Friend needs help finding someone to code a site

[Injury]

I have a friend living in the Florida Keys that has a business idea revolving around a website and he is in need a person, group, or company to code the site from the ground up. In my not-quite-experienced opinion I'm guessing that to get the site launched will take at least a hundred hours of combined time from a designer and coder (or one person with a lot of free time that can tackle the project by themselves) After initial launch it will likely require a part-time position for maintaining it.

He tried using a site (maybe rentacoder?) and got burned on the deal. The guy essentially handed over some open source junk with some custom hacks, and it doesn't work correctly.

I CANNOT give details about what the site is or what will be required, the best I can say is that it will need functionality similar to a social networking site, but it's not a social networking site. (otherwise I would have told him to quit while he's ahead.)


I gave him some quick advice on where to get started down the correct path but was essentially looking for advice from people more experienced on the issue to advise on where to look for help, a general idea of cost, time frame, etc. I know that being a bit vague isn't going to give solid answers, I just need an idea.

Should he seek out a professional company to do the work? Anyone have any companies in the area of the Florida Keys that they could recommend?

Any help or advice is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[blackdogdeek]

depending on the complexity of the functionality it could require something as little as 1 guy for the entire project or an entire team.

it's really difficult to assess without more details. PM me if you have any specifics you can divulge.

 

[Descartes]

Most development shops don't really specialize in product development, since it assumes so much risk on their part. Most shops also don't work in timeframes as little as 100 hours, because quite honestly it often costs too much to leverage resources for such a short period of time.

I'm going to go on a limb and say 100 hours is an absolute impossibility. Almost nothing non-trivial can happen in 100 hours. The suggestion that it can is likely to turn away people that can help you. You're better off just going with an open mind and seeking help that way.

My honest opinion as to where to seek help:

1) Try colleges. You're likely to find someone who can put in some sweat equity. This is your best bet to getting something done unless you have a legitimate budget.
2) Try CraigsList, LinkedIn and local networking groups to get access to some of these people. A lot of these people are very eager.
3) Ignore rentacoder and other similar nonsense if you want productive results.

That's my best suggestion. I would offer to help, but I'm guessing our company is going to be out of your budget. Just being honest. That said, I do know of a lot of people that take projects on the side, and all are very capable. Don't plan on sweat equity though. If you're interested, let me know and I'll put you in touch with people.

 

[Injury]

Thanks for the pointers, Descartes.

100 hours was more or less my idea of what it may take for a framework for the site. But yeah, after thinking it over for a little while that is only 2.5 weeks of work and probably a pretty low number.

My friend is VERY serious about this website and has a fair budget in mind. He knows that it's going to be a large project and was thinking in the range of 50k.

 

[sponge008]

You know, web startups built with a manager at the helm and hired help coders tend to do rather badly, since there are usually many competitors, several of which are run (and crucially, owned) by the technical people, who work that much harder. Internet businesses have such low overhead that the lighter model almost always wins (and there's plenty of competition). Of course, I may have misunderstood your friend's intended approach, so best of luck in any case.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Descartes hit every nail on the head with this topic.

My only other advice is that he should put together a proper business plan... there is much more involved in these things than just getting it developed. If the idea is somewhat recent, 1 month old or less, wait a week or two before any big decision, everything is exciting at first and seems like nothing can stop it from happening, but in reality, there's probably a lot of work to be done.

 

[CrazyLazy]

As others have said make sure you have a really good business plan/concept before you go drop 50 grand. You can find good people on freelance sites, you just have to be very picky who you choose and give them some test projects to see how they are before you give them $. You should definitely look in other places though, finding someone locally is ideal because communication is easier and you can quickly gauge how competent they are.

 

[Injury]

The business plan is in progress with professional help. He's been running over the idea with his partner for about 6 months now and working out the details, doing his market research, etc. The only thing he really isn't certain of is the technical aspect.

 

[ppdes]

I wouldn't hire anyone who didn't have a good portfolio of sites they'd already made. Contacting previous clients would be even better.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Injury
Thanks for the pointers, Descartes.

100 hours was more or less my idea of what it may take for a framework for the site. But yeah, after thinking it over for a little while that is only 2.5 weeks of work and probably a pretty low number.

My friend is VERY serious about this website and has a fair budget in mind. He knows that it's going to be a large project and was thinking in the range of 50k.

50k is a fairly reasonable budget, but of course we don't know much about what it is you're actually trying to build; however, unless you're trying to build the next Google, 50k should be enough to get you something functional.

A few more technical caveats if you're willing:

1) As far as a framework is concerned, be careful with that. Engineering types, especially people in software, like reinventing the wheel. This is especially true for junior people (people that are generally more eager on a budget), because they either don't know any better or they're looking to for a resume builder.

The point: Someone needs to stay close to the solution space. Don't let them dive off into the weeds for too long, because you'll burn through your budget in no time.

The solution: Hire a capable lead that can help manage this for you. This person won't need to be fully committed, so you can reduce the burn rate on your budget. Use them to help generate an architectural vision, to manage that vision and to distribute core responsibilities.

Think of the above as a contractor-subcontractor relationship in building a house. The contractor isn't throwing up the frame of the house, but if any of the framers start doing ridiculous things it's their responsibility to keep it on course. Construction has the benefit of codes, permits, etc., but software has no such structure.

2) 50k is still going to be a small project from the perspective of most firms. As much as I hate to say it, there's just a lot of overhead in running a firm and 50k doesn't cover it; larger projects need this overhead... you don't.

So, to extend my earlier post: You're going to need someone to help manage the technical vision. In addition to things like LinkedIn (actually a great resource for these purposes), etc. you might consider looking up your local technology groups. You didn't tell us what technology you're looking at, but there are groups for just about everything (.NET, Java, C, C++, Ajax, whatever). Go there, interact with people and just flat out tell them you have a project; you'll get a talented individual that can work with you on a less formal level, and at a somewhat reduced cost. Flexibility is going to be your friend.

All right, I think I've said enough for tonight. Good luck! I'm happy to help in any way I can. It's always great to see a start-up of any kind. Initiative is 90% of success (ok, I just made that up, but I think I've heard something like that before).