While development is a core skill, it sits lower on the hierarchy than sales, marketing, and product. Companies can bootstrap to millions in ARR with strong go-to-market execution and fix technical debt later, but the reverse is rarely true.
If your team lacks development expertise, don't hire an agency to build a complex SaaS. Instead, build a simpler product that aligns with your skills, such as a no-code app or a small utility. This approach avoids unmanageable technical debt and agency dependency.
Don't outsource these core skills before reaching $1.5M-$2M ARR. If your founding team has a gap, the best path is to learn the missing skill or intentionally limit your business scope, not to hire an agency or junior employee.
A tool attracting many non-ideal users isn't just a cost center. Analyze it like a free plan: Does it generate SEO value, backlinks, virality, or a small number of valuable conversions? If it provides no strategic benefit and only muddies metrics and increases costs, it should be eliminated.
When a large company claims "management won't approve this," you can mirror their tactic even as a solo founder. Create your own external constraint by saying "our policy doesn't allow that" or "my co-founder disagrees," preventing you from being the sole, easily pressured decision-maker.
Large company deals always involve painful negotiations and changes. The key is to price them high enough from the start to account for this friction. Adhere to the principle: "There are no bad jobs, only jobs without enough money in them." If they say yes, you should feel relieved, not regretful.
Don't give away half your company to a "business person" who handles administrative tasks. A non-technical co-founder must possess and execute on the most valuable skills in a SaaS business: sales and marketing. Otherwise, they don't deserve co-founder level equity.