hiring, android-developmentMe and my partners are in the process of deciding how to go about with our app development. All 4 of us come from non technical backgrounds such as marketing,finance,industrial designing and law.The requirements for our app technically quite complex(as it was told to us by the developer and a few individuals who are acting as mentors) .
The choices before us is to hire a third party app development firm to handle the initial development of the app .In the mean time we would be working on business development and marketing .This is to ensure that when the product is rolled it is complete not only in technical terms but it has sufficient service providers signed up which would ensure a better experience for users who sign up.This we intend to do during the 5 month development period the app development firm needs.Which means we would have to travel extensively .
So my questions are ,would it make sense for us to work with a third party company to develop the app to ensure a more well finished product instead of something that might look like an amateur job.And use our time towards developing the services which is the criteria to ensure a better user experience when rolling out.
Or should we hire developers to do the same and save the money if it works out well and use that money towards other expenses (as per what we have budgeted after the development costs we would have funds to pay for infrastructure structure costs and salaries to maintain the app for one quarter ).
The disadvantage with the first option is that the price quoted is quite expensive vs hiring developers .The disadvantage with the second option is the developers we hire might not meet out timelines and delay the app and we are also not able to find the sort of quality talent we need right now as they tend to go for the most established names. The plan is during the development period we are also looking at recruiting a few heads to manage the app once it is ready . But once the beta is ready our view is that a complete product would also help us reach more talented developers vs the choices we would have now as we are just a project on paper come print for this talent with established names.
So would hiring third party developers to develop the app have any negative consequences such as they implementing certain features which we feel differentiates our business to other products they are developing ? Also contrary to our belief they might take us for a ride due to our obvious weakness in the technical aspects .
If any one could advise me either based on experience or knowledge the drawbacks of both our choices and any further suggestions would be useful.We are based out of India if that makes a difference.
We would have an iOS app ,an Android app and a web app.
Your only sane choice, in my opinion, is to find a good technical cofounder. Or at the very least a good technical advisor. Two points to be wary about:
Good engineers are usually put off by business types who think low enough of engineers to write things like “third party company to develop the app to ensure a more well finished product instead of something that might look like an amateur job”.
Good engineers don’t come cheap, and they’ve a sense of when business types are running around them naked – which, I’m afraid to highlight, you seem to be. In the end your idea won’t be worth anything without proper execution, so brace yourself for a tough negotiation.
In my view, each of your options (including getting a cofounder CTO) pose the same risk, which is to say going for cheap owing to budget considerations or reluctance to give enough equity away.
You might get lucky; you might not.
If you’re not, you’ll join the ranks of countless non-technical founders who set out to make their dream come true, and hired either a team of cheap code grunts as a contractor or a competent but ultimately not that great beginner as their lead developer.
Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t.
When not, the cofounders end up with so much technical debt that their app crumbles before them at the worse possible moment.
The net result is a need for a project rescue. Such things are ideally done by A-level engineers, and the founders end up with colloquial $50k quotes itemized as: “One chalk mark $1; Knowing where to put it $49,999.”
Bottom line: if nobody in your team understands what engineers are doing, you’ll have no idea if they’re doing a good job. So pull someone technical in as fast as you can, involve that person in making the call, and always remember: competent, available, cheap – pick two.
A third party development team doesn’t have to be more expensive than an in-house. It depends on the way the team delivers the product vision for your startup.
For example, at EL Passion we are using Agile development methodologies, that fit most startups working on their MVP (minimal viable product). An outsourced Agile development team is self-organizing and cross-functional, working day-to-day in weekly sprints on the input you put as a product owner.
You can use the experience of outsourced developers and designers to your advantage. You will be able to quickly test your MVP and continue pursuing the idea, pivot if necessary or exit early.
I think that it makes sense, especially for a non-technical person, to work with someone who lives, breathes and loves app development. It can save you tons of headaches in the development and design process.
I would say that given that you currently have no technical consult in your group, I would strongly discourage hiring a Developer. Without a technical member of staff you would have very little idea of someone you were planning to hire’s technical knowledge.
I’d recommend hiring a company with a PROVEN TRACK RECORD in app development, using your mentors (with technical experience) to help you properly define your requirements and screen the returned proposals from development companies.
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