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It's pretty typical for Pivotal Labs to charge 500k to write up an MVP for a startup.

by lnanek2 12y ago

forrestthewoods 12y ago
Good data point. Thanks! And I'd wager the quality of that work isn't particularly strong. So 1m for exceptionally high quality work seems plausible. And good call on the price being for an MVP. It doesn't really matter how many people are working on it or, for the most part, how long it takes. You're paying for a product. If that happens to be done by one person or four then so be it.
- sanswork 12y ago
  Why would you wager the quality of work from Pivotal wouldn't be particularly strong?
  - venus 12y ago
    Code from these outsourcing shops is never particularly good. They sell on name, trust and client relationships - the product just has to work, and it usually does. They can't attract and keep top devs, who don't want to work on boring client projects, and won't pay to get them anyway. They're inevitably junior-heavy, supervised by 2 or 3 year seniors, who do a reasonable job of keeping things in line but there's only so much you can do. The code ticks all the boxes for testing, etc, but is far from inspired and usually built with the present, not the future, in mind. There are uncomfortable organisational incentives to not over-deliver in quality - wouldn't want changes and maintenance to be too easy, and it's not like the client is tech-savvy or they wouldn't be hiring a "name" shop in the first place. Most really good programmers who know their value (that I know, anyway) are working for product companies, where quality is visible, valued, and rewarded, or are highly-paid consultants/freelancers.
    - briandear 12y ago
      I'm not sure you know anything about Pivotal.
- briandear 12y ago
  The quality of Pivotal not being strong? That's nuts. Their code is top tier -- many of the best practices we take for granted were developed by places like Pivotal and Thoughtbot. If I had to choose between 100 hours of Pivotal bs 100 hours by a "rock star," Pivotal would be a quality (and likely safer) choice.

It's pretty typical for Pivotal Labs to charge 500k to write up an MVP for a startup.

by lnanek2 12y ago

It's pretty typical for Pivotal Labs to charge 500k to write up an MVP for a startup.

Good data point. Thanks! And I'd wager the quality of that work isn't particularly strong. So 1m for exceptionally high quality work seems plausible. And good call on the price being for an MVP. It doesn't really matter how many people are working on it or, for the most part, how long it takes. You're paying for a product. If that happens to be done by one person or four then so be it.

sanswork 12y ago
Why would you wager the quality of work from Pivotal wouldn't be particularly strong?
- venus 12y ago
  Code from these outsourcing shops is never particularly good. They sell on name, trust and client relationships - the product just has to work, and it usually does. They can't attract and keep top devs, who don't want to work on boring client projects, and won't pay to get them anyway. They're inevitably junior-heavy, supervised by 2 or 3 year seniors, who do a reasonable job of keeping things in line but there's only so much you can do. The code ticks all the boxes for testing, etc, but is far from inspired and usually built with the present, not the future, in mind. There are uncomfortable organisational incentives to not over-deliver in quality - wouldn't want changes and maintenance to be too easy, and it's not like the client is tech-savvy or they wouldn't be hiring a "name" shop in the first place. Most really good programmers who know their value (that I know, anyway) are working for product companies, where quality is visible, valued, and rewarded, or are highly-paid consultants/freelancers.
  - briandear 12y ago
    I'm not sure you know anything about Pivotal.
briandear 12y ago
The quality of Pivotal not being strong? That's nuts. Their code is top tier -- many of the best practices we take for granted were developed by places like Pivotal and Thoughtbot. If I had to choose between 100 hours of Pivotal bs 100 hours by a "rock star," Pivotal would be a quality (and likely safer) choice.