a clear finish line.

Project-based

Fixed scope, written quote, fixed price.

Monthly retainer

For ongoing build, management and support.

Most consultants make you book a call to hear a number. I'd rather you see the floor now. If USD 5,000 a month is outside your budget, this paragraph just saved us both an hour. If it's inside, you already know money won't be the awkward part of the call.

One person, on purpose

I work alone, and for this kind of work that's an advantage. The person you talk to on the first call is the person who writes the code, answers the email and carries the context. No account manager, no handoff to a junior team you never met, no gap between what was promised and what gets built.

It also sets an honest boundary. I take on work I can do well by myself, and I say no to the rest.

Timezone and communication

I'm in India, UTC+5:30. That gives real overlap with every region I work in.

Australia

My morning is your afternoon. I currently work with two Australian clients, so this overlap is tested every day.

UK & Europe

My afternoon is your morning. Half a working day of overlap, every day.

United States

My evening is your morning. I take US-hours calls in my evening when they're needed.

You get a direct line to me on email, Slack or WhatsApp — whatever you already use. Questions are answered by the person doing the work, and we agree a check-in rhythm on the first call.

Ownership, paperwork and the exit

The part most consultants leave vague. Here it is in writing.

Code and IP
Yours, 100%. The work happens in your repositories and your cloud accounts from day one — nothing of yours ever lives only on my machine.
NDA
Signed before I see your code or data. Yours or mine, whichever you prefer.
Payment
By invoice, on whichever model we agreed — hourly, weekly, per project or per month.
If it goes wrong
You can stop at any billing boundary: the end of an hour, a week, a month or a project stage. Because everything lives in your accounts, you keep all the work done so far and owe nothing beyond it.

Book a call

30 minutes. You describe the project, I tell you honestly whether I'm the right person for it.

Duration 30 minutes
Format Zoom or Google Meet
Cost Free — no obligation
Outcome A straight answer on fit, and next steps if there are any
Book a call →

If I'm not the right fit, I'll say so on the call and point you somewhere better.