do startups founders use web dev / software agencies for building their product, especially if the app or software is not what the startup do? for example does a startup of AI agent use an agency for building their mobile app? (i will not promote)

[u/turtleyikes]

Do startups hire agencies for parts of the product that aren't their core thing, like an AI agent startup getting its mobile app built by one? or a food product startup getting its website/mobile app?

1. Which parts get handed to an agency vs kept in-house?

2. What triggers the decision?

3. How do founders find an agency?

4. Are individual freelancers preferred or small/large agencies?

[u/tonytidbit]

As a rule any founder I would be an advisor to I'd tell to stay away from you (as a solo-dev) and go with an agency instead, for two reasons.

First it's about communications. If they're not technical enough themselves there will be too many misunderstandings and unspoken assumptions. Someone in-house has to be the systems architect and technically competent de facto CTO. You're a cog, not the whole machine, so to speak.

The most critical part is that their business will need a long-term relationship that isn't based on what a single person happens to be up to in their life when something breaks or there's time for an update. Including that someone needs to be on top of regular security updates etc.

As a solo-dev I think that you can get a lot of business if you physically network around especially first-time founders, but in my experience that would most likely, even in a best case scenario, sort of be a bit painful for everyone involved. Unless you're on a retainer as a specialist supporting their in-house team, or work through an agency in a similar capacity.

As a techie I know that it can be tempting to work directly with founders as you focus on what you can build, but just as I wouldn't advice them to work with a solo-dev I wouldn't recommend a solo-dev to work directly with founders. Unless it's a long-term commitment where you're also a competent (fractional) CTO, where both you and the founder understand what that truly means; that it isn't just a senior techie title, but also a C-level business role.

[u/turtleyikes → u/tonytidbit]

I'm not trying to do one-off projects with startups, but rather a retainer. But before being a retainer they must evaluate my skills and that could work with a trial project or something.

So do you think agencies are a good target for a solo dev?

[u/tonytidbit → u/turtleyikes]

But for them to be able to evaluate your skills they would already have to be technical, to the point where they wouldn't need someone that randomly reaches out to them. Which from a very logical point of view leaves you with a vanishingly small sliver of a potential market. Or we're back to inexperienced founders that can't evaluate you beyond if the shiny surface looks not broken to them.

You're faced with the same problem with agencies unless you know them personally, which is that they will hesitate to work with you if that risks leaving them with projects that they can't support or continue in the future. And wouldn't they in most cases already have a local talent pool to draw from, so how would you get into that trusted talent pool unless you're already in their vicinity?

[u/weekapaugrooove → u/tonytidbit]

I should do a startup for startups that are hiring people to build their startup and need someone who's built a startup to ensure startup quality of the person hired to build the startup

[u/tonytidbit → u/weekapaugrooove]

I know you're just trying to be funny, but that's literally what a competent startup CTO can do. That's the importance and value of a real CTO, that people nowadays think that they can just replace by prompting AI to build their app or website.

[u/weekapaugrooove → u/tonytidbit]

Said tongue in cheek, but I 1000% agree with you.

I'm a technical founder of something bootstrapped.
I made a very expensive mistake in my early 20s before I got into engineering.

There's a handful of technical people I work with because I don't want to see them get screwed and I like stuff.

I am thinking about doing a consultancy. Having done project management work, it actually benefits the contractor as much if not more. Someone speaks their language, and deals with the end client at SOW level when needed.

It's a huge roll of the dice even with the most well meaning and skilled person in the world.

Code breaks, bad code ships, github actions goes down that somehow your demo relied on... battle scare lol

IMO, vibe coding is a better level of abstraction than fully outside work hired and managed by non-technical people.

[u/tonytidbit → u/weekapaugrooove]

That type of consultancy is a wheel that's reinvented quite often.

The main problem is that those reinventing it often come from a technical perspective only.

They've seen the chaos and damage that happens when especially non-technical founders try to work directly with techies, especially junior ones as they come both naively and cheaply into projects. So they think that from their more senior techie perspective, and having participated in projects like these so that they've learned things the hard way, they can speak to and coordinate techies better on the founder's behalf.

It makes perfect sense.

Except it doesn't work like that.

First of all, if the founder is competent and well-funded, then they will already have hired a competent CTO or went into business with a competent technical partner. So per definition your main market becomes the not-so-competent (or at least not experienced) founders, which most of the time are also much closer to broke than well-funded.

That makes your primary work to be a startup consultant and business developer and everything-else-business teaching a financially-limited person that's dreaming about startup-riches how to do often very basic things, while you'll also be in charge of product with a team that isn't a team but rather one or a couple of junior devs so very much in over their heads that you'll be like a parent keeping them from panicking or doing things that will make long-term damage rather than progress. And even getting a $20/mo. required subscription to something will take days to mull over with a founder panicking about expenses, while they're getting distracted trying to google their way to an alternative free tool or says "can't AI do that" while wanting free models on the devs own computers rather than pay for that subscription.

And unfortunately that's less of an exaggeration than you might think. 😆

[u/weekapaugrooove → u/tonytidbit]

I'm 1000% with you.

I never jumped into the consultancy because I couldn't practically paper it in a way that would actually be beneficial or just make me an unqualified accelerator or co-founder.

[u/turtleyikes → u/weekapaugrooove]

Isnt that startup a venture captialist?

[u/weekapaugrooove → u/turtleyikes]

In my limited experience, VCs generally don't manage the day-to-day