A Startup Founder's Guide to Software Development
How to approach software development as a tech startup founder based on the typical startup venture capital fundraising trajectory.
4. “I’m starting a business.
I need to build an app.
Who should I hire?”
- Tech startup founders
5. What to Build, When
Invision
Prototype
Continued
Feature
Developmen
t
Software
Prototype
Fully
Functional
MVP
$ $$ $$$$
6. Invision
Prototype
What to Build, When
● Idea Stage
● Built by YOU
● Describes app functionality
● Customer feedback
● Attract support
7. Software
Prototype
What to Build, When
● Self Funded
● Built by freelancer
● More tangible
● Possibly throw-away
● Front-end only 👍
● Customer Feedback
● Attract Seed Funding
8. Fully Functional
MVP
What to Build, When
● Seed Funded
● Single Platform (Web) 👍
● Development Process Matures
● Customer Feedback
● Attract Series A
10. Who to Hire, When
Yourself
In-house
Team
Freelancers
Developmen
t
Company
$ $$ $$$$
11. Freelancers
Who to Hire, When
● When: Self Funded
● Skilled in their medium
● Eventually join your team?
12. Development
Company
Who to Hire, When
● When: Seed Funded
● Why: Experience
○ Gets you a team quickly
○ Optimized development process
○ Technical decision making
● Exit plan?
13. In-house Team
Who to Hire, When
● When: Series A
○ Stability
○ Management staff
● Why: More Attractive to Investors
14. Successful
Software Teams
● Specialized Team Members
○ Project Manager
○ Designer
○ Front-end Developer
○ Backend Developer
○ QA
● Defined Processes
○ Repeatable Success
● Sprint Retros
○ Continuous Feedback &
Improvement
This content is geared towards founders of tech startups
The development process for an application is quite different than that of a website.
I’m care about this because I’ve been running a software development company for the past 3 years called Code Hangar. We build apps for early stage startups that need to get their product in front of customers quickly and need to raise their next round of funding.
I’ve been building websites and apps for businesses for about 10 years. So I’ve gotten pretty good at understanding the needs of business owners, and helping them develop their strategy for building and releasing their software.
I’ve worked with various types of businesses
Catering, construction, churches
Big brands like Darden, Longhorn,
Big CDNs
Startups
Of all those types of businesses I’ve had the opportunity to work with, Startups are my favorite.
Startups face a particular set of challenges.
Startups that are seeking venture capital are expected to follow a particular growth trajectory.
It’s really helpful to consider which of the fundraising stage you are at as a startup when determining who to hire, and what to build, when.
I primarily work with startups who are either self-funded or seed-funded.
Not only have I been able to build relationships with super impressive startup founders, I’m now starting to get to know better the expectations of the venture capital firms when they analyze technical risks associated with investing in a particular tech startup.
I’m pretty involved in Orlando’s tech community.
I’m on the board of Orlando Devs over 3000+ members
I’m a chapter leader of GDI Orlando 1000+ members
This is the question I am asked most often.
I’ve found that the advice I give varies depending on what stage the founder is at as far as fundraising goes.
I have seen front-end only prototypes used to secure seed funding.
Fully Functional MVP requires end to end functionality (front-end, backend) and whatever else the target VC firm says it needs.
When you’re thinking about who to hire, it depends on how much funding you have.
Why you should wait to build an in-house team
It takes time to get the right people
You can learn a lot of best practices and development processes from an experienced development company
Hiring mistakes can be fatal
Why in house team is best to come last (product fast, team slowly)
Hire on contract first, then W2 if all goes well, 3 months is a good contract period
Find 3 Great Candidates before hiring anyone
Reduce risk in a new relationships
The larger the scope the more uncertainty
Release early
Build > Test > Refine > Build > Test > Refine…
Build periods do well in 2 week sprints.
Testing can occur over a few days.
You should never stop developing your product.
Expect to pay monthly for sprint based app development work from an app development company.
I don’t recommend a project based arrangements.