Ask HN: As a startup, where do you find freelance developers these days? - TicklishTiger
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wizzerking
I am a freelancer who uses upwork They take up to 20% of hourly and/or fixed
price projects But the other services are filled with companies/people who
never get back to me, so I gave up on them. IMO my experience, my actions

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ssijak
If you want vetted developers who need to pass rigorous tests to get into the
freelancer network, look at Toptal [https://www.toptal.com/#connect-unmatched-
coders-now](https://www.toptal.com/#connect-unmatched-coders-now)

Freelancers too, if you want a network which screens startups and clients (not
allowing bad/unrealistic ones) , try to apply to Toptal. It also allows you to
have good rates compared to networks which are open to all.

~~~
TicklishTiger
From your profile, I see you are a freelancer. Are you on Toptal yourself?

I'm pretty good at vetting developers myself. So I have the feeling that at
Toptal I would pay a premium for something I don't need. They also seem to
spend a lot on advertising.

Additionally, I get the impression that Toptal would get between me and the
developers. I don't know why. It sounds a bit like that.

My feeling is that I would prefer a "slim" market place.

~~~
ssijak
Yes, Im a freelancer and I am in the Toptal network. The first freelancer
network that feels fair to both sides. Not saying that there are no others
like that, but this is the first from my POV that feels like that to me as a
freelancer.

As for the vetting the devs. I dont know 100% how the matching goes on Toptal
from the side of the clients, but you will probably be assigned a recruiter
who will help you in the process and suggest you developers. You could
probably also search and pick some your self. Then you arrange interviews with
the developers and pick the one(s) you like. After that you can start a week
of trial period with them where you can more easily drop them if you are not
sattisfied for valid reasons (that happens very rarely). After that you work
directly with them.

Basically, Toptal is there to assist in finding a developer and later to
assist if there is some problem with them, in other cases they stay aside. All
the communication is direct with the devs without any unnecessary layers
inbetween.

------
codegeek
I have hired freelancer devs. from the following sources:

\- HN

\- Indiehackers

\- reddit (/r/forhire)

\- upwork/elance

I learned a lot of lessons the hard way. No matter which platform you use,
some things to keep in mind:

0\. Do a good technical interview upfront and if needed, pay them for that
time. Unless you are hiring a well known superstar freelancer, odds are that
you have to really vet their knowledge and experience. Of course, I am
assuming that you are a developer hiring another developer. If you are not
technical, then you have a serious challenge in front of you and you ideally
want someone technical to find that freelance developer for you if possible.

1\. No matter how good they seem, ask for 1-2 references and check them. If no
reference, it is a huge risk.

2\. Be very very specific in your requirements. Don't be loose. The more
specific you are, the better your chances of succeeding with the freelancer
you hire. Most freelancers are not really interested in your business or
helping you improve your business. That is the fact. They just want to get
paid to write some code for you and hopefully do a good job at that but that
is it.

3\. Keep expectations low. Until they show you otherwise. To be very honest, I
have not found a freelance developer yet whom I loved. Some have been terrible
while most have been ok. They got it done but you know that they could have
done a little bit better (in terms of design/quality)

4\. Did I say don't be loose with requirements. If you hire a pay as you go
type freelancer on an hourly rate, make sure you have already worked with them
before and you can trust their delivery. If not, you will end up losing shit
ton of money and probably piss off the freelancer as well. Expectations need
to be clear.

5\. Treat them with respect but demand accountability. When hiring, look for
signs of how they respond to you already even before getting your business.

6\. Make sure you are not talking to a middleman. A lot of agencies advertise
as freelance developers but when you contact them, you will end up talking to
a project manager with high margins. Make sure you talk to the developer who
will actually be writing your code.

7\. Setup milestone based payments. But make sure milestones are agreed upon
upfront. Again, the looser your requirements, the more you will suffer with
freelancers.

8\. Setup a contract and SOW that they should deliver against.

Most importantly, you do get what you pay for but it doesn't mean that a more
expensive freelancer will do a better job necessarily.

