How to find software developers for startup and not to fail the project

Startups are companies working according to the temporal structure. This structure defines the future scalable business model of the company. Usually, startups develop and produce a new product in conditions with a high degree of uncertainty. The main feature of startups is quick growth (according to the business accelerator, a 4-7% key indicator growth per week).  

4 stages of a startup design

Startups are established step by step according to the following model:

1. Defining consumers
2. Verifying consumers
3. Attracting customers
4. Company establishment

IT startups look for and find developers in the first two stages of the SDLC. A product owner should learn some rules for hiring a startup developer. Below is a complete guideline for recruiting in-house and remote developers and other tech engineers.

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How and where to find programmers and not to get caught by scams

While looking for the best place to hire a programmer don’t forget about these simple and clear rules for recruiting developers:

1. Check the experience of your candidates. You should learn what types of projects and tasks they have managed to accomplish. If these projects are similar to your startup, be sure a developer will easily work with your specifications.
2. Check out some references. If you are hiring freelancers, you may check their pages on professional networks like LinkedIn. If you are looking for a software engineering company to outsource, you can pick up the most suitable candidate on clutch.co
3. Ask developers about the stack they use. The general workflow is also of great importance so make sure that your team is familiar with the essentials of scrum methodologies (continuous integration, quality assurance, testing, deployment, etc.). The company would be a perfect fit if it used quality metrics.
4. Communicate your business goals to programmers. Make sure they understand what your major objective is. Any profitable project is not only delivering a quality code but also meeting the client’s needs and providing a clear business logic.
5. Evaluate the level of social skills of your potential employees. Be sure your candidates clearly understand you and can interpret correctly your words and tasks to their colleagues. When it comes to managing the project, this skill is of crucial importance. The wrong interpretation of tasks can lead to the failure of the whole project.

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Best websites to find remote jobs or hire new members for startup

No matter who you are, a freelance developer, a software company, or an employer, you should study thoroughly the ways of remote hiring, recruiting, working, etc. We have collected some popular ways of getting the best employees, the best jobs and careers, and the best projects online.

Personal and professional networks

Hiring developers for startups is a little different from hiring for a software engineering company. It’s quite difficult to build a team at once. You may use your personal connections on LinkedIn, for example, to get in touch with a required specialist online. Ask your friends who work in IT companies for recommendations. Probably, there’s someone having the required set of skills and is open to new job opportunities.  

Job ads and boards

In most countries of the world, job boards are free. Don’t miss a chance to double your efforts in scaling the team. The first thing to do is to define your audience and write a clear job description with all essential requirements, conditions, and approximate rates.

Here’s what a startup developer job description looks like:

Recruiting companies

If job boards don’t work for you, try the services of a contingent recruiter or recruiting agency. You’ll be able to pay for the services (20-30% of your worker’s annual salary) after they find the right candidate for your startup. However, you should be aware that the main goal of such agencies is to hire a person for you, whereas your goal is to hire the best specialist in the domain.

Website

Build an appealing careers page on your startup’s webpage. There’s one problem with this kind of recruiting employees – no one knows your company exists as you start growing and developing your product. There’s a little hack. Promote your product and website via different social networks for people to learn that you exist. Probably, you will find a startup partner or a rising talent for your project.

Other companies

Along with LinkedIn, which is considered the best site to hire freelancers, there are a bunch of other sites which offer freelance jobs and freelancers for hire. However, most freelancers are aimed at working at fixed or hourly rates. It’s a real challenge to find the one who wishes to work on a  long-lasting project, innovative and exciting. Many startups offer new job opportunities even for those developers who are already occupied because there’s a chance to find someone who wants to change their job.

How much do startup developers earn? Startup software engineer salary

According to Payscale, the median yearly salary of developers working for startups is $92,500, with a distribution from 76,000 dollars to 140,000 dollars. The salary will definitely depend on the following factors:

• Level of expertise in a particular domain
• Programming language
• Tech skills and knowledge of particular frameworks
• The scope of work
• The project location
• Language skills

These are the factors influencing salaries as well as the criteria for choosing app programmers for hire, for example.

What if I can’t find a developer? What are custom software development companies?

It occurs, your search is ineffective. In this case, custom software development is the best fit for you. How does it work? You pick up a software engineering company which suits your needs. They ask you about your business needs and product specifications if available. According to that, you’ll be provided typical SRS documents that will serve a basis for costs estimation. Once you confirmed the SRS and rates, a devoted team starts creating your product.

The advantages of such companies are as follows:

• Qualified developers with a strong tech background
• Experience in various industries
• Quick time-to-market
• Professional staff including customer support, marketing specialists, PMs, etc.
• High quality and fast delivery
• Reasonable rates and discounts to repeat clients
• Affiliate programs
• Devoted teams

The main criteria for choosing a custom software engineering firm are as follows:

• Expertise
• Company’s portfolio
• Quality
• Delivery time
• Maintenance and support

If you are among the companies that hire remote developers take a closer look at our technology stacks. What if you find iOS developers or other experts on our website. Subscribe to get more useful tips on recruiting staff for your startups!