Ask HN: Should we bring software dev in-house? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Should we bring software dev in-house?

#371

Post by meiuqer » Fri, Aug 09, 2024, 9:24 AM UTC

I know you're asking for advice and not looking for someone to hire here, but the company I work for does just what you are asking for: Creating custom made software for B2B companies.

Check us out at www.bizzomate.com

We are focused on low-code solutions but we try to understand the customers needs through service design. We also have our own business rule engine that might be useful to your case. We also have experience building mission critical ERP-systems.

Anyway, check us out and feel free to contact us!

Re: Ask HN: Should we bring software dev in-house?

#372

Post by kissmd » Fri, Aug 09, 2024, 9:24 AM UTC

I you still need some help after reading all the comments, feel free to reach out, i will consult you for free to get you started (or maybe even after).

Re: Ask HN: Should we bring software dev in-house?

#373

Post by davedx » Fri, Aug 09, 2024, 9:26 AM UTC

treprinum wrote: post #174

davedx wrote: post #62

IME what works best getting new projects kick started is hiring a very small team of senior freelancers, making one of them lead, and letting them loose. I worked on such a team once and it was really excellent. The advantage of this strategy is if the experiment doesn't work out, terminating freelancers is much easier than permanent (I noted you're based in Europe). Contrary to what other people said, I wouldn't try…

Good freelancers are expensive and don't stick around long-term.

It depends! I've probably stuck around longer term more often than not. You can also write contracts that enforce the term if you want. Agree on things like this up front.

Re: Ask HN: Should we bring software dev in-house?

#374

Post by nprateem » Fri, Aug 09, 2024, 9:26 AM UTC

TBH it sounds like you need a tech business consultant (an actual consultant, not just a contract programmer) to help you work through this.

If you add your contact details to your profile I'm sure some people will contact you.

Ideally you'd want someone with a postgrad in business and a decade or so tech experience to help guide you through this (cough)...

Re: Ask HN: Should we bring software dev in-house?

#375

Post by hayri » Fri, Aug 09, 2024, 9:28 AM UTC

lifeisstillgood wrote: post #363

My take is that software is a new form of literacy - it’s that important. So here is a slightly different question: “currently all our reading and writing of English is outsourced - should we bring reading and writing in house?” This was a serious question hundreds of years ago btw. Edit: As for the rest of your points: Find a good, middle aged, experienced developer who you trust. Don’t worry too much about how you…

literacy is a really good analogy here

Re: Ask HN: Should we bring software dev in-house?

#376

Post by davedx » Fri, Aug 09, 2024, 9:35 AM UTC

carlcoryell wrote: post #284

I used to run the Singapore and Seattle offices for Pivotal Labs and helped a couple of companies build in-house teams to do exactly this. My first question is to check the basic economics: $2-300M in annual revenue, ~15% margins, you’re probably looking at earnings/profits around $30-45M. Building and running your own software team is probably around $5M/year, which feels like it could be a substantial hit to your m…

$5M/year? In the US maybe.

A team of 5 senior freelancers in Europe will cost about 150-200k per person.

Re: Ask HN: Should we bring software dev in-house?

#377

Post by AmericanChopper » Fri, Aug 09, 2024, 9:40 AM UTC

pinkmuffinere wrote: post #305

xandrius wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me this sounds like an ad.

The original question was the perfect setup for an ad, more or less asking “have you ever done this before?”, “What should I be concerned about?”, and “How do I even start this?”. This response may seem ads-y, but it also answers the questions and provides interesting original thoughts (e.g., to start with a cost/benefit analysis). Even if it’s an ad, imo it’s a useful one

I saw a presentation on e-commerce back in the 90s, and this was an astroturfing strategy that was pitched even back then. Don't post a thread about your company, post a question on one account, and then on another account post that your company is the answer. Really it's a strategy that's been around for a lot longer than the internet.

Not saying that this is astroturfing, just that this format has been around forever.

Re: Ask HN: Should we bring software dev in-house?

#378

Post by newswasboring » Fri, Aug 09, 2024, 9:43 AM UTC

simonbarker87 wrote: post #356

Yes. I worked on the warehousing developer team for a mid sized UK retailer (£75 million) and they had a home grown ERP system and it was a competitive advantage. It wasn’t perfect, the business makes trade offs, they see expensive coddled devs who are basically a cost center BUT they get total control over what gets built and can align very well with business strategy. Support is the biggest pit fall. All software h…

> It doesn’t need to be a big React app, Ruby would be fine,

This just made me feel incredibly old. I remember when Ruby was the new, unstable technology.

Re: Ask HN: Should we bring software dev in-house?

#379

Post by michaelsalim » Fri, Aug 09, 2024, 9:48 AM UTC

Agree with many of the other commentors. I think you need someone to talk the details with. Someone experienced can tell you how big the scope will be. Lowest risk is to get some freelancers to create an MVP and go from there.

Happy to chat about this with you. Contact details in my profile.

Re: Ask HN: Should we bring software dev in-house?

#380

Post by RandomThoughts3 » Fri, Aug 09, 2024, 10:07 AM UTC

Point to consider: the moment you hire to develop in-house, you are a product company on top of what you were before. Doesn’t matter if you are the sole user of this product and actually not making money with it, you will have to deal with a company in the company.

It could be a very good idea (especially if you can spin it out at some point) - I mean Dassault Systemes started this way and they are a billions dollars company but that came from an engineering company a 100 times larger than your own and for which the investment was pocket change - but it’s going to cost you more than you think, take more time than you think and be more taxing on your time than you think. Also you need to maintain it forever.

If you haven’t done it yet, I would pay for a very serious benchmark of what’s available on the market and open discussion with integrators to see if a custom integration on top of something on the shelf couldn’t be made especially if you have people in house doing low-code thing before pulling the trigger.