
Ask HN: Reasonable approach to outsourcing MVP app? - fratlas
Just wondering if anyone here has outsourced their app development: where to, and how much should I expect to pay?
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147
Fratlas,

What would success look like for you with this project? Since you mentioned
that you're trying to create an MVP, success to me at this stage means that
you've successfully validated your idea and are ready to start scaling.

Are you bootstrapping a SaaS app? Looking to get initial traction to show
investors?

Your needs are going to vary wildly depending on what your business goals are.
And for me, these questions are vital before starting a project.

Next year I plan on doing consulting work. My email is in my profile if you'd
like chat more or have any questions.

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remyp
There are agencies/dev shops that -- assuming they like your idea -- will take
a piece of equity and charge a bit less.

Go with one of these shops so incentives are aligned and they truly care about
building your product rather than just billing hours. I know (but don't work
for) a couple and am happy to provide a referral, feel free to send me an
email.

As for cost, I find Gigster's pricing examples to be pretty accurate:
[https://gigster.com/pricing](https://gigster.com/pricing)

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patrickgordon
My agency has a particular focus on working with startups to build their MVP.
It can definitely be done and there are a lot of great suggestions in this
thread. A few key things that we look for as the people on the other side of
the table from you:

* Clear understanding of the problem you are trying to build an MVP for

* Wireframes / UI Mockups / User flows / User stories are so, so beneficial

* Being open and realistic in regards to timeframe which depends on the complexity of MVP

* Willingness to communicate often and stay in touch regularly throughout the build.

Happy to discuss offline if you'd like to talk about it more. My email is on
my profile. We're based in Australia.

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desaiguddu
My experience after building 10+ MVP:

\- Don't approach agencies without Wireframes (Do it in Sketch, Paper or
Proto.io)

\- Hire a consultant to document your applications processes, diagrams and
clear objectives (Spending 2 to 5k on this would save you 20k for sure)

\- You can rely on Crew, Gigster for excellent but expensive developers

\- You can rely upon dev/design studios in Ukraine, Uruguay, Belarus etc.

\- Smart way to execute is, first get your branding and final designs with
designer

\- Hire development agencies locally or outsourced in India or above-mentioned
countries

\- You can buzz me if you are building iOS App (Would love to share my recent
learnings)

An ideal MVP can be made in 10k to 20k

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williamtaormina
Hey Fratlas, what are you trying to build? Outsourcing can be a tricky
thing... I've seen it go wrong more times than right.

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fratlas
Simple(ish) CRUD App? My budget is ~50-80k, is that reasonable?

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williamtaormina
Not really that unreasonable, but maybe a bit high. I'd be more than willing
to bet that if you down-scope your feature set by 10%, you'd cut development
costs by 50%. What exactly are you building?

~~~
fratlas
Reading up on it, I'm starting to think it should be around 15-25k. It's a
simple app which involves payment systems, GPS and talking to 1 or 2 APIs,
with a very simple FE.

~~~
williamtaormina
Without disclosing anything proprietary, I challenge you to describe your "MVP
in Three". In other words, what are the three most important value-creating
activities your app will facilitate?

~~~
fratlas
Reduce inefficiencies in waiting times on C2B sales through GPS tracking
(pretty hard to explain without mentioning the domain).

~~~
williamtaormina
Not quite what I was looking for, but I'll take it. How's the development hunt
going?

------
Darwinner
Can you share some contact details?

