Building a tech company as a nontechnical founder

A common problem you see in tech startups- they eff up their tech. 

If you’re a nontechnical founder thinking about building a tech company, I made this guide just for you! So you can make sure you don’t eff it up (:

Some important things to note:

• If you are a tech company, you should not outsource 100% of your tech, otherwise you have essentially outsourced the company (this is my strong opinion)
• Many VCs tend to prefer to invest in companies with at least one technical founder*
• Many VCs tend to prefer to invest in companies that build their tech in-house*

*Doesn’t mean you need to start off that way, but if you plan to raise capital from VCs eventually, having one of these 2 things will make your raise a lot easier. 

So, you need to build software to start your company. You can either: 

1. Build a simple MVP using low code and no code tools 
2. Find a CTO/lead engineer
3. Outsource to a software development agency 
4. Do a combo of these things 

I discuss how to do each below and give my recommended plan of action at the very bottom.

Build a simple MVP using low code and no code tools

It’s now easier than ever to build tech, especially as a non-technical person. There are dozens of tools, online guides, and Youtube videos to walk you through it. Also, it would be way cheaper to pay someone to hack something together with low code/no code tools in a weekend for you to test (probably <$4000) than it is to pay someone to build an entire MVP ($30-50k+). If you really wanna build a company, you should also have the desire to learn enough to at least try out some of these tools.

1. Define Your MVP: Start by clearly defining the core features and functionalities of your product that are essential for its initial launch. Keep it simple and focus on the key value proposition of your idea.
2. Research Low Code and No Code Tools: Explore the various low code and no code tools available in the market. Popular options include Bubble, Adalo, Webflow, OutSystems, and Zapier. Pick which tool aligns best with your requirements.
3. Plan the Workflow: Break down the development process into smaller steps. Identify the tasks and functionalities required for step. This will help you better organize your development process and streamline your workflow.
4. Integrate External Services: Leverage APIs and integrations provided by low code and no code tools to connect your product with external services. You can integrate with payment gateways, email providers, or analytics platforms to enhance your MVP's functionality (this can also take some time for approval, so plan to wait. For example, it takes 1-6 weeks to integrate with gmail).
5. Test and Iterate: As you build your MVP, regularly test it to ensure it meets the desired outcomes. Gather customer feedback and iterate on the product to refine and improve its features based on needs and preferences.
6. Consider Custom Code: In some cases, you might encounter requirements that can't be fully addressed using low code or no code tools. If necessary, consider integrating custom code snippets or plugins to extend the capabilities of your MVP. However, try to keep it minimal to maintain the advantages of low code and no code development.
7. Launch and Gather Feedback: Once you have a functional MVP, launch it to a small group of users or beta testers. Collect their feedback and analyze the data to identify areas for improvement and prioritize future development efforts.

Low code and no code tools can significantly accelerate your development process, but they have limitations. As your startup grows and your product requirements evolve, you might eventually need to transition to custom development or hire a development team. However, leveraging these tools in the early stages can help you quickly validate your idea and gain traction without extensive coding expertise. You can also build the majority with low code tools and then outsource some of the stuff that needs custom software development.

Low code and no code tools you can use

Using these tools can only take you so far, but it can get your product in the hands of potential customers and investors, teach you what you need to build for your product long term, and get commitments to sell/raise.

Find a CTO/lead engineer

If you want to build a tech company, one of the best things you can do is get strong technical talent on your team. Ideally, you want someone who is a good fit for 0-1 building. Even more ideal is if they can either manage a team or manage an outsourced dev shop, but that’s not necessary to get started. Even more ideal is if they understand product & building around customer feedback. When assessing potential teammates, you should be thinking about these 3 things. Here’s how you can find someone:

1. Use your network. You can get referrals from your existing network. Or use LinkedIn to find more people through cold outreach. Plan to send 100 cold DMs to get 10 meetings with software engineers. I recommend targeting people with 3-8 years of engineering experience at a company with 5-500 employees in the industry of your startup. It’s likely you might have to talk to 100 people or more to find someone who’s a fit for you and the company you’re building.
2. Join online communities dedicated to technology, entrepreneurship, and startup culture. Platforms like Hacker News, Reddit, and specialized Slack groups have active communities where you can find individuals passionate about startups. In Nashville, we have the NashDev and StartupNash slack groups. 
3. Leverage tech job platforms like LinkedIn Jobs, AngelList, and Stack Overflow Jobs to advertise your CTO/lead engineer position. Craft a compelling job description that highlights your startup's unique value proposition, growth potential, and the exciting challenges the CTO will face. Be specific about the skills, experience, and responsibilities required for the role.
4. Participate in industry-specific events where nerds gather. Engage in conversations, share your startup's mission, and seek out individuals who align with your vision. These events provide an opportunity to meet potential candidates and assess their knowledge and passion for the industry.
5. When you’re ready to hire, find someone who can adequately assess the technical skills of the potential cofounder/hire. If you don’t have someone to help you with this, it would be worth the money to pay someone a few hours so you can make sure you have the right person with the right skills (you can also ask for my help, this is a task many people would do for free to help an early stage founder).

I really like this article that digs in deeper to this topic. 

Outsource your software development

Software development shops will sell you their services like it’s the fix-all solution. While they can be really helpful in building your product, be skeptical that it’s not always the perfect fit. 

You should:

• Make your own product mockups/wireframes as best you can in Canva yourself to show them
• Get quotes from at least 4-5 dev shops 
• Talk to other founders who worked with those dev shops about their experience (and not just the ones the dev shop sends you, duh)
• Use a dev shop that must rely somewhat on social capital to deliver (aka, use me. If anyone does a bad job, then they have to face my wrath lol)
• ALWAYS have someone technical on your team that can manage the product. Otherwise, you have no idea if what they are building is good or not. Just because it looks good doesn’t mean there aren't huge security or scalability issues. 
• Manage the dev shop like a HAWK. Set very clear goals and expectations and stay in the loop with them constantly. 

Understand the pros and cons of outsourcing:

Pros of Outsourcing Software Development:

• Cost- you can access a skilled workforce quickly without the startup costs
• Expertise- you can access specialized skills + experience that may be difficult to hire for on a small in-house team
• Flexibility- as your company grows (or shrinks), you can easily scale your outsourced team up or down quickly 
• Focus- you can focus on other parts of your business and essentially pay other people to be experts

Cons of Outsourcing Software Development:

• Losing control- are you really building a tech company if you outsource all of your tech? You relinquish all control over the development process. (I can’t tell you how many times founders call me after their dev shop fucks up their product, but they still have to pay them)
• Alignment- an outsourced team is typically being paid a monthly retainer and aren’t as motivated on the success of your company as someone who is working alongside you and betting on equity
• Navigating differences- usually outsourced teams live in different countries, speak different native languages, and work in different time zones. 
• IP concerns- you should evaluate the reputation and security measures of your outsourcing partner to safeguard your assets. Use legal contracts and NDAs to mitigate risks.
• Dependency- you don’t want to solely rely on an outsourced team to deliver the tech you need

Also, make sure to consider whether you want to work with US based or abroad dev shops. I wrote more about the pros and cons of these here.

Nashville Software Development Agencies

• SpaceInch- croatian devs
• Masterborn- polish devs
• BundleN- indian + american devs
• FortyAU- american devs
• EY- ganser.steven@gmail.com, USA, India, Poland developers
• Acklen Avenue- I don't know
• Atiba- I don't know
• DevDigital- I don't know

Each of these Nashville software development agencies brings their own expertise and strengths to the table. Some of them have only their management team here and devs aborad, some of them have the entire team here. When considering working with any agency, it's important to assess their portfolio, client testimonials, team expertise, and project approach to determine the best fit for your specific software development needs. 

My advice

Honestly, you should expect to only get half of what you want from low code/no code tools + outsourcing to a dev shop. But, you probably only need to get half of what you want, the focus is getting to a checkpoint.

That checkpoint is either 1) putting a product into a customer's hands, learning about it, and getting some LOIs 2) raising capital based upon what you built and user feedback 3) or probably a combo of the two. Both options can be really helpful in learning what you need to build moving forward to actually grow your company, when you need to get 100% of what you want!

No matter what, I think you should get someone technical in-house as soon as possible. Dedicating time to networking with engineers to find the right fit is crucial. Once you have someone in-house, I think it could make sense to outsource a lot of the development work to a shop and have that person manage it or hire an internal team, it just depends on a lot of factors.

I'm happy to talk through these options and offer my guidance to founders. My weekly office hours (in-person since I only work with Nashville founders) is a good place to start.

What do you agree or disagree with?

What am I missing?