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Not the author but I have been on a similar journey after leaving my job at Google 4 months ago. I have successfully used Reddit /forhire and Upwork to find dec

Not the author but I have been on a similar journey after leaving my job at Google 4 months ago. I have successfully used Reddit /forhire and Upwork to find decent people to work with and help code up parts of my new project (https://stockquanta.com https://stockquanta.com). The most important thing I look for is their past work - its complexity and usability both. Without that, it's a massive bet. Don't trust their words. And also you talk to them about your project and see if they ask the right questions + get the nuances. Assuming this works out, then you ideally do fixed price, not hourly. Latter can become scammy. For the fixed price, you will divide it into milestones so that the first set of costs isn't too much but also gives some kind of re-assurance to the dev that you're serious and can give money. If the execution is bad, you can bail out sooner. I have seen developers lie about their past work too. One Fintech developer claimed he was the main developer for wealthfront.com and betterment.com lol and had them as part of this portfolio. I soon found out it was an amazingly bold lie which I guess many folks do fall for. In my experience, they are ALWAYS late. I don't have a good way so far to control for that effectively. Even after this, you will get bad apples. Some money will be wasted initially. The trick is to keep the good ones with you as time goes on (become friends with them if possible), and move away from the rest.

seanwilson 8y ago
Thanks for the tips! > Assuming this works out, then you ideally do fixed price, not hourly. Latter can become scammy Can you elaborate? I'm assuming you mean if they work slower they earn more money? I prefer fixed price as well when working with clients; it has big advantages for both sides. > For the fixed price, you will divide it into milestones so that the first set of costs isn't too much but also gives some kind of re-assurance to the dev that you're serious and can give money. What do you do for payment if they don't reach the milestone or you're not happy with the quality? > One Fintech developer claimed he was the main developer for wealthfront.com and betterment.com lol and had them as part of this portfolio. I soon found out it was an amazingly bold lie which I guess many folks do fall for. How did you find this out? > In my experience, they are ALWAYS late. I don't have a good way so far to control for that effectively. I find the same with clients. You have to be very cautious agreeing to any deadline where you're dependent on other people and factors you cannot control, especially if you've never worked with someone before.
- nyrulez 8y ago
  - The costs become uncapped and always end up more, with no accountability. After a certain while, sunk cost factor kicks in and it's too late to back out when you realize this developer is slow or not so great. Good confident developers will be able to estimate costs for projects upfront. - You either lose the payment or ask for refund. I have done both. That's the risk. You can perhaps lower the risk by giving a much smaller initial milestone or negotiating first payment after some work. - With crazy claims, the suspicion is already high. I talked to him for a few mins and it was clear there was no sophistication present and the guy was trying to attract clients with little to no experience. Are you already working on a project or planning to?

seanwilson 8y ago

Thanks for the tips! > Assuming this works out, then you ideally do fixed price, not hourly. Latter can become scammy Can you elaborate? I'm assuming you mean if they work slower they earn more money? I prefer fixed price as well when working with clients; it has big advantages for both sides. > For the fixed price, you will divide it into milestones so that the first set of costs isn't too much but also gives some kind of re-assurance to the dev that you're serious and can give money. What do you do for payment if they don't reach the milestone or you're not happy with the quality? > One Fintech developer claimed he was the main developer for wealthfront.com and betterment.com lol and had them as part of this portfolio. I soon found out it was an amazingly bold lie which I guess many folks do fall for. How did you find this out? > In my experience, they are ALWAYS late. I don't have a good way so far to control for that effectively. I find the same with clients. You have to be very cautious agreeing to any deadline where you're dependent on other people and factors you cannot control, especially if you've never worked with someone before.

nyrulez 8y ago
- The costs become uncapped and always end up more, with no accountability. After a certain while, sunk cost factor kicks in and it's too late to back out when you realize this developer is slow or not so great. Good confident developers will be able to estimate costs for projects upfront. - You either lose the payment or ask for refund. I have done both. That's the risk. You can perhaps lower the risk by giving a much smaller initial milestone or negotiating first payment after some work. - With crazy claims, the suspicion is already high. I talked to him for a few mins and it was clear there was no sophistication present and the guy was trying to attract clients with little to no experience. Are you already working on a project or planning to?