Top Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make Hiring a Mobile Development Agency

Every entrepreneur strives to partner with the best Mobile Development Agency. Indeed, your business idea will only take its final form when you collaborate with the right people. In this blog, learn about some common mistakes, from small to big, to have a better, more agile app development process from the start.

Introduction

Finding a Mobile Development Agency is hard, especially when your budget is relatively low. Without thinking about the future, many entrepreneurs spend lavishly early to start the app process but fail at the end. Mistakes are bound to happen, but it is your job to avoid them to the best of your abilities.

Understanding Mobile Development Agency Hiring Mistakes

From verifying credentials to choosing price over skills, allowing the Mobile Development Agency to work under the best conditions is your goal. It would not be a mistake to bring your idea forward, but it would be better to discuss it with the right people. Therefore, it’s best to keep everything close to you and clear every doubt first.

Once you’ve got a clear vision, you can start diving into the project details with the agency and get those quote discussions going. But don’t jump in and take things too fast – take some time to really solidify your concept and priorities internally before bringing in outside perspectives.

The last thing you want is to hastily share your idea and end up getting an unrealistic quote because the requirements haven’t been fully fleshed out yet. Meanwhile, you can follow the following tips to double-check everything as well.

Seek Video Testimonials

Checking out an agency’s past work is clutch when you’re vetting them, but don’t just take their portfolio at face value. The real value comes from hearing what their previous clients have to say. If they’re dodging giving you references or honest feedback, that’s a huge red flag right there. People willing to bend the truth just to get hired are likely going to follow that same energy once they’re actually hired. You don’t want to deal with that headache.

A little due diligence upfront beats the nightmare of having to fire someone just a couple of weeks in when things are just getting started. Look at it as an opportunity to level up your game for next time. Always improving that process. Even if you’re mostly happy with your current team, getting complacent is how you end up making easily avoidable mistakes down the road.

Lack of Native Platform Knowledge

There are a million articles out there comparing native versus hybrid apps. Here’s the real deal – hybrids are usually cheaper upfront, but native apps focus on performance. You don’t want to save a few bucks early on only to get stuck with a poorly functioning app down the line. First impressions matter – aim to impress investors and users right out of the gate with an app that works smoothly.

Think long-term about establishing yourself in this industry. Once your app takes off, you can’t just flip a switch and overhaul the whole codebase overnight. You have thousands of new signups rolling in daily on your app. It doesn’t work like that.

The name of the game is consistent updates and quick implementation of user feedback across all platforms. You need developers who can bang out those weekly updates to squash bugs and keep your app running like a well-oiled machine. Hybrid apps just won’t cut it for that level of quality assurance and maintenance long-term. Start native, move deliberately, and put performance over penny-pinching.

Being Too Unrealistic

Bend a little on certain requirements if it means landing someone with the core skills you really need in a reasonable timeframe. Industry experience is one thing a lot of companies get hung up on. However, when you think about it – bringing in someone from a different field could actually give you an edge. Fresh perspectives and new ideas from the outside can shake up your own industry in a good way.

The move is to apply that 80/20 rule when defining what you want in a candidate. Ask yourself what programming languages or skills they’ll really be using 80% of the time in the role. In other words, weigh the opportunity cost of being too rigid with requirements versus pulling the trigger on someone with the core competencies. A little flexibility goes a long way.

Not Owning Source Code

Technical individuals have a knack for thinking that they can fool anyone coming from a non-tech background. One solid option is looking for a Mobile Development Company that offers white-labeling services. White-labeling basically means they have ready-made apps that you can rebrand and make your own. Skips you right past the intense design and coding phases.

If you go that route, the first thing to get hip to is the source code – that’s the underlying programming languages and stuff that makes the app actually work. You’ll want to get legal control of that source code through a written agreement before investing in a white-label solution. Having the source guarantees you own that app’s framework from the jump, not just some repackaged front-end. It’s your leverage to truly make it your own product down the road without getting shut out.

So be careful for those potentially shady vendors trying to play the contracting short game. Cover your assets from the start by using your business major knowledge and securing that all-important source code access.

Conclusion

Make sure you at least understand the basic foundations of app development so you can sniff out any suspect behavior. So, start strong by building a proper native app from scratch. Don’t cut corners. Avoid partnering with any Mobile Development Company that doesn’t specialize in native app development for both iOS and Android. It’s not worth the risk.