Startups must move quickly, but most early-stage businesses lack the time and resources to develop a strong internal engineering staff. Recruiting alone may take weeks: in the United States, it typically takes 35 to 44 days to fill standard software engineering positions, and it can take up to 12 weeks to fill senior positions. A whole round of investment may be lost if a firm is rushing to achieve product-market fit.
That is the role of committed developers for the growth of startups. Instead of going through a drawn-out, costly recruiting procedure, founders may include specialized, pre-screened technical personnel straight into their roadmap, scaling capacity up or down as the company develops. Companies can access skilled engineers, variable team sizes, and quicker delivery times with dedicated developers for startup expansion; all without having to deal with the hassles of an internal employment department.
The stakes are substantial. According to Business Survival Statistics, between 20 and 21 percent of new U.S. enterprises fail within the first year, and over half do not survive into the fifth year. Venture-backed firms have far higher failure rates, and the most often mentioned reason; poor product-market fit; is directly related to how quickly and effectively a team can develop, test, and iterate. It has nothing to do with striving to establish the proper development capability as soon as possible. It is a question of survival.