Before we jump on to the answer of the often asked question, ‘How to hire a programmer for a startup?’, I feel that it is important to discuss the question, ‘What kind of programmers are needed in a startup?’
Knowing the skills you need to hire a programmer makes your life easier as an entrepreneur or a recruiter. Especially since programmers and coders may have a plethora of skills depending on the technology they work on or the kind of applications they would build.
It is imperative to know that a web developer may not have the same skills as that of a mobile developer, and a mobile developer may work on android or at other instances work on iOS. So, the skills of programmers are vast and suit specific needs.
Aspects of Software Development
There are three critical components in any software/web/app development process. The front-end, back-end, and database architecture that ties it all together. The front end relates to the on screen experience that helps us to interact with the web or mobile software. The back-end refers to the code that sits at the back, communicating all the information from the front end to the database and vice versa. It is more of a messenger that actually makes the system work.
Finally, we have the software architecture that consists of everything other than the front-end and the back-end. Database, hosting, structuring all come under this aspect of software development.
What kind of programmers should you hire for a startup?
Unless you are a technology company whose primary work is software development, you should hire a full stack developer without a doubt. A full-stack developer can work both on the front end and the back end of a software. This means that he has the capacity to build both the server side and the client side of a software.
Although full stack developers might seem costly, they actually are not when it comes to a startup. Since, a full stack developer works on almost any aspect of your software or app, he can come in handy to solve any puzzle that may arise. But hiring a true full stack developer who can help you with your startup idea can be difficult.
It becomes frightening when we get to realise that hiring the wrong person may lead a company to lose millions. Yes, these are documented statistics.
Again, hiring a developer for a startup doesn’t always mean that you need a full stack developer. A lot would depend on the type of product, or the software the startup needs to build. It also depends on whether the software is already built and now needs maintenance and upgrades only.
Tip: You can contact experts like those at Hire Indian Programmers: one of the finest software development companies in India to evaluate the kind of programmers that your startup would need.
Summary of the Section
Full stack developers, by definition, are experts in all three areas and can work alone on any web development project without the need for outside assistance. However, they are tricky to hire and you need to be very skilled in recruiting such employees. And there is no one size fits all solution when it comes to hiring, but most of the non-tech startups would do well by hiring a full-stack developer.
Obviously, you would now ask us why? Here’s the answer.
Reasons to Hire a Full Stack Developer for a Startup?
Reasons to hire a full stack developer for a startup might be many, but two of the most important ones are:
1. Full-stack developers help you keep costs down by reducing the number of people you need to hire
Running a startup needs communicating and carrying out clearly stated goals along a less-than-clear road. You do, after all, have a mission statement and a goal in mind. However, unlike established businesses, you must carefully consider every dollar you spend and whom you spend it on.
So, if you’re planning to build up a web/mobile app or any other type of software infrastructure, you’ll need a team of engineers to assist you. It’s ideal to hire distinct developers to handle the backend, frontend, and database. But these specialists will work in their own silos, and none among them would have authority or knowledge about what’s going outside of their own realm.
Hence, with a full-stack developer you can have a single person working on all the facts of your software, website or application development. Hiring full stack developers will always keep your overall team size smaller.
2. Your startup’s full stack developers will expand with it
As I previously stated, it is critical that those who work with you share your goal as a startup entrepreneur. Only a full stack developer would come close to sharing that vision when it comes to the construction and management of your web development infrastructure.
While IT project managers may be in charge of overseeing all that the siloed expert programmers perform, having a full-stack developer grow with the organisation would provide far better long-term benefits.
What are the skills of a full-stack developer?
A full stack developer is not a single entity. He can be of many different types, working on different technologies. But some skills may be essential for a full stack developer.
- HTML/CSS
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets, while HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. CSS is a customizable tool for creating and decorating a website, whereas HTML is used to add web content. The style and feel of a website are determined by HTML and CSS, which play a significant role in enticing potential clients.
Full Stack Developers must work with HTML to use markup to determine the structure of web pages. For the efficient presentation of HTML elements, they must also be CSS experts. For designing an interactive, intuitive, and engaging frontend for applications, Full Stack Developers must have strong experience in both of these programming languages.
- JavaScript
JavaScript is a required Full Stack Developer expertise when it comes to web and software development. The object-oriented scripting language is mostly used in HTML to implement functionalities. It’s one of the most used languages for building server frontend and backend code. JavaScript is also the only programming language that can be used both in the browser and on the server (Node.js).
Full Stack Developers must be well-versed in JavaScript, as well as related concepts and functionalities such as React and Angular. There are full stack javascript developers as well. Something to consider.
- Backend Languages
While we’ve covered the two most important frontend languages, HTML and CSS (together with JavaScript), the backend is an equally important component of any application or product. While backend development is another game altogether, there are numerous programming languages to pick from.
Few languages like PHP, Python, Ruby, Javascript, Golang, C# etc are used to develop the backend of a software system and full stack developers need to master them.
How to hire programmers for a startup?
When it comes to building the next successful product or solution, you need to know how to hire startup developers.
Especially, if you come from a non-technical background, hiring a programmer for your startup is challenging. You must comprehend the complexities of selecting the best candidate for the job. Programmers are wizards in their own right. With their coding, they develop stunning digital solutions.
So, here we bring the simplest process of hiring experienced programmers for your startup:
5 Steps to hire a programmer for a startup
Go by these steps when you are hiring a programmer or a developer for your startup
1. Define What You Want To Build
Before you go all-in on recruiting developers, make a list of your criteria. The more exact you are, the more effective your filters will be.
- You’ll be able to start looking in the proper locations if you have a clear set of talents.
- Your communication will reflect your clarity in what you’re seeking.
- Do you want a database developer or a front-end developer, for example?
- Are you certain you haven’t mixed up a web designer and a web developer?
2. Understand What to Look For
The following step is to set up your search strategy after you’ve defined a need, acquired input from all stakeholders and agreed on candidate specifications.
Sourcing is the process of proactively identifying individuals who are:
- Actively looking for work (active job seekers) or finding those who are not actively looking for work (passive job seekers)
- The technology on which you wish to build your software. Example, you can look for a developer who works on MERN stack.
- The type of experience and skills you are looking for.
- The position where you wish to fit in this new resource. Is he a Team Leader, or a Junior Developer?
3. Where to Look For
If paying for services is not an option, you can use the following resources:
- LinkedIn – Create a Company Page
- Create a career page
- Publish engaging content
- Use free ads
- Github – Filter search results by relevant criteria and contact people who could be of interest.
- Hire Indian Programmers – Hire Indian Programmers is one of the finest Indian Companies that are especially skilled to help startups with their coding needs. Hire Indian Programmers, or HIP is an award winning company that has a plethora of programmers on bench who can be hired on a contractual, project or a tasked based payment system.
The company has delivered a plethora of projects on multiple technologies to clients all over the world. Check out some of their Projects:
- iOS Projects
- WordPress Projects
- Node.Js Projects
- PHP Projects
- Shopify Projects
- Magento Projects
- Android Projects
4. Screening the candidates
A recruiters’ life has been made easier by applicant tracking systems and other recruiting technologies, which have reduced the cost, time, and effort involved in attracting, maintaining, and retaining personnel. You welcome applications, sift manually, interview shortlisted applicants, and are finally employed in traditional tech hiring processes. However, this method is not cost-effective, scalable, or precise.
Some companies, such as HackerEarth or Codility, offer coding assessment software which helps you, screen developers, effortlessly via customized coding tests that are automatically evaluated. Detailed reports paint a near-perfect picture of what these individuals are capable of.
You won’t be accused of any kind of bias either. Sometimes, researching their presence on social media gives you a snapshot of potential hires’ personal and professional personas.
If all you have is a résumé, how do you make sense of a promising developer’s résumé?
5. Start the Interview with Candidate
It’s a two-way road. Both the candidate and you will have to make some decisions in this situation. Once you have a list of “ideal prospects,” you must decide whether they are:
- Are enthusiastic about what they are doing or what they aspire to accomplish
- Can effectively communicate
- Have a thorough understanding of their field of expertise
- Would be someone your team enjoys working with
Hire for their computer expertise and adaptability rather than their experience. Don’t ask for a programmer with five years of Java experience, two years of SQL experience, and one and a half years of Hibernate experience.
Find strategies to examine their area of expertise and online presence (portfolios/GitHub) instead of this shopping list. Ask them open-ended questions and have them evaluate a platform, system, or piece of code. Engage them in a discussion about it, and you’ll learn a lot about their mental agility and problem-solving abilities.
If you are not a techie, you should hire someone (a programmer, mentor, or consultant) to assist you in interviewing developers. Again, companies like Hire Indian Programmers can come to your rescue if the process seems daunting.
4 Key skills of coders to look for when hiring for your startup
- Technical skills – Because of the many different digital languages, a professional in the field has worked with a wide range of them. A programmer who has worked with a variety of languages has a better understanding of the complexity of coding.
- Problem-solving abilities – When an original idea is provided, an expert coder succeeds by figuring out how to make it work.
- A business mindset – The ideal professional coder has a business mindset that allows him to see the big picture and look beyond the software he is currently working on. They can take it a step further by suggesting fresh ideas and ways to better their assignment.
- Ability to plan – A professional understands the need of planning ahead and considering the end product. They can carefully develop their software to ensure that each line of code is successful.
Where to Hire Programmers Online for Your Startup?
Here is the list of websites to hire programmers online for your startup:
With 18 Years of experience in offering expert developers to startups across the globe, Hire Indian Programmers is the best bet if you are looking for top-notch developers. The company offers a multitude of pricing options which will completely be in your favour. You can hire one developer for your startup or even go for an entire team. Once your project is done, they will even offer complete maintenance and upgrade based on your needs.
- Upwork
With over 12 million users, Upwork is a big freelance marketplace. With the use of sorting algorithms, the popular website connects clients with remote freelancers ranging from content writers to JavaScript experts. Upwork’s simplicity of use is frequently praised by employers, but the fluctuating quality is frequently cited as a key negative. So, while finding programmers to interview should be relatively simple using Upwork, interviewing dozens of individuals will be time-consuming.
However, the quality of Upwork freelancers varies depending on the size of the marketplace, as the firm does very little screening. As a result, you will be responsible for the majority of the screening and vetting.
- Freelancer.com
Freelancer is one of the largest freelancing markets in the world, and it’s a terrific location to find talented coders. Freelancer is used by top companies such as Microsoft, PWC, Boeing, and many more, and is known for making the hiring process easier.
Employers and enterprises can hire the ideal developer in just a few seconds thanks to Freelancer’s innovative bidding system. Recruiters can look at portfolios, samples of work, and feedback from former employers. However, if you’re seeking a low-cost option, Freelancer is a fantastic option.
- Remote.co
Remote.co is a website that encourages people to work from home. Because some of the world’s most prestigious corporations encourage remote working, sites like these quickly gain traction. So far, we’ve looked at sites that have large databases of coders for hire; Remote.co, on the other hand, is more focused on job listings.
You may locate freelancers on Remote.co by posting a job on their platform, and a pool of candidates will respond. Unlike a standard freelancer platform, there is no interface for managing payments. As a result, after you’ve found the programmer you’re searching for, you should feel confident in taking hiring into your own hands. Developers, designers, project managers, quality assurance, and IT all have remote job boards.
- Guru
Guru is a popular network for finding and hiring freelancers. Guru is a safe, flexible, and cost-effective platform that links businesses and employers with some of the best freelancers in the world. Guru is a top competition to try when hiring developers because it claims to have a 99 percent client satisfaction record.
Guru also provides round-the-clock client service and currently has over 500,000 brilliant programmers and developers on board. Employers and businesses can comb through the portfolios of numerous freelancers, compare them, and read reviews to make an informed decision. Guru’s SafePay payment option also makes it a safe and secure solution for businesses.
Why Not Hire a Freelance Developer for Your Startup?
It can be difficult to find good help these days, especially in the development and engineering fields. It appears that finding and keeping suitable, competent, full-time personnel is nearly difficult. That is why hiring from companies that allow billed work hours only is such a terrific option.
Freelancers might be recruited to help with a particular issue or forthcoming project. But the quality of work of freelancers is never attractive. Reliance on freelancers does help to keep costs low, but you may never meet your company’s requirements. Freelancers are often unpredictable and non-serious. So, you need to have a contract with an established company so that you can take legal action, in case it’s needed.
There are a plethora of freelancing websites available on the Internet for you to sift through and determine which is the greatest fit for your needs. This liberty has the potential to be a double-edged sword. It’s good because you have access to a large number of applicants, but it’s terrible because there’s simply too much to sort through. We’ll make that process more tangible by laying out some of the greatest solutions available.
3 Traits of a Startup Programmer
A programmer that works in a startup is not the same as one that works in a slow traditional setup. Startups by nature are fast and ever changing. So, when you are hiring a programmer for your startup, check for the following traits.
- Endless patience
The most crucial quality to develop in order to become a great programmer is patience. There may be times when you become stuck while programming, and the only way to get out of it is to keep working. It’s also true that you can’t teach patience, but if you’re interested in programming, you can practise it.
- Possess a high level of creativity and problem-solving abilities
Programmers are regarded as some of the most inventive individuals on the planet. Their job entails looking at an issue from a different perspective and employing code to build a creative solution. You must have a problem-solving mindset if you want to be a successful programmer.
- Analytical reasoning
One of the most crucial qualities we look for in a skilled programmer is the ability to reason logically. You will quickly be able to find solutions to the difficulties if you think logically. All you have to do is think about the solution calmly while applying all of your knowledge and reasoning. What distinguishes a brilliant programmer from others is their ability to approach an issue in a rational, analytical manner.
3 Strategies to Hire a Programmer for your Startup
1. Outsource programming to cheaper locales
You generally don’t require a full-time hire or a development team if all you need is someone to build your website. Outsourcing your programming to a place where lower pay is allowed could be a solid, low-cost option for you. You can locate someone in India to complete the duties you require, thank them, and then go on. You don’t have to hire them on a permanent basis, and if you build a solid relationship with them, you’ll have a resource you can call on as needed in the future.
2. Hire Remotely
Remote hires are a good alternative for part-time or full-time employees for more than just sporadic job needs for your firm. Developers from India are open for you to hire.
You save money by not having to purchase costly office equipment or pay for additional office space for more employees. Full-time remote hires have the same benefits as in-house employees, but it’s still cheaper than hiring someone to work in the office.
According to Forbes, remote workers are more productive (35-40 percent more productive than in-office counterparts), are more authentically engaged with their work (producing higher quality work), miss fewer sick days, have a higher retention rate, and save companies an average of $11,000 per year per telecommuter.
3. Find a startup partner who can code
No, we’re not joking—here’s an example (with 472 million businesses globally, there’s certain to be a nice match for you!).
There are a number of people who make a living off of founding startups and then moving on to the next one and the next… Many former Amazon, Apple, and Google employees are eager to strike out on their own. You can also come across someone who is ready to sell their most recent startup and start a new one.
There’s a growing number of startup entrepreneurs who network and know a lot of other people that are in the same boat as them. Many of them are also coding experts. You’ll want to locate someone who shares your vision and enthusiasm for your business. This is perhaps the most difficult plan to put into action, but if you’re ready to let someone else in from the ground floor, it can work out well.
You’ll need to have your business model built up, from business plan to prototype, in order to locate a partner. Your assets and limits, as well as your financial condition and schedule, must all be fully disclosed. With any luck, your potential partner will share your passion, and the two of you (or more) will be able to work together to create your business until you’re ready to expand your workforce.
Where do you think you’ll be able to meet these potential partners? Websites such as F6S.com and CoFoundersLab; coworking spaces; startup weekends; developer meetings and conferences; hard tech sites such as GitHub and Stack Overflow; business-oriented blog sites such as Medium.com; and social networking sites such as LinkedIn are just a few examples.
Why hire a coder from India for your Startup?
Many firms in Europe and the United States are willing to hire software developers from India with more experience in order to take their software technology to the next level. Companies have turned to custom software development outsourcing due to a scarcity of qualified and talented individuals on the west side.
Many organizations benefit from offshore software development since it allows them to remain highly competitive and expand their market into other nations. Your costs will simply go down as the price of programmers for startups in India is considerably lower than that of coders in Europe and Americas.
The cost of hiring Indian coders for your startup is not low due to the skills. It is because, being a populous country, India produces 1.5 million engineers every year. This means that there is tougher competition in terms of skills and salary in India. So, do not shoo away this option, especially when you can save a ton of money.
Why is India the best place to hire coders from?
To be honest, India has a wealth of skills in a variety of sectors. More importantly, in the IT area, there are a plethora of skills just waiting to be discovered. India, in general, has a strong growth outlook and a large youth population, making it the most sought-after offshore recruiting destination. India is currently leading the pack by awarding more top-tier offshore projects than any other country.
Many of the most well-funded initiatives have grown more successful because of the contributions of Indian software engineers.
Choose Programmers Wisely to Build a Powerful Product for Your Startup
We have dealt with the issue of hiring a programmer for your startup in as much detail as possible. However, there is no one size fits all approach to hiring. So, before you hire, you have to be aware of your needs and what traits you’re looking for in a developer. Interviewing and onboarding the developer is another area where you have to be strategic. Just in case, it is too much of a task, you can opt for great companies such as Hire Indian Programmers to do all the coding for your startup.
If you are looking to support regarding any programming or development, you can contacts us at Hire Indian Programmers. We offer custom solutions in Node.Js Development, Ruby on Rails Development, WordPress Development, PHP Development, Magento Development, iOS Development, Android Development, Angular Development, OpenCart Development, Iconic Development, Laravel Development, or any Open Source Development.
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