Every startup needs a developer, but too few founders know what they should look for when hiring one. And whoever you hire as your first developer can set the stage for your company's continued growth, so your first hire is in many ways the most important. In this guest post, Paddy Sherry of Leader Internet has outlined the most important reasons why you should put extra effort and care into hiring your first developer.
Making your first technical hire is a milestone in the history of any business. It means there is cash in the bank and you are ready to ramp things up. It's important not to rush into a decision as this person will have a considerable impact on the early success or failure of your company and product.
You should take more time over this hire than any other and there are a number of reasons why this is so.
1) They will shape technical direction
Your first in-house developer will make decisions on technologies for future projects. It’s crucial that products are built with tech that does all the things you need and has lots of community support.
The last thing you want is to start a new app with a framework that isn’t popular as it will be hard to find answers for questions when the engineer becomes stuck. Hiring more team members will also be difficult if you use an obscure JavaScript framework that nobody knows about and has no topics on StackOverflow.
Developers have a world of options when it comes to choosing a job and they will always want to work with the latest technologies or those that will still be around in five years time but it is important to choose one that works for your business now and in the future.
You need an experienced developer to make these choices and someone that has seen around a few corners.
2) They will maintain existing systems
Unless you are a brand new startup, your first in-house developer will have existing systems to maintain. There is no guarantee that the current quality will be good or it’s in a style your incoming hire is used to. Just because an app is built with the same language that a developer knows doesn’t mean they will be able to go in and instantly start cranking out updates.
You need a talented engineer that has worked on many codebases of varying styles. This ensures that they will be able to maintain what you have and add new features when required.
3) They will serve as the point of contact for your business
The first in-house developer will naturally become the source of help for all things technical. They need to be able to answer questions about every single part of the software stack and explain them in a way that a non-technical audience can understand. This is crucial as it allows the business to know what can be achieved but also understand roadblocks before they happen
A 100% technical person that can only speak in variables and loops will not be able to communicate these items to the business management.
Additionally, it is common for them to become the ‘tech guy’ and everyone will assume that not only are they lead software engineers but they can fix laptops and printers as well. Some developers may feel offended being asked to fix the router and it takes some understanding that situations is temporary until the company grows.
4) They will be working alone for awhile
Most developers are used working in teams as it’s the tried and tested method of producing bug-free software. Your first developer will be working alone for a few months so they need to be efficient as a lone ranger.
You want to avoid the scenario where your developer has a problem they cannot fix. Your employee will need to change their mentality to work on their own with no source of help except for documentation and forums. This can be quite a shift for an engineer coming from a 6 person agile team at a corporate dev shop and not something that everyone can do.
Make sure you have a person that has lots of experience working in a team but can also demonstrate examples of working alone doing freelance work or hobby projects.
5) They might eventually lead a team
Assume things are going to work out and you will need more developers in time. If you are speaking to a candidate that has only ever worked on their own, you need to think long and hard about taking them on. Your first technical hire will assume the role of manager when more devs join so they need to be comfortable in a team, know how to motivate others and be a voice of authority for junior team members.
Taking on someone with great technical experience but who only ever worked from home without co workers will not have the soft skills required to be a lead engineer.
Look for candidates that have already been a Lead or Senior Developer, with experience of delivering software projects on time.
Tips
Now that you know the reasons your first developer needs to be talented, consider the following nuggets of advice:
**Do**
* Hire someone with experience
* Take your time
* Use a technical screening service
**Don't**
* Take someone inexperienced because they are cheap
* Assume you can get by without a senior developer
* Say yes to the first person
Conclusion
As you can see there are many reasons why the first developer you hire needs to be top quality. Talk to people, take your time and interview lots of candidates. If you don’t have suitably qualified people to screen a developer, use Leader Internet's Technical Screening Service so you can be sure the developer you want to hire has the talent and can do the things they claim.
Do you want even more advice on building the perfect startup team? The Founder Institute has the expert mentorship you need to make your startup unbeatable. Apply today!
Paddy Sherry is the founder of Leader Internet. With a decade of front line engineering experience, he now heads his own web development company and helps other startups find quality technical candidates. He also writes about startups and development on the Leader Internet Blog.
