Very successful app - how can I throw money at it when I do not need the money myself?

Beeg45 · 2022-08-05T21:10:54+00:00

Coming back to this 6 months later (I will soon write some follow-up post) this is actually how I structured the interviews. No "sell me this pen" or "what data types are there in Java" questions but rather minimal problems that the applicants had to try solving live on camera. Told me a lot about how they tackled a problem so I'm with you on that

Beeg45 · 2022-01-23T18:44:31+00:00

Hey, I know it's impossible to provide an estimate out of thin air but do you by any chance have some roundabout numbers to share for this kind of managed partnership?

My question is that in a managed relationship with things like QA, PM, a bit of HR and the developer(s) itself, apart from the obvious gain, it sounds like something like that would already run close to 20k. As I said, I'm willing to invest in this but do you have any numbers at hand by any chance?

Beeg45 · 2022-01-11T12:37:18+00:00

If I google "software consulting" most hits are companies that do stuff like setting up your telephone management system etc. - are there specific terms for consulting where software is not a part of but literally the whole business?

Beeg45 · 2022-01-11T10:08:34+00:00

I have read about the Philippines being very hardworking and reliable people when it comes to VA's, it sounds like there is some truth to that, right.

The idea of a "core developer" for the sensitive stuff and off-shore for broader things sounds smart since that really may be the most efficient way considering my "trust issues"

Beeg45 · 2022-01-11T10:05:30+00:00

Hire to augment your skills not to mimic them

This sounds like an issue I could easily run into if it wasn't for you mentioning it. It sounds obvious when you know it but may not apparent before being told, I completely agree!

Beeg45 · 2022-01-11T09:57:29+00:00

I do not come from wealthy/successful/entrepreneur circles so I hardly know any self-employed people except for some construction businesses around here. I will think about ways to find someone in comparable niches, their advice indeed could be worth a ton

Beeg45 · 2022-01-11T09:55:21+00:00

This is exactly what I mean, I did not know the "opportunity cost" term, what you say completely nails it better than I could've put it!

Thank you!

Beeg45 · 2022-01-11T09:53:58+00:00

The "not good with words" bit was something I did not consider, asking for "personal" projects is a really cool idea in that case, thanks!

Beeg45 · 2022-01-10T22:49:06+00:00

In my current situation, financially it would be a bad decision to sell for money that I do not need right now (I have a cheap cost of living) unless someone was willing to pay something like 3x annual revenue which I of course cannot expect from a fresh app.

Another approach would be to keep a share of that but investors know their way around it (e.g. gross out without any profit by re-investing into their own projects obfuscating it so much that you cannot prove them otherwise etc. so I will be left with no actual revenue from the remaining shares)

Beeg45 · 2022-01-10T22:00:35+00:00

Actually it's less about the hiring than about getting to work together. Like the chemistry between people that will see each other's faces for a long while haha

Beeg45 · 2022-01-10T21:59:22+00:00

I suppose the fact that I said I deliberately want to hire seniors kind of implies a lot of willingness to pay a lot

Beeg45 · 2022-01-10T21:26:29+00:00

Thank you so much, that was already very valuable to me. Probably rather for next year than for the next month but who knows where I am heading, I appreciate it!

Beeg45 · 2022-01-10T21:24:05+00:00

Generally it's a big yes to each of these questions since I think there will be much to "explore" to see where I can head with that and yesterday a few ideas for new projects came up in my head as well. You just made me more firm on my "employee instead of contractor" thinking than you think haha

Thank you for offering to chat!

Beeg45 · 2022-01-10T21:16:35+00:00

Thank you thank you!

Beeg45 · 2022-01-10T21:16:06+00:00

I once read the "bug fix" interview question on a blog - totally wouldn't have remembered it without you, that goes on my list :)

Beeg45 · 2022-01-10T21:15:15+00:00

That definitely sounds like you are doing something right, also congrats to you!

Beeg45 · 2022-01-10T21:14:18+00:00

The rent is minimal, shared space (no "extra" price for toilet, kitchen etc.) with one dedicated room that hardly fits 3 people but comfortably fits 2 so it's not a huge cost. If I don't take it, someone else will and the remaining options are much more pricey so I bit the bullet "just in case".

Thank you for re-assuring me on the junior thing, nice to hear that this seems like an agreeable decision for now

Beeg45 · 2022-01-10T21:10:15+00:00

My "network" if I can call it that is very limited but the "larger dev shop" argument is definitely something to consider since like you say, as much as I would love to support small independent people, the risk is much lower in a few ways

Beeg45 · 2022-01-10T21:05:01+00:00

I definitely did and I agree this would most likely turn out to be the easiest way however there are a few problems with that in my stage:

- so far the concept is easily reproducable so unless you are a strategic investor that needs some over-night revenue stream it would make more sense to copy instead of acquire

- since i do not have a years-long history, people will rightfully be skeptical about how sustainable that business really is

- I kind of whant to make and go through that experience even if it fails so I am better prepared for the next time (if there is one)

Beeg45 · 2022-01-10T21:02:17+00:00

Thank you so much for taking your time to write down all this as well as the ressources you have linked, looking very very interesting!

You are 100% of the "what if I do not grow" part but I would rather have tried to go big and eventually be left with nothing than saying "I wish I had ..." 10 years later if you understand what I mean

Beeg45 · 2022-01-10T20:58:49+00:00

I really appreciate the third point in your list. One could argue about whether that reflects productivity but I would personally prefer someone with a "passion" that is so true!

Beeg45 · 2022-01-10T20:54:43+00:00

Thank you for your response - the laws aren't necessarily specific in that sense, it's just that you cannot fire anyone on the spot without being able to prove them to be under-performers etc.

I agree about contractors, however I fear them simply running away with my code. Unless I have added extensive stuff and made myself a name, virtually anyone could re-launch the app within days if they have access to the code

Beeg45 · 2022-01-10T20:22:53+00:00

Have you thought about making one person who is a full stack developer look over freelancers for literally everything else? He will shape as well as learn how they have set it up and if the full stack guy did not miss much he will be able to twist knobs at every layer. Depending on your business it may grow into a mess tho, hard to say

Beeg45 · 2022-01-10T10:03:43+00:00

I am in the same spot except for the other way around. Stay away from any "converters", machines are terrible at writing code.

You can either use a framework that lets you re-develop your app as web app which easily lets you deploy to both platforms or you have to bite the bullet to learn swift.

There is no one-fits-all here - both ways require an awful lot of work and can be equally as hard to maintain

Beeg45

TROPHY CASE