Does my startup need a full-time developer?

If you are a non-technical founder with an idea for a product, hiring a developer can feel like the obvious first step.

Sometimes it is the right move. But before committing to a permanent hire, get clear about what you need to learn, what needs building and who will make the technical decisions.

A prototype, a short development project and a product serving paying customers create different demands. They may need different kinds of support.

Start with the work and the responsibility involved, then decide how to resource it.

What do you need to prove next?

Before writing a job description, ask what progress you need to make.

Are you trying to find out whether customers experience the problem? Whether they understand your proposed solution? Whether the technology can work? Or whether people will pay and keep using it?

Each question suggests a different next step.

A customer interview might help you understand the problem. A clickable prototype can help you explore how someone would use the product. A technical experiment may be needed to test whether a difficult part of the idea is feasible.

Be careful about hiring someone to build a complete product when the immediate need is to answer a much smaller question.

Could you test the idea without building the whole product?

For some ideas, a simple prototype or manually delivered service can help you learn before committing to substantial development.

You might sketch the main screens, create a clickable demonstration or deliver part of the proposed service yourself. Existing software may let you test a workflow without creating a new system.

Be clear about what these tests demonstrate. Someone liking a prototype does not establish that the underlying technology works or that they will pay for the finished product.

Equally, a working demonstration does not necessarily have the reliability, security or support arrangements needed for real customers.

Use the simplest approach that can answer the question you are investigating. Bring in technical help when the test itself requires it.

When might a freelancer or agency make sense?

External development support can be useful when you have a reasonably clear piece of work with a defined outcome.

That might be a prototype, a feasibility assessment, a specific integration or an initial product with carefully limited scope.

Before approaching people, write down:

• Who will use what you are building

• What they need to accomplish

• What the first version must include

• What can wait

• How you will decide whether the work is complete

• What support you will need afterwards

Expect questions and changes as you learn. Agree how those changes will be discussed, priced and prioritised.

A freelancer or agency still needs direction and timely decisions from your business. Outsourcing development does not remove the need to understand the customer or decide what matters most.

When does a full-time developer become a stronger option?

A permanent hire becomes more compelling when there is sustained work and a clear need for someone to develop knowledge of the product over time.

Consider whether you need:

• Frequent improvements informed by customer feedback

• Ongoing maintenance and problem-solving

• Close collaboration between product, commercial and technical work

• Someone accountable for the long-term health of the software

• Technical knowledge that should remain within the business

Then ask whether you can support that person properly.

Who will set priorities? Who can assess their work? What experience will they need to operate effectively in your team?

Your first developer may be working with considerable independence. Be realistic about the breadth of responsibility and avoid expecting one person to cover every technical discipline equally well.

Do you need technical leadership as well as development?

“Build this feature” and “decide how we should build and support this product” are different responsibilities.

If you cannot judge technical proposals yourself, consider getting an experienced technical adviser or fractional technical leader involved. They may help you define the work, assess candidates and review important decisions without immediately committing to a full-time leadership role.

A technical co-founder is another possibility, but that is a much broader relationship than hiring someone to write code. It involves shared ownership, responsibility and decisions about the direction of the business.

Get clear about the gap you are trying to fill. More development capacity will not necessarily solve a lack of technical direction.

How should you assess someone if you are not technical?

Start with evidence of relevant work and conversations with people they have worked with.

Ask references consistent questions so you can compare the answers:

• What did the person take responsibility for?

• How did they handle unclear requirements or changing priorities?

• Did they explain problems and trade-offs clearly?

• How reliable were their estimates and communication?

• What happened when something went wrong?

• Would you work with them again?

Use an experienced technical reviewer to assess areas you cannot evaluate confidently.

A small paid piece of work can also help both sides understand how you work together before making a larger commitment.

Communication matters for freelancers as well as employees. You need someone who can raise concerns, explain decisions and work constructively with the people around them.

Plan ownership and handover from the beginning

Before work starts, make sure you understand where the code, accounts and documentation will live and who can access them.

Arrange for your business to control the essential accounts and retain access to the work. Clarify ownership and licensing in the agreement, with appropriate legal advice where needed.

Ask for documentation that will help another developer understand, run and maintain the product.

Useful handover material includes setup instructions, key technical decisions, testing information and known limitations.

Agree what happens after delivery too. Who fixes faults? What support is included? What happens if the person becomes unavailable?

These questions are easier to resolve while everyone is planning the work than during an urgent handover.

Compare the full commitment

An hourly rate and an annual salary do not give you a complete comparison.

Consider the time required to recruit or select someone, direct the work, review it and maintain what is built. Include the cost of support, handover and any specialist help the person will need.

Think about continuity as well. A freelancer may suit a defined project, while repeated handovers could become difficult when the product changes constantly.

Compare your options against the work you expect over the coming months and the uncertainty in those plans.

A practical way to make the decision

Write down three things:

• What must we learn or deliver next?

• What technical responsibility does that involve?

• What capability do we already have, and what is missing?

Use those answers to choose between a prototype, a defined external project, ongoing technical support or a permanent hire.

You can review the decision as the business develops. The arrangement that helps you test an idea may be different from the one needed to support a growing customer base.

If you are still uncertain whether the problem justifies building a product, read Does my solution fix a problem that needs fixing?.

Think through the decision before making the commitment

Hiring your first developer can raise wider questions about priorities, confidence and how you make decisions outside your own expertise.

I coach and mentor founders as they work through these choices, drawing on my experience of building and exiting two technology businesses.

If you would value space to examine what the business needs next and where to invest your resources, explore how we can work together.

Cheers,

Duncan