In all areas of activity, a startup has its own niche, and over time it only grows, requiring more and more new and viable ideas. In the field of technology and IT, startups have more weight, and therefore their number in this area is greater. The philosophy of startups should not be underestimated. After all, many IT sharks have come out of such business models, and, for example, Microsoft is a more than worthy example.
How have companies like the one above-achieved success? Can a good idea really take a project to a serious level? Time shows that a startup cannot live with an idea alone, and the decisive aspect is the human factor, namely the development team. Development is an important step in creating a product. This guide helps you hire developers for new startups. You will find out what criteria to consider when choosing a development agent, where to find them, how to determine requirements, and much more.
Table of Contents
Step 1. How to choose a development agency and avoid disappointment
It seems that there is nothing difficult to start developing a new product: just hire developers, and then it will somehow work out by itself. In fact, a lot depends on the development agency. The agency is the people who will bring your idea to life. To save you from a pile of information, we will try to highlight the main criteria for selecting a development agency.
Work experience is not just a number that diminishes or increases the credibility of the company. In the digital sphere, the time an organization has been on the market is an important indicator to look at when choosing.
Already launched projects demonstrate the real competencies of the agency and the prospects for cooperation. However, to ensure that the portfolio is genuine, it will be helpful to request visual prototypes of your product during the project approval phase. Visualized key points will help you understand whether the development team has correctly captured the essence of the project. In fact, this point is worth paying special attention to if you want to hire developers who know their stuff.
No one can tell you better about the pros and cons of an agency than clients who have already used its services. In order to verify the reliability of the team, it is worth studying the customers’ opinions.
Expertise is a bit vague for beginners, but a significant concept for an agency that positions itself as a professional. This is the level of qualification of each team member, their experience in the market, and their interest in the project. Quality directly depends on expertise.
These are just the most basic points that will help you hire developers.
Step 2. Where to find a development agency and how not to get lost
It would be easier to find an agent through recommendations from friends who have already used the services, or through internal recommendations from the company. So where to hire developers for a new startup?
One of the most effective and easy-to-find platforms is social networks, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, or Telegram. You can join professional communities where specialists present their skills.
Do not forget about the professional platforms GitHub and Stack Overflow. GitHub is a web service that allows developers to store and synchronize code and collaborate on OpenSource development. Stack Overflow is a platform for communication of IT specialists, a service of questions and answers.
Now in the digital space, there are many sourcing services for high-quality IT recruiting, for example, AmazonHiring or Gitter.
It is very useful to google and study all the proposed options to hire developers, all the subtleties, and possible difficulties. You also need to know how to search.
Step 3. What to look for in a development team so as not to burn out
An equally important question when you want to hire developers is what you need, what to look for in a team, and what specialists should be involved. The interaction between team members should show expertise.
Depending on the goals and directions of the projects, the composition of the team may change, but no one bothers us to determine the basic composition of the team for the development of an IT startup: project manager (manages the project and the entire development process), backend and frontend developers (the first creates the client side of the product, .i.e. what the user sees, the second one develops the internal logic, i.e. everything that the user does not “touch”), UX/UI designer (creates layouts of the future project), and the tester (checks everything that has been developed, looks for bugs, develops instructions for fixing technical problems).
Step 4. How to determine the requirements for developers to get it like Microsoft
If we start with a requirement that is common and important for each member, then this is an interest in the project. The interest multiplied by soft and hard skills is already a result. The skills and requirements of each specialist are different. Therefore, in order to hire developers, it will be useful to understand what criteria each specialist must meet.
For a project manager, the following necessary competencies can be distinguished: knowledge of English, communication skills, stress resistance, flexibility, and knowledge of project management tools.
For an experienced front-end developer, the following criteria can be defined: this is not just a specialist who is able to typeset layouts, he knows Java Script well, understands frameworks and libraries, is not afraid of the abbreviations LESS, SASS, GULP and can put it into practice. A front-end developer should understand cross-browser and platform development, mobile development, and web fonts and know the principles of SEO optimization.
The backend developer knows one or more programming languages - PHP, Python, Ruby, Java, etc., know how to work with databases, MySQL database management system, and applies frameworks and programming patterns Ruby on Rails, Yii, Django, etc.
The designer should be able to work with tools. Their skills include basic tools such as Figma or Sketch, Adobe XD, Tilda, and additional tools such as Principal, and After Effects; they know how to analyze the target audience and understand the needs of clients.
The tester knows how to work with the command line, and knows browsers and developer tools. They also need the ability to work with automated testing tools, for example, HP-UFT (former QTP), and Selenium.
Each member of the development team should be a professional in what he does and be confident in their experience. With this approach of the agency, the customer will hire developers who will prove their expertise in practice.
Conclusion
A good development team is a must-have for any startup. Cool idea + professional team = successful launch. You should find specialists who want to hear you and capture the essence of your plan. At the beginning of the journey, all large companies were startups – Instagram, Udemy, Twitter, Slack, etc. Who knows, maybe these tips will help you understand how to hire developers and in the future, your idea will be on par with the most successful IT business.