Hiring own developers or outsource?
Serhii Uspenskyi
46 replies
Curious to know guys if you hired development team or outsourced somewhere?
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Brian Wadley@brian_wadley1
I think budget matters outsource to start out for sure but when you grow to a bigger size company you’ll definitely want some full time devs on payroll just to make sure everything runs smoothly.
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If I haven’t been a developer myself on MVP / validation stage I would outsource. On growth stage I would hire (first CTO, maybe as co-founder, then rest of the team).
The hardest part with outsource is to find the company that have similar mindset as yours. To build MVP it’s crucial to understand that we are not building “ideal” / well defined product and I think we should look only for companies that support startups on that stage. It’s way different approach than building “traditional” products.
@pobidowski thank you for your opinion, Piotr! did you try outsourcing by yourself, if it's not a secret? If so, do you mind if I contact to you on LinkedIn? :)
@anna_shults I built MVP myself, but I was outsourced couple times in my life as a developer and I saw lots of startups burning money trying to build MVP like final product.
Sure, feel free to contact me on LinkedIn.
I am developing my MVP by myself.
@scottlabsai good stuff what you working on if you don’t mind me asking?
@brian_wadley1 I'm building a mobile app that's an automated gratuity calculator powered by computer vision. The app opens up the camera of a smart phone and then the user just points the camera at the total of a bill and clicks "automated" and then the app automatically calculates the tip and total. It also will be able to split a bill both equally and proportionally and then the user can send Venmo payment requests directly to their friends from the app after the calculation step.
Developing myself
outsourcing vs in-house isn't just a budget question. it's a culture, speed, control dialogue.
in-house means culture fit, quicker decision loops. you're breathing the same air, metaphorically.
outsourcing can offer scale, expertise. but consider, you're handing someone else the wheel.
key: understand your project's soul. is it code-heavy or strategy-heavy? answer changes the game.
if it's strategy, maybe keep that core in-house. outsource the auxiliary stuff.
if it's mostly about code, a specialized outsourced team could be a sharp move.
budget isn't just money. it's time, energy, focus. allocate wisely.
there's no one-size-fits-all. it's a chess game. think three moves ahead.
whatever path, communication is your compass. keep it clear, keep it regular.
final note: both paths can lead to the promised land. just pick wisely for the journey.
@shajedulkarim_ I agree! I feel eventually though the end goal will always be In house that just makes it so much easier to have someone working full time on your software making sure everything is running optimally.
@shajedulkarim_ thank you for your note! but how do people find a firm they can trust? what are the main criteria?
@anna_shults first tell me which approach you follow at the moment?
@shajedulkarim_ For example, I want to build AI platform and we need front end developer in our team. How do founders handle it, do they hire or go to outsourcing firms? How they choose?
@anna_shults what is your current approach at the moment?
Thanks a lot!
Own developers
It depends on the budget I guess - Risk management plays a big role in this!
I'm not there yet - but I would prefer to outsource most of it.
Outsourcing to agencies allows you to focus on the work and milestones, spending less time doing administration, finding and training the right people, etc.
Depends on the level of complexity of the thing you are building.
EASY:
e.g. simple mobile game, todo list app, some sort of extension
answer: DIY it using no-code / low code solutions. There are tons out there and some give you original source code too.
MEDIUM:
e.g. simple marketplace app, bookings app
answer: I would try find a CTO to build it out for you. If not I would outsource to just get an MVP out there ASAP and get your idea validated.
HARD:
e.g. enterprise level software
answer: hire own developers BUT ONLY WHEN IDEA IS VALIDATED.
I think the ideal situation is to work on an idea on which the founding team is tech-savvy enough to at least build an MVP to take to users and get accurate feedback.
I would only hire developers when I for sure know that lots of people want what I build.
@anna_shults Np Anna! I'm also a full-stack developer (self-taught) so I built the original MVP myself but have since handed dev work to my CTO
Hiring!
Be or not to be! That's a hard question. Anyway, we posted a blog about that so maybe you find it helpful :) Let me know if you have any questions. https://sudolabs.com/blog/5-reas...