Finally, you decided to start something on your own, to develop your startup idea. But, how do you find an app developer that satisfies your needs?
Finding the right programmer or team to develop your app is one of the biggest challenges almost every entrepreneur faces in the early stages of their startup.
Maybe you are a tech guy, or maybe not!
In both cases, you need a team of dedicated app developers to build your startup idea successfully.
Before you start finding developers, you need to analyse whether your startup idea has the potential to:
- Solve an actual problem that exists in the market
- Provide a solution to at least some people that require it
- Grow
If your idea satisfies the above three conditions, you can start looking for an app developer to develop it.
There are so many options out there, but that doesn’t mean they are all quality ones who will understand your business or needs. It means it is not hard to find a team or someone who can write code; what’s challenging is connecting with a coder who understands your vision and actively contribute to its improvement.
But, before finding a team to build your startup idea, it is crucial to ask yourself: “ Do I want to hire an in-house team or outsource it?”. And the answer depends on your business needs.
In-house team, Freelancer, or Outsourcing?
Imagine that you are an established company that wants to automate your process, an in-house team might work well for you. But if you are a startup deciding to hire an in-house team to build your mobile or web applications, it is expensive. You have to employ full-time local developers with a regular or fixed salary and other employment benefits.
You need to spend money and time on training and have to set up an office or infrastructure.
Also, not every developer is passionate about upgrading their skills with the trends. It can result in a shortage of talent with a specific skillset. Therefore, you need to bring in the required talent, and for that, you have to pay a significant amount of money. Additionally, you will need to have set systems and processes to ensure productive, quality work.
If you think of hiring freelancers, they will have a set of specific much-in-demand skills, like, they may specialise in frond-end development, back-end development, etc. Usually, freelancers are not committed to a particular employer on a long-term basis and often have multiple clients at a time. For some freelancers, quality is not a priority, so you must be careful when choosing a contractor for your startup.
When it comes to outsourcing, you hire an organisation that already has a team of expert developers that can help you fulfil your software requirements. Long-term relationships with their clients and professional reputation are the primary focuses for them. They concentrate on quality work rather than quantity; that’s why they put all their time and effort into building trust.
They strive to deliver high-quality products to exceed their client’s expectations, get positive feedback, and have them back to develop their next products.
You can hire them either on an hourly basis, fixed cost or based on the requirements of your project.
Combining the costs of infrastructure, hiring, and hourly rates of developers, you will be able to reduce your development cost up to 60% by outsourcing. You can save time and a huge amount of money that can be used on other important matters like sales, marketing, etc. to grow your business.
Compared to outsourcing, hiring an in-house team is expensive and time-consuming. And as a startup, you may not be able to handle it.
So, when you ask which is the better option for a startup, the answer is Outsourcing!
Outsourcing product development can help you get benefits such as:
Cost savings on hiring a dedicated team: If you are looking for a dedicated team to develop a particular product, you can hire remote teams. You will get a complete product team, including the front-end developer, back-end developer, quality analyst to maintenance and support, full-stack team, etc., that could help you to save costs. You don’t need to hire developers from any field separately, you will get a team that would comprise all the professionals you require.
Cost of managing the product development: When you hire a tech partner, you need to send the requirements, and they will have a team set up for you. They even assign a project manager to streamline the work process. So, you even save the cost of managing the product development.
Also here are the other benefits you get when you outsource your mobile app development.
How to find app developers to develop your startup product?
So, now you know why outsourcing is better for a startup. The next step is to find a team, not just a team, a dedicated well-versed team. As you opted for outsourcing, it improves your chance of access to a larger talent pool. But the challenging part is to find the right team which satisfies your business needs.
No matter which path you choose to go, finding the right person or an outsourcing partner with a dedicated team is important. That’s why I have created a list of tips that will help you find an app developer.
Do your research
Before you hire an app developer, it’s crucial to understand the basics of their job. Look for a team that provides product management and business analysis services to analyse your idea, conduct marketing and competitor research, and shape everything up. Know, what are the programming languages they use? What are the average rates? Understanding the profession gives you the context you need to have productive meetings and interviews.
Be clear about your business requirements
When you meet with your app developers, ensure that you are clear about your concept and target audience. If you are more precise about your business’s needs and goals, it makes it easy for them to create your product as fast as possible.
Focus on communication
If you don’t have clear communication, your app won’t get created well. That’s why rapport is crucial to focus on in the first meetings. Along with qualifications and experience, see how you and potential developers get along and understand each other.
Also, here are some crucial questions you should ask when trying to find an app developer:
What do clients say about them?
You can check this out by looking at B2B directories. If you didn’t pay attention to these reviews earlier and only checked out the ratings of your candidates, then it’s time for you to carefully read extended reviews. The testimonials from a company’s client can let you know more than several programmers.
Thus you can understand the reliability, responsiveness, and how results-oriented the team is.
Do they have relevant experience?
There are two ways to learn how a company deals with product development without contacting them.
One: By checking their portfolios.
Two: By reading their case studies.
Developers may also show their portfolios upon request. They help define whether a company has experience creating apps for your business niche, the way they approach challenges, and the design principles they follow.
But if you haven’t found similar projects in a company’s portfolio, it’s best to ask them about relevant experience. Sometimes, most companies are unable to post all their projects in their portfolio due to non-disclosure agreements.
What are the technologies they use?
When you hire an outsourcing company, this is a crucial factor. Look at what technologies the company uses and see whether they match your requirements. Get to know the programming tools they use and the way they tackle development challenges.
Usually, software development companies will have a page showing technologies and frameworks they use. If you didn’t find it, ask about the tools they use for product development.
What are the market segments they focus on?
Most companies will define the domain they work with and deepen their expertise in them. Many companies will have a Services page where they provide information regarding their areas of expertise.
Will they steal my idea?
IP (Intellectual Property) protection is paramount in the IT industry, especially when you hire an IT vendor abroad. It is always better to hire an outsourcing company in terms of security than hiring a freelance app developer.
How can they guarantee the work quality?
Developers in top web development and mobile app development companies follow particular standards that ensure their work quality. These standards should merge a set of tools, techniques, and methods used to achieve a consistent and stable architecture, reusable code, and an amazing user experience.
Additionally, you might consider asking questions, such as,
-How will the development process run?
-How will you communicate during the development process?
-How do they handle project management?
-Would they be willing to sign an NDA and contract?
-What are their fees?
This is how finding an app developer or a team process looks like. Now you might be wondering, where will I find the right one?
It’s a pretty simple process; read on to find out the few places that help you get an app developer.
Where can I search for an app developer?
Tech Blogs
This is where you are now! We are a great resource if you are looking for app developers with extensive experience in their job.
B2B directories
You can find companies by looking at B2B directories with their information, reviews, and ratings. Clutch.co, B2B Marketing, etc., are all good options. These software review sites will help you pick optimal software vendors.
Creative communities
You can search communities online where designers and developers uploads portfolios and samples of their work. You can check out Dribble or Behance for that. Both are great resource for finding a great team.
Your network
Use your network. Ask around to check anyone you know can think of an app developer they are familiar with. The key to utilising your network is to inform people of what you are trying to do and whom you are looking to connect with.
Local colleges and universities
There are chances that your local college will have a few standout developers. You can find those talents through the professors. Reach out to them to know the students with development skills.
Conclusion:
To conclude, before you start finding app developers for your product development, you need to decide whether to outsource it or hire a freelancer or hire a team in-house. And that decision depends on your business needs. The above-mentioned ways will help you decide and help you find a reliable app development team for your product development.
If you have a brilliant idea and are struggling to develop it, Neoito can help you streamline your development process. We are a leading mobile and web development company working together with startups and scaleups to validate, build and launch cutting-edge products that disrupt industries. We helped multiple entrepreneurs transform their businesses by assisting them to grow quickly from zero to multi-million dollar evaluation.
Originally published at https://www.neoito.com on May 31, 2021.
