How to Avoid Failure When Building a Startup With a Software Development Company

I talk a lot about how to successfully work with a software development company.

It’s a large part of the work I do here at Altar. Whether it’s here with you, on social media with our extended community of entrepreneurs, or in person with the founders who work with us.

In that time, I’ve also seen and heard how badly outsourcing can fail when you choose the wrong partner for the job. Just the other day I heard of yet another startup that had to scrap their codebase and start from scratch due to working with a bad agency.

So I wanted to share some information on this so you can avoid a similar nightmare.

Of course, as the CMO of a product house, I may be somewhat biased in my perception. That said, I’m very experienced on the topic, so stick with me.
Firstly, when it comes to bringing anyone new into work on your project it’s all about complete alignment and transparency. That holds true for a technical partner, designer, investor, marketer or any stakeholder you bring in.

Now, when it comes to a tech partner, the best scenario to achieve this is by bringing in an internal team. Alignment, motivation, transparency, vision, etc. all are much easier to nurture in-house.

That doesn’t mean that these vital factors can’t be achieved with an external team, however.

You just need to find a software development company that can mimic the behaviours of an internal team.

That's exactly what Philip from Apiax (a Swiss RegTech Startup that’s raised 8.1M to date) and Jacquelle from Fave (a social network from the US, that raised 2.3M from the likes of Disney) did.

To understand the most crucial elements that contributed to that outcome, check out the full article here, where I break down exactly how you can do it.