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MenuAs an early startup, have you worked with small firms to launch an MVP? If so, was it a good experience, and would you do this over hiring employees?
I'm transitioning from working as an independent UX/UI designer to partnering with a developer to design and launch MVP products, I'm curious how attractive of a model this is to those who've launched early stage startups, and if there is a desire or need to work with such firms.
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I do similar work. I don't always find that inbound startups and founders know as much about how to really do an "MVP" as their using the language of Lean Startup would suggest. There are certain pockets in major startup markets that do understand the language, but in those cases you're more likely to find a technical co-founder who does this work.
The biggest challenge in a business like this is going to be your business development and deal flow (i.e. "gig flow"). Yes, it's a compelling concept, but it's going to be all about keeping the gigs flowing and as a small shop the biggest challenge is going to be doing enough business development work while also doing the production work yourselves. I have done a lot of thinking and work about this for freelancers, myself included. I have some good solutions if you'd like to chat about it.
Either way, the success of your execution is dependent on the quality of your knowledge capital I.e. What you execute on. Getting out of the building may require a combination of skill sets which you may find more readily available in some places versus others. Ultimately your most important partner is your customer - execution skills you can get anywhere...
This entirely depends on the size and funding level of the startup. I find that many don't have the capital to pay for an outside firm to develop their MVP and instead would be looking for an in-house technical cofounder who would work for equity.
Ones that can afford this model are very happy indeed to have an outsourced team to handle everything for them.
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One word: Royalties This means you generate the idea and develop it enough to look interesting to a larger company who would be willing to pay you a royalty for your idea. This happens all the time. Rock stars, authors and scientists routinely license their creative ideas to other companies who pay them a royalty. Anyone can do it. Your business, therefore, would be a think tank. You (and your team, if you have one) would consider the world's problems, see what kinds of companies are trying to solve those problems, and then develop compelling solutions that they can license from you. You have to be able to sell your idea and develop a nice presentation, a little market research and an understanding of basic trademark and patent law. The nice thing about doing this is that if you develop enough cool ideas you will have royalties coming in from a lot of different sources, this creates a stable, passive revenue stream that requires little or no work to maintain. Start in your spare time and plan on the process taking 3-5 years. Set a goal to have a few products in the market that provide enough revenue (royalties) to cover your basic living expenses. Then you can quit your day job and dedicate more time and increase the momentum. A good idea business should have dozens, if not hundreds of license contracts generating royalties. It's possible to pull this off. And it is a fun job (I'm speaking from experience).MM
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How much equity should I give an engineer who I'm asking to join my company as a co-founder? (He'll be receiving a salary, too, and I'm self-funding)
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