

Outsourceing MVP... - jaypreneur

What do you guys think about the idea of outsourcing your minimum viable product?<p>I'll explain. So, I have an idea I've been working on (design, mockup, survey potential customers, etc.) and I'm at a standstill (sort of, I am always reaching out to potential customers) until I get a technical co-founder.<p>I know that the end goal is having a technical co-founder with me through everything. However, it's very hard (seemingly impossible thus far) to get anyone on board without some traction, i.e. MVP and some customers.<p>So, it's a catch 22. I need a tech co-founder to help create the MVP, but they don't want to come on board unless one is already created!<p>I've been contemplating outsourcing the MVP to try and gain traction. I have a very detailed mockup already, so hopefully there wouldn't need to be much guesswork on the part of whoever I hired. Is it worth it?<p>The negatives:<p>I am out a few thousand dollars (trying to cap it at 5k).
I still have no tech co-founder<p>The positives:<p>I have a minimum viable product
I have something to show customers
I have something that can gain traction
All of the above make it easier to find a quality tech co-founder (still won't be easy, but I assume far easier than without the MVP)<p>What do you guys think? Is it worthwhile? Or am I thinking about this all wrong? Any and all help is appreciated. Thanks!
======
jaypreneur
Thanks for all the help! Btw, I can't believe I have a typo in my title! Is
there any way to edit after the edit time period has ran out? It makes me look
like an idiot, lol.

Anyway...

It seems like outsourcing or at least have things created are really far more
important than looking for a technical co-founder at this stage.

I think if given the real chance, I could convince someone to come on board.
However, I haven't had the chance to pitch anything because it's hard enough
to find someone even willing to take on a pitch. Everyone is doing their own
thing or is too busy, unfortunately.

Currently, I have a landing page. I will probably post it here for some
advice. I've put up Google Ads and Facebook Ads and hopefully can push it
myself as well. That could help me find a technical co-founder, but who knows.
I really think my idea is good enough to jump on now. The timing is just right
IMO... and the sooner, the better.

I am learning Javascript now, because I'm thinking I could perhaps code the
front-end. However, it's just a long process to learn code, especially while I
have a full-time job. I'm tempted to quit to learn to code and develop it
myself, but I'm not sure.

Ultimately though, I wanted to see what thoughts were behind paying for an
MVP... and you guys have been positive about the idea, so it's good to know
I'm not crazy if I go that route.

Lastly... is the mockup really the hardest part? I'm glad to hear that because
I did spend a ton of time on it (and need to spend a bit more time refining it
down to MVP).

Ultimately, I'm not creating a new technology here. Just packing a bunch of
common technologies into one business. Hopefully that fact alone means
outsourcing an MVP won't be an incredibly struggle. Or if I decide to create
it myself, it won't be too overwhelmingly difficult.

We will see. I appreciate all the feedback and welcome any other comments.

------
jaypreneur
When you say "learn some coding yourself" exactly how much does this entail?

For instance, I know HTML and CSS. I am slowly learning Javascript. I am
fairly confident I could learn to code the front-end in a reasonable amount of
time.

Is that "learning some code yourself" or do I need to know more?

If I need to know back-end (or should), how extensive? I only ask because
while I'd love to really know how to code.... I know it'd take far too long to
become truly proficient. So, I'm just trying to portion my time out
effectively because I can spend my time on my business in a lot of other ways
as well. I don't want to spin my wheels learning to code when I'll never truly
be the technical guy who you go to for code (I just don't have years to
learn). I just want to learn enough to be respected and know what's going on.

If anyone could give me a good resource to attain that level of knowledge,
that'd be great. There just seems to be so much I could learn and if I go the
wrong direction, it could be (somewhat) a waste of time and I want to avoid
that.

Thanks again for the reply.

------
rcavezza
It's probably tough to find a technical cofounder if you're not willing to at
least try to learn how to code or spend the cash to have someone build it for
you.

More than finding a technical cofounder, a minimum viable product should help
you decide if the product is worthwhile to pursue - which is the biggest
reason to build it. If the product won't connect with customers, you don't
need to waste time finding a technical cofounder.

Why not try to build something simple yourself? Even if it's a landing page
test to see if people will click the buy or download button like Eric Ries'
wishes he did at IMVU?

If you're looking for someone to build the mvp, I still run ibuildmvps.com.

------
md1515
You always want to get a MVP set up and if your idea is too amazing to wait,
then go for it. I'm reminded of James Altucher who outsourced the designing
and creation of Stockpickr.com for the MVP to show to investors. He hadn't
even paid for the outsourced material when he got the money (he was already
established, but still..)

So I would say it really depends on your idea. In my opinion, if you cannot
convince or find a technical person to help you with the product you do you
have an inspiring enough product or you do not have the skills as a
founder/organizer. Both are killers...

------
ianpurton
If you've got a mockup then you've done all the hard work. Getting a mockup
into a working app is trivial for most web developers.

Here's my recommendation to you.

1\. Get yourself an account on odesk.

2\. Post your project.

3\. See what kind of quotes you get and the quality of the developers.

I would pay someone by the hour, in odesk you can see what they are doing with
their time and how productive they are.

If you're not happy, pay for the hours used and stop there.

------
fourmii
I'm sort of in a similar situation, but now I've gotten a very strong
technical co-founder onboard. Although I haven't coded in years, I've been in
the IT industry for a long time now. Having read a ton of blogs about founding
teams and finding co-founders, the one common denominator I see is that you'll
have a better time of it if you try learn some coding yourself.

