Deciding who to delegate product creation to is one of the main concerns for startup founders. In this section, we’ll cover how to successfully outsource software development and what aspects to pay attention to when collaborating with external experts.
1. Check the company's experience
The most critical when choosing your virtual assistants for product creation is to check their proficiency. You can discuss previous projects the outsourced IT companies worked on. Then, analyze the performance of those businesses, make sure you like their developments and ask for testimonials.
Experience in your niche is also an enormous advantage. When considering outsourcing examples of the companies, find out more about their specialization. There are plenty of outsourcing types, so if the business provides both full-stack development and particular services, it’s more flexible and can adjust its workflow to your needs.
2. Discover more about their reputation, values, and goals
Look through the company’s social media, website, and blog. With all these owned media , you can make sure that its expertise and reputation are strong enough. Find out more about the values of the company, as you should clearly understand what kind of people you will outsource the part of your startup to.
A clear understanding of your goals is one more important point. Whether you are focused on lead generation or building long-term relations with a few B2B clients — a top outsourcing company should keep this in mind and create a product based on your needs. Remember that one or a few consultations before starting the work will positively influence the further development process.
3. Discuss the budget and workflow at once
Soft skills are also critical to successful collaboration. Pay attention to how managers of the outsourcing provider communicate with you. Talk about the peculiarities of the workflow and build a strategy: how often there will be meetings and feedback sessions, and what you will do if there are urgent tasks. Your partner company should be flexible enough to deal with all the changes.
The budget is one of the main aspects startup founders consider while choosing the best outsourcing companies. Discuss all your needs, spending, and the opportunity to reduce or scale the budget if the situation changes before signing the contract. Remember that proficient developers cost more, but you won't spend money on refinements and debugging in the future.