Upstack founder Yossi Mlynsky explains why relying on third-party agencies to develop early software products creates fundraising obstacles with venture investors.
Insight
Mlynsky: Relying on dev agency project managers leads to disaster
“The number one rule is you have to work directly with the developer, no intermediary, no project manager. So if the project manager is a great communicator, but the developer isn't, or you don't even know who the developer is, that's the biggest disaster that …”
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Mlynsky: True candidate quality is only proven on the job
“Hiring fast and firing fast is, you know, really important. You really only find out if someone's good on the job”
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Mlynsky: Top remote developers always have outside side projects
“If somebody says, Hey, I'm working on my own side project, don't get defensive and be like, well, what about me? You got to work for me full time. And, you know, think it's a bad thing. It's a good thing because anyone who's good is going to be Working on some…”
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Mlynsky: Quality audio, video, and internet are non-negotiable for remote workers
“Having your video on, you know, most of the time is, in my opinion, a requirement, and having good audio and good internet connection is just Those things are not negotiable, and if you have to buy the hardware for them, that's just part of the hire.”
Insight
Mlynsky: Contract-to-hire is the best model for building core teams
“I'm a big believer in the sort of contract to hire model where you start off with someone contract. And then from those guys, you actually hire them full time.”
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Mlynsky: InVision hires remote talent for diverse viewpoints over cost savings
“They hire people in, in remote locations, not to save money. They hire people in remote locations to get different cultural viewpoints and to get different inputs into their product. Different ways of seeing things”