Hacker Remix

Ask HN: What elements of a startup should founders consider outsourcing

1 point by wnc3141 8 months ago | 4 comments

I had a conversation with someone toying with a platform idea. They were wondering which parts of the technical development could be outsourced - made me wonder the same thing. They were interested in a cost effective path to an MVP (little technical background).

How might experienced founders or professionals approach outsourcing for a startup?

sema4hacker 8 months ago

EVERYTHING can be outsourced. And if there are employees actually getting paid, the first thing to oursource is payroll processing.

byoung2 8 months ago

While it is true that everything CAN be outsourced, not everything SHOULD be outsourced. Generally, anything that is not your core competency is a good candidate for outsourcing. So your example of payroll processing is a good idea to outsource, but I wouldn't outsource the main product of the startup (like don't outsource building the tech if that is your product). Outsource legal, backoffice, HR, etc.

mmdesignsldn22 8 months ago

I would say outsourcing the development side. How much does he see cost effective for MVP?

wnc3141 8 months ago

I am just hazarding a guess, but since he is going at it alone, probably under 7-8 grand. Note there doesn't appear to be much differentiated tech, just a need for a competently constructed platform for his market.