I’ve recently decided to take the plunge trying to turn a fintech business idea into reality.
I have got started in creating a plan and initial market research and now I need to create a proof on concept. I don’t have any software development skills and the obvious route is to outsource this as I don’t know anyone in software dev that I would trust.
Are there any immediate problems with outsourcing development? Do I need to be protected in terms of patents/IP or is a standard boiler-plate contract enough protection?
Any other tips and advice is welcome too, I’m self-financing currently until I have a viable product to market.
yea just warning that this is pretty tough especially if you have no software skills so just be sure that this is what you really want to do
Thanks, I’m still working my day job until I can see whether my idea will have any viability.
that is smart, I just replied to my first comment in case you don't see that otherwise, you can probably make good progress on this without/before quitting, and then if it ever makes sense to quit then you can quit, like after you raise money or something. I'm not saying not to pursue this btw, I'm just trying to make you aware of the potential of having a negative outcome.
I was in a similar position, had an idea for a product that I wanted to build, didn't know how to build it myself, found a cofounder (so didn't pay to outsource) which took a long time but I got it done, we built a simple version of the product that worked well enough, but when it came time for me to sell the product to customers I pretty much completely failed - I had a couple of meetings with possible customers but none of them wanted to buy the product and the number of meetings that I had was not very high, I was also using the product that we built to try and sell the product - and the basic hypothesis didn't prove out to be as true at all as I thought that it would be. I gave up on the project after a couple of months of trying and failing at the selling part - keep in mind I had at least a little bit of experience doing top of the funnel sales in a professional environment before trying to start this company and it still went extremely poorly for me. Honestly the whole thing was a pretty big failure.
Would you be willing to share the idea?
Feel like the biggest problem in outsourcing this is you don't have the skills to check their work or really guide them. Outsourcing only works with very clear instructions and a fairly simple path, you need to have the ability to check the work and influence the direction. An idea is not worth anything if the product execution is poor. The type of people doing outsourcing gigs are not at the level of a technical co-founder with serious dev experience
Think you need to find a technical co-founder and not outsourcing. There are lots of resources to find/match co-founders and I'd look into those
I agree with this but just be warned that the cofounder finding process takes a very long time, the people who are competent at building stuff could build something that they want to build, or build anyone else's idea who they meet, so finding someone who wants to work with you on your idea can be challenging, but not impossible. Look into YC cofounder matching.
Appreciate the input. Will look into the option of a technical co-founder. I was thinking of outsourcing and then paying someone to check the work.
I have mapped out how I want the product to work and having a designer friend mock-up some basic UI renders for me.
One potential problem with outsourcing development is the risk of miscommunication or misunderstandings between you and the development team. To mitigate this risk, it's important to clearly define your requirements and expectations upfront, as well as establishing regular communication channels to keep you updated on the progress of the project.
Another issue to consider is intellectual property protection. A standard contract may not provide sufficient protection for your patents or other IP, so it's important to work with a lawyer to ensure that your interests are protected. This may involve creating a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or a more comprehensive intellectual property agreement.
Here are some additional tips and advice to consider:
Consider the cost and quality trade-off. While outsourcing can be a cost-effective option, keep in mind that the quality of the work may not be as high as if you were to hire an in-house development team.
Look for a development team that has experience in your industry or with similar types of products. This can help ensure that they have the necessary expertise to build your product.
Be prepared to be flexible and open to feedback from the development team. They may have suggestions for how to improve your product or make it more feasible to build.
Set clear milestones and deadlines to help keep the project on track.
Finally, continue to research and educate yourself about the fintech industry and the market for your product. This can help you stay ahead of the competition and make informed decisions about your business.
Super useful, thank you
Clearly GPT pls delete
It's nice to come out with a new product and get some sales going with nice margins, but setting up the sales/revenue pipeline is essential in a new business. Before you leave your day job, make sure you can build out a solid and consistent pipeline.
Thanks man, that’s what I plan to do
You don't need SWE skills to do this. GPT-x will allow you to do most of it. You want to get a paid proof point 1st even if it is a consulting contract. The most important thing is to verify that a customer exists.
Do you have any other applicable skills or experience that make you think you'd be capable of running a startup? I know that sounds like a dick comment, but... running a business is a skill in and of itself. You say you want to keep working at your job... but that won't be possible for long. It sounds like you lack the software development skills to even check the work that you'll hire others to do, which isn't ideal either.
Why not find someone who has done this before, cut them in on it, and let them handle the actual development of the business?
Completely fair point, no offence taken. I spend my day job looking in depth at companies and their various operations, what works and what doesn’t. From this I also have a great network of entrepreneurs and business executives I can ask for advice as I have built good relationships up with these people.
I believe I have a solid plan together and will develop this as I consult with the aforementioned network to improve. I think I’m going into this with my eyes wide open that it will be an uphill battle and chances are success are very slim.
I was going to higher a consultant to review the outsourced development, of course there is a risk that that consultant will be poor and things may be missed - they probably will as software development is an iterative process on getting it right.
I have no actual startup experience, but I am a software engineer who is interested in startups, so I have some knowledge that could be helpful. I've built some MVPs but never went through with them because my ideas ended up being uninteresting to me (hence the no actual experience).
It looks like you're approaching this idea from a business standpoint when it's actually a technical challenge. All the business plan, market research, sales strategy, intellectual property research, etc. is almost completely useless at this stage. What you need is an idea that you believe in (which it looks like you do), and then a simple MVP that you launch. That's it. Either people will use it, or they wont and that's how you understand what direction your product needs to go in. There is no business until you have a product market fit and all the traditional business moves (like generating a sales pipelines) can honestly be negative value at this stage.
This is an issue for you because the part that needs to be done well (and first) is the product development, which you cannot do without development skills. Outsourcing doesn't work here because you're essentially asking someone to build your entire dream and care enough to make it succeed, despite it just being a simple contract gig for them.
Sure, you can give them equity, but that's also problematic because they're doing the hardest part, while all you're currently contributing is the idea. They're basically the founder and why should you get any equity if you just have an idea? I think going through Y Combinator's online startup school should be your first step as you need to look at this from tech-first perspective.
You need a similarly passionate software engineer to be your partner (not employee) and they have to care about the problem the same way you do. You have a lot of value to provide (most SWEs I know are useless when it comes to understanding consumer needs and sales for example), but you are misunderstanding the first steps of a tech business.
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