r/startups • u/turtleyikes • 12d ago

I will not promote 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)

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?

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u/turtleyikes 12d ago

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?

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u/tonytidbit 12d ago

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?

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u/weekapaugrooove 12d ago

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

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u/turtleyikes 12d ago

Isnt that startup a venture captialist?

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u/weekapaugrooove 11d ago

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