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You Get What You Pay For... Sometimes
When running a startup company, one of the main concerns you have is the cost to bring your product to the market. The less expensive it is to develop your product, the more you can self-fund, and the better deal you can make with investors down the road, if needed.
But, if your product is inferior or can't be delivered on time, all of your cost savings become expenses very quickly. So, where is the balance?
Firstly, if you're developing a software product, DON'T CUT CORNERS ON DEVELOPMENT! That can't be said enough. Does that mean that you have to seek out the most expensive development firms and spend millions? Not necessarily. Let's take a look at a recent case we've been involved with:
“Project X, Inc.” is building a web application for general consumer use, and of course, they want an outstanding native mobile app built for both iOS and Android. We helped with writing the specifications and putting together some alternatives for the development of those mobile apps. At first, the mandate from above was to attempt to build the apps in-house, using young and inexperienced developers. There was no rush because the website design and functionality was still in a state of flux, so specifications for the mobile app were very sketchy at best. This proved to be a slow, but steady drain on the budget, and the results we were seeing were sub-par at best.
We convinced the owners that we needed to move the developers back to the website and get it closer to a final state, and then outsource the mobile app development. We assured them that this would be a better, and less expensive solution in the long run. As the website's reached “beta” stage and we were ready to get development on the mobile apps going, we built a good set of specifications for both the UI and the API, and began the shopping process.
This is where the “sometimes” in the title comes to play. The first bid we entertained was from a local development firm with an established staffing firm under the same ownership. You would think that this would be an ideal situation. But, the price came in at over a quarter of a million dollars. Ouch!
So, plan B was to hire a developer in-house, but to find a seasoned professional that could produce a very high-quality product, and do so within a reasonable time. We were able to find and hire a contractor on an hourly basis to build the apps. And, though the hourly price seemed very high, the results have been fantastic, and UNDER BUDGET!
What did our client learn? Software development is most efficient when you hire top-quality people, and pay them the price that the market dictates they get, whether it be in cash or equity. But, you also have to be aware that the price alone isn't what indicates the quality you're receive.
On your next software project, let us show you how to have it developed quickly and efficiently, and most importantly, get a product that is of the quality you can be proud of.
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The following article was posted recently explaining the different options available for small business websites.
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Take a moment and read our first article, "Online Marketing - Where Do I Start?"