5 Tips for Non-Tech Founders Hiring Technical Staff

Startups have been on the rise ever since the pandemic dulled down. So many entrepreneurial dreams have achieved a new lease on life in the past year and things are going to look up in 2023 as well.

One thing worth noting amidst this boom is that a lot of the founders of modern-day startups and companies come from a non-technical background.

Non-tech founders have been taking over the market with their ideas and innovation. Their expertise in their respective field has led them to create out-of-the-box products and services.

Yet there is something every non-tech founder requires but doesn’t have the right skill sets to acquire. It is a technical team.

In today’s day and age of digitalization and globalization, there is no product or service that doesn’t have its imprint on the world wide web.

Every company, be it founded by a digital nomad or someone completely unbeknownst to technology, needs a team of tech developers to aid the creation of different types of software.

And thus, knowing the ins and outs of how to hire technical staff becomes even more crucial. In this blog, we’ll be shedding light on how non-tech founders can hire technical staff in the most seamless way.

Let’s jump right into it!

TOC:

• Introduction
• Tips
• Conclusion

Tip 1: Have A CTO To Watch Your Back

Having a CTO or a Tech Advisor to show you the ropes when hiring and scaling your technical staff can be extremely beneficial for your business.

This will help you steer away from making costly mistakes such as hiring developers and engineers that weren’t needed in the first place.

Make sure to talk it out with your CTO before hiring a developer or better yet have them screen the interview to gauge a candidate’s standing.

Tip 2: Onboard Technical Recruiters

As a founder, there is only so much you can divide your attention to. There are times when focusing on hiring a technical team can be too much alongside dedicating your time to core business processes.

This is when putting technical recruiters to the task comes in handy. From vetting to screening and finally onboarding, technical recruiters do the job for you in a hassle-free manner, leaving in your hands a team of elite developers.

Tip 3: Never Scale On A Whim

Hiring is an extremely volatile and dynamic administrative process that is easily influenced by market trends and technosocial developments.

In the face of so much uncertainty and fluctuations, it is your duty as a founder to be faithful to your products and services and only hiring as the need be.

Many non-tech founders make the blunder of hiring developers as per the latest hiring trends and later regret every inch of their being due to the time and capital it cost them.

Tip 4: Scale One Step At A time

Rather than hiring 5 developers at once, it is always better to start off with 2 developers and see where their company takes your projects.

If there is still a substantial workload that needs another helping hand, you can always go back to onboarding an extra developer.

Make sure while doing so, you don’t overburden and overwork your existing technical staff. Understand their daily tasks and gauge the desired strength of your tech team accordingly.

Tip 5: Turn To Remote Work & Outsourcing

Coming across great tech talent isn’t a piece of cake and definitely not so in a set locale and limited talent pool.

In-house development teams are cost-heavy and take substantial time and resources to be built from scratch. This is why you should think of outsourcing.

Outsourcing remote developers and teams not only help you cut down on time and costs but also give you access to a global talent pool consisting of world-class developers.

Here’s an interesting fact: Canva was started by an 18 year old girl who made school yearbooks as a side hustle, and when she converted it into a startup she outsourced web development to an Australian IT Consultant cum Services Company!

Conclusion:

Hiring technical staff for non-tech founders can be a walk in the park if at least a handful of the above tips are put into action. Creating a great tech team takes time, effort, patience, and capital and so it is your duty as a founder to not succumb to the latest hiring trends that will only dwindle with time.