Hire vs. Partner
Hiring developers is a $150K+ bet. Are you ready for it?
Most founders default to hiring. It feels like progress. But before product-market fit, hiring is the highest-risk move you can make with your funding.
Side by Side
The numbers that matter
Real costs, real timelines, real risks. No marketing spin.
Hiring Full-Time
RapidStackLab
Time to start
2–4 months
1 week
Year 1 cost
$120K–$180K
$40K–$100K
Management needed
Full-time oversight
Weekly check-ins
Scaling flexibility
Fixed headcount
Scale up/down monthly
Bad hire risk
$30K–$60K loss
Exit any sprint
Technical leadership
You provide it
Built-in
Code ownership
Yours (if structured)
Yours from day one
Onboarding time
1–3 months
0 — we start building
Honest assessment: when each model wins
We don't pretend hiring is always wrong. Here's when each approach makes sense.
✅ Hire full-time when
- ✓Product-market fit is validated — retention > 40%, clear 12-month roadmap
- ✓You have technical leadership — CTO or technical advisor who can vet candidates and manage output
- ✓12+ months of runway secured — you can absorb a bad hire without threatening the company
- ✓Your competitive advantage is technical — proprietary algorithms, custom ML models, deep domain-specific tech
🤝 Partner with us when
- ✓Pre-product-market fit — still iterating on what users want, need fast cycles
- ✓No technical co-founder — you need architecture guidance, not just code output
- ✓6–12 months of runway — every dollar needs to produce validated results
- ✓You want ownership from day one — your GitHub, your AWS, your CI/CD. We build in your house.
The Smart Path
Partner first. Hire when you're ready.
The best outcome isn't “partner forever.” It's: partner to prove the product, then hire to scale what's proven. Here's how the transition works.
Phase 1
Month 1–4
Build & Validate
- →We build your MVP on your infrastructure
- →You stay focused on customers and fundraising
- →Product validates (or pivots) without hiring risk
Phase 2
Month 5–7
Hire with Clarity
- →You know exactly what role you need (because you've shipped a product)
- →Architecture docs + codebase = clear job description
- →We help vet technical candidates if needed
Phase 3
Month 8–9
Clean Handover
- →New hire onboards with our support (1–2 month overlap)
- →Complete knowledge transfer — no tribal knowledge left behind
- →We step back. You own everything. No lock-in.
Year 1 cost comparison
Real numbers for an early-stage startup with $200K–$500K in funding.
Hiring Model
$119K – $184K
- Developer salary$80K–$120K
- Benefits / taxes (+30%)$24K–$36K
- Recruiting fees$10K–$20K
- Tools / equipment$5K–$8K
Hidden costs:
- • 2–3 months lost to hiring process
- • 1–2 months onboarding before productive output
- • $30K–$60K risk if you hire the wrong person
Partner Model
$40K – $100K
- MVP development (6–8 weeks)$15K–$40K
- Iteration sprints (2–4)$15K–$40K
- Maintenance retainer (6 months)$10K–$20K
What you save:
- • Start building in Week 1 (no hiring delay)
- • CTO-level guidance included at no extra cost
- • Scale hours up/down with funding — no fixed payroll
- • Complete ownership transfer built into every sprint