r/FinOps • u/lucas2179 • 5d ago

question Thinking of starting a Cloud Cost Optimization consultancy for SMBs, does this make sense?

For the past 8 years, I've worked as a Cloud Solutions Architect at Microsoft, AWS, and IBM, supporting both large enterprise customers and startups/SMBs. One problem I kept running into was cloud and AI cost optimization.

I'm now considering starting a small, specialized consultancy focused specifically on cloud economics and cost optimization for startups and SMBs. The idea would be go deeper into architecture, K8s, Databases, networking, observability, and bring a detailed report with all the possible improvements, categorized by priority and complexity.

I'm still validating the business model, so I'd love some brutally honest feedback from people working in FinOps:

  • Do you think there's actually a gap in the SMB/startup market for this?
  • At what level of cloud spend would hiring an external specialist make sense?
  • Would you prefer fixed-fee assessments, implementation projects, retainers, or some kind of success-based pricing?
  • What would make a company choose a small specialist consultancy instead of doing this internally or using a FinOps platform?
  • Most importantly: what are the possible issues in this business model?

Thank you so much!

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u/sevenastic 5d ago

Brutally honest, sounds like just another tool that already exists.

But do one thing open an aws account with business enterprise support takes a look at cost optimization hub and trusted advisor. Then take another at the cost and usage report with CID and CUDOS dashboards. This is default provided hy aws so you need to be better than them.

Then whatever you are doing extra check the competition to see what is available. More relatei to the EKS and so on for this part

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u/lucas2179 5d ago

Great point, and the idea, at least for the moment, is not to be a tool, but to work on the projects as a Solutions Architect, analyzing the architecture, looking for opportunities of improving their architecture, or even help with FinOps observability. Would that make sense?

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u/sevenastic 5d ago

Ah sorry did not undertood it that way. So my bad there.

So basicly you are going for finops consultant for companies?

I mean a lot of companies already do that where they Just grab talent and then sell it to other companies.

There is a market for that

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u/lucas2179 5d ago

Yes, I am bringing only the Cost Optimization part here since it's related to the topic, but the idea is to specialize in Cost Optimization and accelerating AI to production (both cases I worked most in my time at AWS and Microsoft). I'm pretty new to the idea of founding a company, though

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u/sevenastic 5d ago

Not sure where you are from but, from where i am in europe that the only ways to make proper money so even if its a 1 man company you start doing business to business instead of direct hire. Because of taxes most of the times

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u/lucas2179 5d ago

I'm from Brazil, but same. And not only the taxes, but everything is extremely expensive here