5 reasons why you should outsource when building your MVP

Building an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is the ultimate way to validate product ideas and it's a widely used strategy among startups and legacy companies alike. The idea is to launch a barebones product with only the most essential functionalities to gauge market interest and gather user feedback. This allows companies to avoid investing heavily in creating a complete solution that might end up flopping - so if you fail fast, you don’t fail hard.

Startups looking to build an MVP are typically at an early stage in their development and do not always have the in-house personnel, nor experience to complete such a project. Hiring a team of in-house developers is often beyond a startup's initial budget, but relying on freelancers also comes with certain risks – you have to be able to accurately define the requirements of the solution as well as understand the delivered result. Plus, freelancers will never match the founder's passion for the idea and the dedication to success.

A popular option for startups is to outsource MVP development, as well as product development at a later stage. There are 5 main advantages to choosing an outside partner, such as Thorgate, for building your MVP: multifunctional teams, diverse experience, scalability, strategic insights, and dependable service.

1. Multifunctional teams

Most top digital product development companies offer a diverse range of services that go beyond mere coding. Building an MVP requires full-stack development, UX design, marketing know-how, iterative feedback, industry knowledge and more. Hiring for each of these roles in-house and forming a complete product team is not a viable avenue for cash-strapped startups, so it's a major advantage to have access to this knowledge on-demand. Especially so, when the partnered team has collaborative cross-functional systems in place that expedite the entire process.

2. Diverse experience

Experienced digital product development companies will have worked with numerous startup teams from a variety of industries. By partnering with such a company, you gain access to years of learnings that can help avoid common pitfalls and guide your product down the optimal path. Digital product development companies have seen MVPs succeed and fail and know how to maximize your chances at being the former.

3. Scalability

A digital product development company should have the human resources to meet your needs as your product flourishes or, as is often the case, stalls in growth. Both can happen and working with a team that scales up or down the moment you need it significantly alleviates any managerial headaches and pressure, allowing the startup team to focus on value-added activities.

4. Strategic insights

An agency, unlike a freelancer, should be a reliable partner that's invested in the success of your product, rather than just service delivery. This can mean challenging your decisions, suggesting alternatives, and offering other kinds of strategic advice, even if it hampers its own profitability.

5. Dependable service

Last but by no means least, partnering with an experienced software company offers stability and reliability in providing you with the tools and services you need to keep your project moving forward, without having to worry about office politics, freelancer availability, or in-house capacity. This peace of mind cannot be underestimated in the dynamic startup environment where everything moves at breakneck speeds.

Learn more about MVP development

Of course, not all software development companies are created equal and you should do due diligence when choosing one. Developing an MVP is one of the biggest early undertakings of any startup and doing it right is essential for creating a solid foundation for a successful product.

To help you learn more about building an MVP, we've created a free eBook all about it. In it, you'll find an overview of MVPs, key considerations to take into account when building one, and insights on how to choose the best company to partner with.