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First question and this is on behalf of a friend of mine. I'm a student developer, so I was hoping someone around here could provide some tangible insight.

My friend is not new to starting a business, has a MBA in psychology, and works in the marketing field. She has a software idea that she has done extensive research on to include competitor analysis and customer research. She has about $5,000 on the table with $500/mo ready for marketing expenses. I'm aware that this is a very small amount of capital, even to be considered bootstrapping.

I've done a little fielding of more seasoned programmers for her, and she has a meeting setup. My question is the following: As a non-developer, what are the top 3-5 things she needs to consider when approaching a developer about a possible SaaS partnership opportunity? And additionally, where might she look to find candidates who would be interested?

Thanks in advance.

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If your friend is looking for a partner to build some software, take a look at this question: answers.onstartups.com/questions/41083/… Though not totally related (it talks about outsourcing development), the TOP thing to consider when you're a non-technical founder is the level of trust of the developer. This question is interesting too: answers.onstartups.com/questions/44577/… Basically, she needs to find someone she can TOTALLY AND BLINDLY trust. And who can also code well! – frenchie Dec 2 '12 at 19:11
Thanks for the feedback, I'll check the questions out. Trust is a tough one, especially if you're fielding strangers. It requires people reading, and using good judgement. I suppose that's where contracts come into play. But what are some good measures for trust? – Tom Geoco Dec 2 '12 at 19:44

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The TOP thing in your friend's case is to find a developer that can be trusted.

If a person says "trust me", then it's not a good sign. Trust builds itself, over time. The developer needs to build trust with your friend (and vice versa), starting with small little tasks first and then with bigger and bigger tasks as time goes by. My recommendation is to start with a short-scoped task first and see how that goes. If things don't go well with small commitments, then that's usually a good indication of how things will play out long-term as well. So I recommend you tell your friend not to make long-term commitments until trust is gradually built. Relying on contracts will not protect your friend.

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