How to find a programmer for my project?

Question

I'm building a web application to generate monthly subscription fees, but I've quickly realised I'm going to need some help with the project to finish it this century.

I don't have any money upfront for a freelancer and every website I've found takes bids for project work. The tasks that need doing are flexible too because I can do whatever the other coder doesn't want to. I'm also happy to guide the developer and offer tips for performance/security/etc etc.

My question is; how do I go about finding someone to work with on a profit-share basis? I'm sure there are a billion people like me with the "next killer app" but I genuinely believe in it.

Can anyone offer some advice? Thanks in advance!

EDIT: I guess the trick is to find someone passionate enough about the subject as I am. Where would I find someone? Are there websites that broker profit-share deals on programming work?

Answer 1

If you dont have any money to pay anyone, you could try and get someone more involved in the ownership of the product. I guess this could be rather difficult logistically and legally if you found someone across the world. Maybe finding a local programming group would help you get to know more people in person. (not that I ever thought of joining one of these groups)

Maybe you can find someone who is building something very similar, that way you could both bring existing ideas and existing code etc.

Answer 2

Don't employ another person until you truly need to. Get as much done by yourself as you can. If you really believe it's the next killer app, you'll want to keep as much of the equity as you can.

If you build a business around it, no matter how small, it will have some value, and you'll have a lot more luck finding a good business partner/developer. Once you have committed your time, money and resources, it's likely a prospective partner would feel comfortable putting their money in to get an equal share.

This really is a business question IMO. Try asking the same question on answers.onstartups.com

Answer 3

Considering the explosive nature of IT, it's only natural that developers, and computing enthusiasts so readily believe they have the next big ticket, an idea that can really sell.

I would consider your problem from my own perspective: What would it take for me to be sucked into someone else's proposal, and what would I want from it?

I don't frequent websites that sell or connect developers with projects at all. Developers with something to contribute will either be in open source, or creating proprietary solutions themselves and selling them. In order to be interested and drawn into development on a profit-making project, I would have to be approached by someone directly, and hear a well thought out, technically sound solution. Marketing and research would need to be researched in advanced, as I don't possess those skills at all. Any developer that did, would likely be making money from their own ideas already.

Additionally, developers already employed, are likely to be less interested in work on the side. Approach your most talented associates, who are currently out of work, or looking for new opportunities, and sell the idea to them. Present proof that the concept will work, or show them a demonstration to get them interested.

Answer 4

This is a difficult subject. I spot the following possible scenarios (bad or good):

• Don't finish your product in time and lose a great opportunity;
• Have your idea stolen by your new "partner";
• Finish the product and profit from it.

Seriously, since this is going to be a relationship based on trust from both parts, the risk of someone stealing your idea is a huge one. Sometimes it's better to find a friend who is trustworthy and can work just on the weekends instead of a person that can work full time and steal all your work.

If you choose an "anonymous" partner, think in ways to patent your idea/project to protect yourself legally or to make a good contract between you and your new partner.

In a best-of-both-worlds approach, IMHO you should try to find some investors/funding, and they pay for your partner. The investor is going to know all your ideas, but you'll have a contract between you two, and your programming partner doesn't need to know everything, so you minimize the "steal your idea" risk.

I liked the badbod99 suggestion of answers.onstartups.com. Your question isn't just about programming, is about business. Those people from onstartups may have better advices in this subject, specially about funding.

Answer 5

I was in this situation before. Luckily, I found Python and was able to complete the app in 7 months. But what I would have done was to talk to my friends, and get one of them to be interested in the project. Say, if you cannot get anyone interested in your project, how do you expect the buyer to be interested in it?

Answer 6

Go search at the local university, it will be full of people with no money but lots of time.

Answer 7

I guess the trick is to find someone passionate enough about the subject as I am. Where would I find someone? Are there websites that broker profit-share deals on programming

You can start with posting some information about your project here. Maybe someone interested in the same subject will find it.

Answer 8

Unfortunately the problem is that too many people have "the next big thing" and they just need "the programmer to do the easy part". If the easy part was so easy, everybody would be doing it. Good developers are approached on weekly bases by people saying: "I have a great idea. You do all the work and I'll give you 10%". The only person who really cares and is passionate about your product is you.

Best regards

Answer 9

Create a business plan, get some investment capital, and hire a programmer. Or, put up some of your savings to hire them.

Answer 10

You could make ads at your local universities. Those places are stuffed with unemployed people, looking for a potential gold-vein. I know I am :)

Answer 11

This smells like a debacle waiting to happen.

From the description you gave, I'd think of you as most likely an overoptimistic get-rich-quick schemer who wants to get somebody competent to do a lot of work on your idea while being micromanaged, in exchange for an inequitable share of profits that aren't going to show up. I'd also worry that you'd get discouraged too soon and not pay me for work done, or get upset and potentially abusive if it doesn't work as planned because of your emotional investment. I'm not saying this is what it is, but rather the impression I get. Reread what you wrote: if you can't see why I might get that impression you need to work on your communication skills or your perspective if you want to get somebody interested.

Now, in order to get somebody rational to go along with this, you need to convince them that there is a very good probability of enough profit to make this worthwhile. If you know somebody personally, and can work well with them, you could try that. Otherwise, unless you have good sound business reasons for your venture, you're talking to a bunch of people who can't easily tell the difference between you and the myriad hordes of wackos who sound just like you.

If you do have good sound business reasons for your venture, you can go to a bank and talk about a loan so you can hire somebody. This will make you much more credible. First, you will prima facie have a good business case, since you've convinced a banker. Second, after getting the loan you will have skin in the game. You'll be in a position where failing will cost money and reputation, and therefore you'll be less likely to fold when the going gets tough. Third, you'll be able to pay for things like hosting and marketing, so the whole thing is less likely to crash immediately. Fourth, you'll be able to pay at least a small amount to anybody you take on board. (You don't necessarily have to pay market rates. You could pay primarily in profit share and/or equity.)

And remember that you can't be coy about your project. You're going to have to tell lots of people what it is in order to have any chance of interesting a very few, and you're not going to be able to get them to sign an NDA. In successful business startups, the idea is not particularly important, it's what you can do with it. Ideas are cheap and plentiful, implementations done with skill, diligence and determination are neither.

Answer 12

You can troll local user groups such as startup drinks or democamp

These groups are made for people like you to network together and help each other find resources to get your idea off the ground. You can find everyone from developers, Venture Capitalists and other "idea" people to help you get rolling on your idea.

Answer 13

Why is it that developers with "great" business ideas don't have competent software developing friends?

Granted, I neglected most opportunities for outside-of-work interactions for the early part of my career, but now I can think of at least three people who would probably co-conspire on any pie-in-the-sky project I could envision with at least a part-time commitment.

If you're a developer, and don't have a network of trusted developers around you, how can you possibly build a business network that would make your product successful? It's even harder to build a non-technical network of people who might work for free.

Free or profit-sharing deals are most likely to work out when you've already worked with someone before. I can't imagine going to a complete stranger and asking them to work for free, other than perhaps an open source project.

Most of the people I know who've gone off and started some software business with no money basically started with enough money to survive for 6-12 months on their own, and found a few like-minded colleagues and maybe some friends-and-family capital.

Answer 14

I don't think it's a wise idea to hire a developer on a purely "profit-sharing" basis unless he or she is fully invested in the entire business model and is willing to do work other than coding in order to sell the product (such as marketing, sales, etc.).

A friend of mine, Mark, worked on a side project for over a year and ended up with nothing to show for it. He was asked by his friend who had plenty of experience in his respective industry to help design a web application to serve businesses in that industry. Mark was offered a percentage of the profit and even thought the business idea was sound. However, his friend never marketed or even tried to sell the product after over a year of writing code on nights and weekends.

When you try to hire people on a profit-sharing basis, what you're really doing is putting yourself in debt to them based on the future sucess of the product. If the product doesn't sell (or if you don't market it as much as the other developer thinks you should), in a sense, you're not paying off the debt you owe to the other developer. Not getting paid for a debt and not being able to pay a day will ruin a relationship. It's not worth it.

Answer 15

I suggest you to attact college going students , there are two benefits 1) They are eager to learn , sincere and dedicated and want to always have live programming experience. 2) They do not want a handsome package as it works like a way to build their carrier in IT. Go with the advertisement, make them aware of your guidence.

Answer 16

You are likely going after something too big - u said:

but I've quickly realised I'm going to need some help with the project to finish it this century.

Find a way that you can Functionally break that project and release something Before the whole Big vision is completed. Pick it in such a way that people will want to use it and it'll bring money in. Alternatively do one that will grab a lot of customer's interest and make people sign in --- then go get some funding to keep moving forward.

If you can't do the above, then you'll likely run into trouble when bringing another developer in anyway. Also note that if you don't say anything about the project, its very unlikely the right developers will even look at it.

Ps. if you can't do a simpler scope that you can publish, you are either going for the wrong idea Or you really need to look how u'll get some funding considering not doing it if u don't get it.

Answer 17

If you really believe in it, put some of your own money behind it. That's what you're asking the freelancer to do after all (time = money).

Alternatively, look for someone with a lot of free time who needs to expand their portfolio, such as a student.

I've done a number of projects on a profit share basis, but they've also all had some form of up front payment. I have bills to pay ;)

Answer 18

write a question about it in stackoverflow.com this maybe help

If you have friends that are developers you can ask them
if you have a blog (you should have one) or just make one page that telling all about the
project and you file and offer people to join in

Answer 19

LOOK FOR MONEY NOW

Seriously, if your product is THAT good, then 100 people will line up to give you money. Show a simple mockup and describe your idea. Try it with family and friends first, if they start throwing money at you, start looking for larger investors. Investors are always looking for good ideas, regardless of the economic climate.

IF YOU CANNOT GET MONEY

Then maybe your product isn't that good. Or you need to figure out how to better sell it to family/friends/investors. If you can't sell it to those closest to you, why do you think people online will pay money for it?

DO NOT GET A WORK-FOR-PROFIT-DEVELOPER

Why? Because 9/10 they'll be a pain, not deliver much, and steal your work. If your idea/work is good, do you really want to trust a remote developer with your source code? If you have any friends that are great developers, you might be able to lean on them for some help, but you'll need to provide them with a partnership in the business to ensure any reasonable work effort.

Answer 20

If you don't have money, then you need to be able to offer something else in return:

1. Ownership (shares)
2. Knowledge / training
3. Experience (eliminate gaps in your resume if you're unemployed, etc)
4. Exposure to certain people or a certain environment
5. "Stuff" -- maybe old PCs, old books, etc, etc.
6. Your services; whatever you're good at

I have people approach me all the kind with this kind of thing. I turn most of them down, but I have accepted a few. The ones I accept are the ones where I clearly have something to gain even if the product or company never materializes. If it does materialize, then that's a bonus.

When approaching others, I've found that it's very important to have a solid, short, clear pitch: ideally with some sample code, a few mock-ups, and a sound idea of how it will go forward. Be clear about roles, responsibilities, commitments and boundaries.

For places to look: they're everywhere. Resume / job sites, tech sites, sites like elance.com, rentacoder, etc, your own web site, your personal and business contacts. Think globally. Put the word out that looking for someone, but be clear about what you need.

There is no free lunch. However, most people have much more to offer others than just money -- and many people are looking for more than just money. You can't buy certain kinds of experience, for example (saying you worked with XYZ technology in your spare time just isn't the same as doing it for someone else).

In terms of networking sites, I'm a fan of linkedin.com. They also have a good Q&A section.

Answer 21

Try ODesk.com, or getafreelancer.com. Often you can get a basic website built for quite a reasonable cost with these.

Answer 22

There is a new website for this kind of needs: BuildItWithMe.com.