Freelancer, agency or your own team?

You can hire a freelancer, work with an agency or studio, or hire your own developers. Each one works for some founders and goes badly for others. The right choice depends less on price and more on how much time you have to manage the work yourself.

Good when the product is small and clear, like a landing page, a simple internal tool or an add-on to something that already exists. You talk directly to the person writing the code, and it's usually the cheapest option.

The catch is that one person is one point of failure. If they get sick, take a full-time job or lose interest, the work stops. You'll also be the project manager, the tester and often the designer.

Good when you need design, development and testing together and don't want to coordinate three people. A decent agency brings a process: regular demos, someone checking quality, and a team that doesn't vanish when one person leaves.

It costs more than a freelancer. And agencies vary a lot. Some put their best people on the sales call and juniors on your project. Ask who will actually work on it, and ask to talk to them.

Good once you know the product works and you'll be building it for years. The people who build it stay close to the users and the business.

For a first version, it's usually the slowest path. Hiring takes time, and a single first hire has to be good at everything. Many founders start with an agency or freelancer, then hire once there's something to grow.

• How much time can I spend each week checking work and answering questions?
• Do I need design as well, or just development?
• Is this a short project, or something we'll keep changing for a long time?
• What happens if the person or team disappears halfway?

Keep the code, the domain and every account in your own name from day one. Ask to see working software often, not just status updates. And start with a small first milestone, so you find out how it is to work together before you've committed the whole budget.