June 11, 2012, 11:28 AM —
Aymeric Gaurat Apelli (far right) celebrates with the other members of team France after they were named the winner of the Imagine Cup during the second annual student technology competition sponsored by Microsoft, July 6, 2004.
REUTERS/Jeff Christensen
Developer Aymeric Gaurat-Apelli outsourced development after eight months to focus on marketing, and says others should consider the same step.
After eight months proving TaskArmy was a viable idea, Aymeric Gaurat-Apelli outsourced further development to a programmer in the Ukraine. Why? He realized development was "too enjoyable" and would spend a week tweaking rather than marketing. He is now working "on the business" rather than "in the business." And, since a developer can best talk to another developer, communications are clear and progress continues.
Techcrunch asked "Should Tech Startups Outsource Product Development?" two years ago in a point-counterpoint post. Vivek Wadhwa said he was against outsourcing development, and gave that advice to startups. Jim Walsh of GlobalLogic provided the counterpoint, saying distributed R&D (GlobalLogic's business) can be effective in the right situation. But Wadhwa remained unconvinced.
Programming
as a developer myself I would find it difficult giving up that control.
Brian Cararella on gaurat.net
Just thinking about all the useful developing time that I'd wasting looking for a good developer. It just doesn't seem worth it.
vibranazo on news.ycombinator.com
We outsourced our product development and it was the best decision we ever made.
Rich F on techcrunch.com
I think that he should have highlighted the part where he says "fire fast". That is the best advice that he could ever have given.
TheBiv on news.ycombinator.com
I remain unconvinced that outsourcing core development is a good strategy for startups.
r4 ds on techcrunch.com
Marketing
If you love developing so much why didn’t you do that and outsource the marketing and selling aspect?
darren on gaurat.net
He is outsourcing Taskarmy.com which is related to outsourcing itself. So on the one hand it is an awesome exercise... On the other, he is saying "nice things" about a concept he needs to "sell".
SudarshanP on news.ycombinator.com
Business
Curious, did you read the 4 Hour Work Week? Your plan seems modelled after it; outsource everything, free yourself to work on other parts of the business.
Jeff Kolesnikowicz on gaurat.net
The major advantage that a company gains by outsourcing its web development is the saving and restructuring of costs.
abc def on techcrunch.com
But like the book E-Myth says, there is a moment in your businss lifecycle where you have to go from technician to manager and then to business owner.
Aymeric on gaurat.net
Technical Expertise availability with low cost is the main reason for outsourcing.
ezestseo on techcrunch.com
Where is the point new product development can be outsourced? Let us know what you did in this situation.
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