My take is that software is a new form of literacy - it’s that important. So here is a slightly different question: “currently all our reading and writing of E

My take is that software is a new form of literacy - it’s that important. So here is a slightly different question: “currently all our reading and writing of English is outsourced - should we bring reading and writing in house?” This was a serious question hundreds of years ago btw. Edit: As for the rest of your points: Find a good, middle aged, experienced developer who you trust. Don’t worry too much about how you tell if they write good code - you can’t. Focus on have they spent years writing code - a Middle Aged dev who is still an IC is a good indicator. Someone you trust - this is something you know from living amoung humans. Once you have someone you trust, build around them. Pay them well. Pay the people they hire well. Demand incredibly good comprehensive stub-based “test rigs” Use a blog and OSS as a means to attract talent - become attractive by being pro-software - believe in literacy