Startups Stack Exchange Archive

How can I trust my developers?

I have developed a web application. I want to market it. Before marketing i will do some modification by hiring developers. But what if they steal my source code and modify such that it seems a different app so that i have nothing to do?

Answer 12352

There shouldnt be such case when you have NDA and Contract.

You make Non Discolsure Agreement and Contract to protect your code and also the developer you give the code to, is liable for violating the security.

And it is also upto you whom to trust and whom not to.

If I were onto your place, I will make sure that i have tested the developer enough. And also tracked his work-history. This will give me idea of how the person and how dedicated he or she will be at the project.

Lastly, at the start hardly people trust someone. So we usualy give them a task that we can later add to the project.

PS: task that is isolated. which means you donot need to give your project inorder to for the person to complete that task.

Answer 12354

The reality is… you can’t trust them. You could make them to sign NDA and anything you want, but they can still abuse your code. It will be very expensive for you to prove to the court.

Lots of applications are more or less useless without data. If you are one of those, give them some dummy data. Don’t share your database.

You could hire people with well tracked history. They will be more expensive, but they are also less likely to abuse your code. Good developers have their own idea and they are very busy with their works.

You should also consider to split your application into independent modules. Hire a developer for each module so none of them has your entire source code.

Answer 12351

The hard answer is: Never hire a developer you cannot trust.

The only possible advantage to doing that is (maybe) saving some money up front.

But you will pay eventually.


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