Ask HN: How to assemble a Development Team to build-out my (SaaS) project?

6 points by late_groomer 13 years ago | 20 comments

I have my big idea, but I need help. I'm a decent coder, I coded my company's web-based accounting system & HR management platform...but it took me three years to complete. My big idea would be 2-3 times the size of that system and consist of several sub-systems. I've modeled the system structure, I know I need help to roll it out with any speed. I looked into applying to YC, but I'm a single founder & I'm a father in Florida with a 2 month old and a 2 year old, I can't move to the Bay Area for any significant amount of time.

I've hired freelancers over the years, never with great results (which is why I started learning to code in the first place). I figure I need a team of 2 to 4 developers and an experienced project manager. I don't have the deepest pockets. Which leads me to my questions:

- How do I build a development team?

- What are my expected personnel costs? Are there good developers to be had on a per project pay basis (assuming yes, where do I find them)?

- What would be an appealing pay offer/scheme(s) for good developers?

BTW - PHP is the language I know best and my current system is built on Joomla.

bdfh42 13 years ago |

Look for a technical co-founder. A good developer would get to a minimum viable product quickly - probably in a fraction of the time you are estimating for the overall project. Find someone who will buy into your product and work for equity.

Don't let your existing programming skills restrict who you hire or the technical spec for the new product - you should concentrate on the marketing and sales end so that you have eager customers waiting for that MVP

late_groomer 13 years ago | |

Thanks bdfh42, I hesitated to list the language and platform I used, you are right & I am open to whatever language is deemed best. I'd love to find a co-founder, but I am in Southwest Florida, not the hottest of hot spots for whip-smart techies. Any advice on where/how I find someone like that?

late_groomer 13 years ago |

Okay, I've spent the night considering what the MVP is, it will obviously still be tweaked, but I have a good base model & know my core valuation(s). Finding the right technical co-founder is the big question. I appreciate the offers of direct contact in this thread, but I think I need to get a good handle on how I select the right co-founder and what an appealing offer would be.

Has anybody ever searched for a tech co-founder? All the stories of founders finding each other I read seem to be magical, per-destined connections. I don't go to tech conferences, and I can't wait for the right one to come along (I'm on the bad side of 40).

Also, is an NDA standard practice in discussions with founder prospects?

kls 13 years ago |

I am in FL also and am well networked in the development community, if you would like to contact me, I may be able to point you in the right direction. My contact info is in my profile here in HN. It's worth a chat to network at the least.

rtcoms 13 years ago |

Before investing lots of time and resources for this project , wouldn't it will be better to verify the idea first by MVP?

MVP you can easily create in 2-3 months for a big project.

late_groomer 13 years ago | |

When you say MVP, do you mean a tech professional or is MVP some tool I am not aware of?

sharemywin 13 years ago | | |

My view of MVP and agile development. Create a list of every feature your super system is going to offer this is called the product backlog. Then rank them in order of value to the customer. Then validate that rank with some early adopters customers. Then draw a line what is the minimum amount that makes the system useful to a set of customers. Now you have version .5. Get it in front of people get more feature requests/changes from customers now re-order the list taking the new changes and new features. Each release should be 2 weeks to month long. The key is that regardless of your insight in the market your opinion has lots of assumptions in them and the only people's opinions that really matter are paying customers so get it infront of them as early as possible.

staunch 13 years ago |

Figure out how to create the first version with 1-2 people in 3-4 months. Figure out the core value proposition, create just that in the most elegantly simple way possible.

Launch it, get feedback, iterate until the end of time.

cloudsuite 13 years ago |

You may want to look at www.cloudsuites.com This can instantly develop complete stack web applications based on your inputs and host it in the cloud.

thisisdallas 13 years ago |

I would be interested in hearing more. If you want to shoot me an email with details on what you need, we could start discussing some possibilities.

sharemywin 13 years ago |

Also you might want to check out the business model canvas. It's a simplified version of a business plan that cuts to the core information.

sharemywin 13 years ago |

I might be able to help email me with details. Email in profile.

brandoncordell 13 years ago |

Where in Florida are you?

late_groomer 13 years ago | |

Venice

lifeisstillgood 13 years ago |

Firstly go buy Steve Blank's "The startup owners manual".

Secondly, you have a big idea, but what is the one thing that above all else will totally convince everyone to buy? Web-based HR for SMEs? Well its the recruitment system that everyone fusses over.

Build that, in 1 month, with just a OpenID login and stripe integration.

If you cannot have 2 customers on there by June 30 giving you cash, its not a winner. Pivot.

Got 2 customers? Great. Get on AngelList and then you can afford to hire developers, be picky, and still not risk the roof over your kids head.

You are setting yourself up to spend a lot of money that should go on children's clothes and holidays, and throw it in a hole. It does sound a lot like you have made up your mind and want some justification. DOes your partner support this? Please read the post recently about 40,000 USD and 100 USD.

Sorry if I sound harsh, but you most definitely do not have to build it all before it works.

And if you want to hire people or get funding, a working system with paying customers makes that orders of magnitude easier. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Blank

late_groomer 13 years ago | |

Thanks for your input, I'll have to pick that book up. I read that 40,000/100 post a day or two ago, definitely worth the read, but it doesn't fit my scenario. My company has been in the industry for over a decade, I've been working in the industry for nearly 20 years. I have paying customers who use the system I built and would pay more for the system I am proposing. A company that is offering just 1/4 of the SaaS system I want to build is charging $1,000 - $5,000 a month per client.

I also own a few websites that are in the industry, one is 1st page in Google for most the key words/phrases. I can get the traffic. I have a database of tens of thousands of current users that would be easily assimilated into the new system. Someone is going to build this system or one like it eventually, the need is there.

gehn 13 years ago | | |

I have 5 months of free time and nothing (important) to work on so if you would consider working with someone as partner and not just someone you would pay to complete the project email me at gehn@gmx.com

btw You should add email to your profile.

mythriel 13 years ago |

I would be interested in hearing more too. Shoot me an email.