9TH HOUR / SOFTWARE STUDIO

Software that gives people time back.

I build and improve software that removes repetitive work, broken workflows, and unnecessary complexity. Sometimes that means fixing the software you already have. Sometimes it means building the system that should have existed in the first place.

See what I'm building ↓
MANUAL WORK
Form
↓
Spreadsheet
↓
Email thread
↓
Follow-up
↓
Reconcile
BECOMES
One system
01 / WHY 9TH HOUR

Some work shouldn't require people.

People should make decisions, solve difficult problems, build relationships, and create things. They shouldn't spend their days moving information between spreadsheets, systems, and inboxes.

9th Hour builds software that removes that work.

Copying data between systems
— remove
Checking status manually
— remove
Chasing predictable updates
— remove
Maintaining fragile workarounds
— remove
Compensating for bad software
— remove
02 / THE PROBLEM

There are two ways software usually wastes your time.

Your software is slowing you down.

The product exists, but something isn't working. Delivery has slowed, a migration is stuck, technical debt is getting expensive, or nobody owns the difficult decisions.

I step in, own the problem, and fix it.

Migrations · architecture · product rescue · technical debt · performance · senior ownership

The process is slowing you down.

Your team has built a workflow around spreadsheets, email, copy/paste, and disconnected tools. It works — because people spend hours keeping it alive.

I figure out what shouldn't require a person, and build the system that removes it.

Internal software · workflow apps · integrations · dashboards · automation

03 / HOW OWNERSHIP WORKS

Built for you. Or built as a product.

Not every software problem should have the same business model.

CUSTOM SOFTWARE

Your problem. Your software.

If you commission bespoke software, you fund it and you own it.

9TH HOUR PRODUCTS

One problem. Many companies.

If 9th Hour invests in solving a repeated market problem, we own the product and customers subscribe to it. Symposia is one of those products.

“I won't build something you commissioned and then rent your own software back to you.”

Commercial ownership is agreed before development begins.
04 / PRODUCT BY 9TH HOUR

Symposia

Conference management without losing your weekends.

PROBLEM

Organizers were managing registrations, abstracts, reviewers, invoices, schedules, and attendee communication across spreadsheets, documents, and email.

INTERVENTION

So 9th Hour built one system around the workflow.

The Symposia dashboard: one system for registrations, abstracts, invoices and schedules.
BEFORE
Registration form
↓
Spreadsheet
↓
Payment check
↓
Invoice
↓
Spreadsheet update
↓
Attendee emails
→
AFTER
Registration
↓
Symposia
AND RESULTS IN
Less administration
Fewer mistakes
One source of truth
Less chasing
Explore Symposia →
05 / APPROACH

Don't automate the mess.

The first step isn't writing code. Start with the problem, not the technology.

1 — Understand

I work with the people actually doing the work.

2 — Simplify

A bad process automated is still a bad process.

3 — Build

The smallest system that solves the real problem.

4 — Leave it better

Something your team can actually maintain.

06 / EXISTING SOFTWARE

When the problem is already inside the codebase.

You don't always need new software. Sometimes you need someone senior enough to understand what is actually wrong and take responsibility for fixing it.

Rescue

A critical project is stuck and progress is slowing. Someone needs to take ownership.

Migration

A risky migration needs someone who understands both the existing system and where it needs to go.

Cleanup

Technical debt is no longer just an engineering concern. It is making the business slower.

Senior gap

Good developers, but nobody making the difficult technical decisions and owning them across the system.

Patrik Mihaljević, founder of 9th Hour
07 / FOUNDER

I'm Patrik.

I'm a software engineer and product builder — architecture, engineering teams, migrations, and difficult technical problems. 9th Hour is where I apply that experience to one question:

Why is a person still spending time doing this?

Sometimes the answer is broken software. Sometimes it's a bad workflow. Sometimes it's missing software.

About → Writing → LinkedIn → GitHub →
08 / START HERE

What's taking too much of your team's time?

Maybe it's inside your software. Maybe it's inside your operations. Tell me what's happening. I'll tell you whether I think software can make it better.