Interesting idea. Seems like a safer alternative to "Founder Dating" sites. I also just saw this company recently https://assembly.com/ they are more of a crowd sourced model and offer other expertise as well.
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Interesting concept, but the main question on my mind is that how is this different from freelancers who make you an MVP for a fixed price? Off the top of my head, one example I can think of is http://iwbyp.chris-granger.com/.
I agree with @_jacksmith, $30k and 2% seems rather high for a prototype. One could also hire a freelancer and get a prototype made for significantly lesser money and without having to give away any equity. I'm not sure about the US, but in India, you can get a good dev shop to make you an MVP for something like $3-4k.
"in India, you can get a good dev shop to make you an MVP for something like $3-4k."
@_jacksmith@AsadDhamani agreed this is not the cheapest option. But there are many downsides to outsourcing to that type of firm/freelancer...including crappy/unscalable code, and tons of required project management. The people who are just trying to do an mvp as cheap as physically possible...will never use a service like this, but that's fine (I would guess).
@drewmeyers You can get a crappy MVP like that for even cheaper, I was talking about an MVP from a firm that follows good coding practices. For people who are trying to build an MVP as cheap as possible, hiring a couple cheap freelancers would do.
I'm only trying to understand the merit in going with something like Hidden Founders over hiring a good freelancer or a good dev shop for building your MVP, keeping in mind that the MVP is more a prototype than a finished product.
@AsadDhamani IF they truly can deliver a demo day in front of great potential CTOs (who are actually looking for something new), then that's worth it by itself. But that's a big IF.
@drewmeyers Agreed, but from what I've read on their website, it looks like they're pitching the MVP to developers. It's more important to pitch to potential customers at that stage. For a startup at the MVP stage, a single developer is what most startups would need.
@drewmeyers@AsadDhamani thank you for your feedback guys. Pitching to customers @AsadDhamani is done every day I believe. We will definitely share our learning in a few months, so please stay tuned.
For a second I read 'Hideous Founders' :)
Hmmm... new product idea?
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I have just recently come in contact with this product/service and this thread. Would like to crave indulgence of members here for insights.
Some of the commentators were reluctant about outsourcing CTO
1. but how would a non-tech startup get his idea off the ground to which it becomes easier for someone else, including investors, to have a good understanding of the product?
2. most accelerators and investors seem to be more impressed by businesses with tractions, how can a new project in idea stage, afraid of outsourcing development, overcome this hurdle?
3. how and where do you get compatible technical partners, devoid of argument and without wasting time on trivial issues
4. what about the challenge of the technical partner NOT being able to effectively and exhaustively deliver (less skilled than anticipated or presented)?
5. what advise would you want to give a founder with moderate tech understanding (develops website such as https://exhibitorslive.com as a mock for the intended project) but lacks full technical skills to build intended project, a niche SOCIAL MEDIA platform. To outsource or NOT?
Thanks for your anticipated responses
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