In most situations where you buy an expensive product, you get to try it out or inspect it closely before buying it. This is true of a car (you can test drive it), a house (you can walk through it and inspect it), a school (you can visit it), etc.
When it comes to finding software developers on Upwork, the marketplace is setup in a way that creates a perverse incentive for developers to exaggerate or outright lie and emphasizes response speed over thoughtfulness.
You will inevitably be inundated with a flood of responses trying to undercut one another and promises unrealistic pricing and speed.
Truthfulness is not rewarded when a developer or agency is trying to win a customer in this environment because the mechanisms for pre-vetting are weak and the rewards for winging are high (when significant prepayment is often required for project launch).
These poorly aligned incentives are a major reason why you hear so many stories about people having bad experiences on Upwork.
When it comes to finding a development agency or freelance developers, I find that most failures come down to two main themes:
- Sifting through a large number of available options and vetting them in a time efficient and effective way.
- Expectations.
In my experience, the first of these issues can be best resolved by finding a trusted partner who has localized knowledge of a particular country or city and shifting the vetting process to their domain.
This can save a huge amount of effort you would otherwise spend cycling through agencies/developers and allow you to immediately getting quality talent.
I find that the cost associated with having a trusted in-country partner is exponentially less than the time wasted working with incompetent people or those more interested in maximizing the money they can extract from you quickly.
Whether you choose to work with a team in Ukraine, Argentina, India, etc…it’s best to find someone familiar with the market and lean on their expertise.
It’s like buying a car from a certified dealer with a warranty vs buying one on craigslist…and when it comes to your business, you don’t want to take that risk.
On the topic of “expectation”, I have worked closely with a large number of US-based startups and engineers throughout the world for the last decade.
I’ve found the most success with projects, people and teams where I am clear about my expectations from each person I work with.
By this, I am referring to the characteristics I expect each person to strive to achieve.
I have always been inspired by UCLA basketball coach John Wooden (and his Pyramid of Success) and believe that frameworks can be powerful vehicles for distilling ideas into actionable formats.
Years of iteration and tweaking have led me to believe that if I can get a distributed technology team to adhere to these 5 principles, I will always find success.
In case you have questions after reading the post just message me on LinkedIn directly.