This happens more than you think.  There are plenty of ex-tech engineers who started their own contract dev companies with just a couple of local (SFBA) folks who run things and assign work to inexpensive programmers, designers, etc elsewhere in the country&#x2F;world.<p>Typical current contract dev rate in the SFBA is in the $250&#x2F;hr range (negotiable down to $150-175&#x2F;hr for larger contracts).