Ask HN: How do I find the right hacker to help me build our startup's platform?

3 points by jgannonjr 13 years ago | 5 comments

I'm currently the CTO of a bootstrapped startup that myself and our CEO started working on about 6 months ago. We have a great sales team, but I am currently the only developer working on the code base. We have a great product and our great sales team have landed a few big contracts recently with big name brands that will catapult our business to the next level.

We are currently profitable but have very limited income. We are in the black but currently not making enough to pay ourselves anything (or to offer salary based compensation for new employees). I currently have a day job consulting (I have to eat), and am committing nearly all of my nights and weekends to work on our product.

We have a lot of work to do in the next few months for these new big name customers. After those customers launch their products on our platform, I believe we will see a tremendous upswing in sales and can finally have the money to quit our day jobs and start hiring. However, this is probably at least 3 months out and there is a lot of work to be done before then and I need help. I guess it's a bit of a chicken and egg problem.

We are open to offerring equity and/or profit sharing based compensation (and possibly hire on as a full time salaried employee once we get the money stream to accomodate it) for a good developer who could help us build out our platform over the next few months.

I've exhausted my network, the few developers I know with the experience to help are too busy with other jobs/projects to really be able to commit enough to make an impact. I am now at a point where I need to start searching beyond my own network for the right person. So my question is, what is the best approach for finding this person? Where is a good place to start looking? Are there any strategies that have worked for other founders in the past, or any advise you can give?

nicholaides 13 years ago |

Your biggest problem is asking a developer to work for equity. You're competing with every schmuck on Craigslist.

If you're profitable, as you said in another comment, use that profit to pay a developer. If that's not possible, then you aren't profitable.

dkhenry 13 years ago |

Add an E-mail address to your account name. That would help people trying to contact you.

jgannonjr 13 years ago | |

Thanks, I had an email account linked to my account name. I've now also added it to the about section so it should now show up in my profile.

bluestix 13 years ago |

There are about 20 posts a day like this in Craigslist job feeds.

Working for free is stupid and working for 'equity' is like working for a jar of farts.

jgannonjr 13 years ago | |

I agree, and I understand everyone "has the next big idea", and hate throwing myself in that ring, but that is the only option at the moment. We do have some really great traction for such a young company, and we are profitable with lots of potential for growth.

I wouldn't relate equity to farts though, early equity at a company that has a successful exit can be very valuable. It is definitely high risk and most of the time (generally speaking) it won't amount to anything if a start up fails, however if it succeeds it can be worth a lot more than a salary would be. On the other hand, a jar of farts will always be a jar farts.

Anyways, I don't expect anyone (nor would I want anyone) to work for free.