Check out this presentation from Joe Jackson, director of development at Smashing Boxes at New Orleans Entrepreneur Week 2016.

1. FIELDING A TECH TEAM
JOE JACKSON / DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AT SMASHING BOXES / NOLA
#NOEW2016 / @anything_joes

2. THIS TALK SHOULD
ANSWER THESE
QUESTIONS:
HOW DO I FIND AND
HIRE THE RIGHT PEOPLE
FOR MY STARTUP?
HOW DO I RECOGNIZE
WHAT I DON’T KNOW
ABOUT MY BUSINESS?
HOW DO I ADAPT
TO CHANGE?

3. MY QUALIFICATIONS

4. POOR QUALITY
SOFTWARE
A PATTERN
WITH
STARTUPS
1
IMPROPER SOLUTIONS /
TECH DOESN’T MATCH
BUSINESS PLAN
2
A NEED TO SPEND
A LOT ON REWORK
& REPAIR
3
BUSINESS GETS
PUT ON HOLD TO
FIX SOFTWARE
4

5. THIS IS WHY
THEY BOOTSTRAPPED
THEY RUSHED
THEY HIRED CHEAP
404PAGE NOT FOUND

7. WHAT DO YOU NEED?

8. YOU DON’T
KNOW AND
THAT’S OKAY

9. AGILE
BUILD NARROWER AND BETTER

10. YOUR OPTIONS
HIRE IN-HOUSE
HIRE AN AGENCY

11. FIELDING YOUR OWN
TECH TEAM

12. BIGGEST
MISTAKE
1
IT’S BETTER TO GET SOMEONE
REALLY GOOD FOR LESS TIME.2
DON’T GO BARGAIN BASEMENT
FOR YOUR TECH NEEDS.

13. CONSIDER
CONSULTING

14. QUALITIES TO LOOK FOR
THEY’VE BUILT A PRODUCT
FROM THE GROUND UP BEFORE
THEY’VE MAINTAINED
A PRODUCT IN THE PAST

15. DEVELOPER
MATURITY
CAN CLEARLY COMMUNICATE
DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS
UNDERSTAND TRADEOFFS FOR
DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS
AREN’T COWBOYS
HAVE REASONABLE BUSINESS IQ
(YOU ARE HIRING A CTO)

16. HIRING AN AGENCY

17. A GOOD AGENCY
HAS YOUR BUSINESS
GOALS FOREFRONT
CAN HELP YOU DEVELOP
YOUR BUSINESS
WILL BE PARTNERS
WILL HELP YOU FIELD
AND TRAIN YOUR OWN TEAM
HAS A LOT OF EXPERIENCE
BUILDING PRODUCTS

18. CAN CLEARLY
EXPLAIN HOW
THEY WORK
QUALITIES TO
LOOK FOR
1
UNDERSTAND THE
VALUE OF YOUR
PRODUCT, THE MARKET
& DIFFERENTIATORS
2
HAVE A WIDE
VARIETY OF
SERVICES BEYOND
DEVELOPMENT
3
THEY
ARE LOCAL
4

19. DO YOUR HOMEWORK

20. TLDR
CAREFUL HIRING
UP FRONT CAN SAVE
YOU A LOT
AGENCIES AND
CONSULTANTS ARE A
VALUABLE RESOURCE
YOUR PRODUCT IS A
FIRST CLASS CITIZEN,
TREAT IT LIKE ONE

21. THANK YOU
JOE JACKSON / DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AT SMASHING BOXES / NOLA
#NOEW2016 / @anything_joes