About 3 years ago SourceSeek introduced a startup client to a great offshore software team in Minsk, Belarus.
The client was a well-funded startup out of Silicon Valley with great management and a fantastic product in the sports/gaming industry. They utilized the offshore programmers to help them build a very complex application using python, postgres, node.js, and mongodb. After about 18 months, the product launched and was immediately successful.
This morning I learned that this client is now completing negotiations to be acquired by a major player in their industry, and at very favorable terms. Great news! And this proves (once again) that a startup can outsource a large part of their product development and still be successful – so long as they do it right!
In this case, our startup client took a sensible approach when hiring a very experienced technical lead to act as development manager and to make sure collaboration between the offshore software team and the California team were in sync. Hiring a full-time manager to oversee offshore development was a big investment, but the value of this role was soon easy to see. The client also took the time to make a trip to Belarus and help the offshore team to really feel like true members of the company, which we always recommend.
During the acquisition negotiations, it was estimated that the outsourced software development team had saved the client just over $1 million in development costs. The investors were originally nervous about the idea of outsourcing the development of the core product, but once the model was proven the use of the overseas team increased the value of the company dramatically.
Dave Hecker
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