If you’re a non-technical founder about to hire a developer, you’re probably feeling a mix of:
- excitement (“Finally, we’re building!”)
- dread (“What if I get scammed?”)
- confusion (“Why does everyone recommend different stacks?”)
- and mild panic (“How much is this going to cost me?”)
All normal.
Also: you’re right to be cautious.
Because here’s the blunt truth:
You’re not hiring a developer.
You’re hiring a risk manager for your startup.
And if you hire the wrong one, you don’t just lose money.
You lose:
- months of momentum
- trust in your product
- confidence as a founder
- and sometimes the whole company
Let’s avoid that.
This guide will show you how to hire a developer safely, even if you can’t judge code.
The hard truth: you’re not hiring a developer, you’re hiring risk
Most founders think hiring a developer is like hiring any other role.
It’s not.
If you hire a marketer and they’re bad:
- you waste some ad spend
- you redo some messaging
If you hire a developer and they’re bad:
- your product becomes a fragile mess
- you can’t ship
- you can’t hire the next person
- you get trapped in rebuild cycles
Bad code is like building a house with wet cardboard.
It looks fine until the weather changes.
Quick answer: the safest hiring approach in 2026
If you want the simplest safe approach:
1) Don’t hire for “skills”. Hire for outcomes.
You want someone who ships, not someone who talks.
2) Use a paid trial.
No trial = you’re gambling.
3) Control the assets.
You must own:
- GitHub
- hosting
- database
- domains
- third-party accounts
4) Require proof-of-work.
No “trust me, it’s almost done.”
5) Start small.
Your first hire should not be building the final product.
They should be building a safe MVP.
Before you hire: what you must prepare (or you’ll waste money)
Most founders get burned before hiring even starts.
Because they hire with:
- a vague idea
- a Figma
- and a dream
And then they’re shocked when:
- timelines explode
- costs balloon
- the developer gets frustrated
- and nothing ships
So here’s what you need first.
1) Your MVP scope (in plain English)
You need a 1-page description that answers:
- Who is the user?
- What problem are we solving?
- What are the 3–5 core actions they need to do?
- What does “done” look like?
Not 30 features.
Not a Notion brain dump.
Just the minimum.
If you can’t describe your MVP in plain English, you’re not ready to hire.
2) Your stack guardrails (yes, even if you’re not technical)
This is where founders get bullied.
A developer says:
“We should use this new framework. It’s cleaner.”
You nod politely and say:
“Sure!”
And suddenly you’re trapped in a stack that:
- only one person knows
- is hard to hire for
- has no community support
- and slows you down
Your guardrails should be things like:
- “We choose boring, hireable tools.”
- “We avoid anything experimental.”
- “We keep the stack simple.”
- “We document decisions.”
You don’t need to pick the stack yourself.
You need to set the rules.
3) Your budget + timeline reality check
If your budget is:
- $5k total
- and you want a full SaaS app
I’m going to be blunt:
That’s not a hiring problem.
That’s a reality problem.
Most founders need to start with:
- a smaller MVP
- a hybrid approach
- or no-code validation
Hiring doesn’t magically remove the laws of physics.
The 4 hiring options (and what they’re best for)
Let’s break down the common choices.
Option 1: Freelancer
Best for:
- small MVPs
- quick experiments
- tight budgets
Risks:
- inconsistent availability
- may disappear
- quality varies massively
Founder rule:
Freelancers need tighter guardrails.
Option 2: Agency
Best for:
- speed
- full team coverage
- founders who want “done for you”
Risks:
- you can get stuck in a black box
- junior devs doing the work
- high monthly burn
- hard to transition away later
Founder rule:
If you hire an agency, demand transparency.
Option 3: Full-time developer
Best for:
- long-term product development
- startups with funding
- founders ready to build a team
Risks:
- expensive
- slow hiring process
- you still need leadership and direction
Founder rule:
A single full-time dev without direction is chaos.
Option 4: Fractional tech lead / CTO
Best for:
- non-technical founders
- setting stack guardrails
- hiring support
- oversight and planning
Risks:
- can be hard to find a good one
- not all “fractional CTOs” are useful
Founder rule:
This is the best “bridge” option for many founders.
(And yes, Lean Tech Direction sits in this exact gap.)
The hiring process (step-by-step)
Here’s the safest process I recommend.
Step 1: Write the right job post
Your job post should focus on:
- outcomes
- experience building MVPs
- communication
- working with non-technical founders
Not “must know 12 frameworks”.
Step 2: Filter with 5 founder-safe questions
Before interviews, ask:
- What MVPs have you shipped in the last 12 months?
- What was your role?
- What would you do differently on those projects?
- How do you communicate progress weekly?
- What does your ideal working relationship look like?
If they can’t answer clearly, pass.
Step 3: Use a paid trial (non-negotiable)
This is the founder superpower.
A paid trial should be:
- 5–15 hours (freelancer)
- or 1-2 week sprint (agency/dev)
The goal:
see how they think, communicate, and ship
Not whether they’re “nice”.
Step 4: Set milestones and proof-of-work
You need visible progress.
Examples:
- a GitHub repo with commits
- a staging link you can click
- weekly demos
- a written update every Friday
If progress is invisible, it doesn’t exist.
Step 5: Lock code ownership + access
This is where founders get wrecked.
You must control:
- GitHub (you create it)
- hosting account
- domain
- database credentials
- Stripe
- API keys
If the developer controls everything, you don’t have a product.
You have a hostage situation.
Interview questions you can actually ask (non-technical friendly)
Here are 10 questions that work even if you can’t code.
1) “How do you decide what NOT to build?”
Good answer:
They talk about MVP scope, tradeoffs, and validation.
Bad answer:
They list features they want to add.
2) “What’s your process for breaking work into weekly deliverables?”
Good answer:
Clear milestones, demos, shipping rhythm.
Bad answer:
“Trust me, I’ll update you.”
3) “If you were building this for your own startup, what would you simplify?”
Good answer:
They simplify aggressively.
Bad answer:
They complicate it.
4) “What does a good week of progress look like?”
Good answer:
Specific outcomes.
Bad answer:
Vague activity.
5) “What are the top 3 risks in this build?”
Good answer:
They identify real risks.
Bad answer:
“No risks.”
(That’s not confidence. That’s ignorance.)
6) “How do you handle changes in scope?”
Good answer:
Clear process, tradeoffs, and communication.
Bad answer:
“We’ll figure it out.”
7) “How do you make sure another developer can take over later?”
Good answer:
Documentation, clean code, standard stack.
Bad answer:
Silence.
8) “How do you handle bugs and QA?”
Good answer:
Staging environment, testing, clear QA steps.
Bad answer:
“We’ll fix bugs later.”
9) “What’s your preferred tech stack and why?”
Good answer:
They explain tradeoffs and hiring.
Bad answer:
They brag about a niche framework.
10) “What do you need from me to succeed?”
Good answer:
They ask for clarity, quick feedback, decision-making.
Bad answer:
They ask for nothing.
Red flags: how founders get burned
Here are the biggest ones.
🚩 Red flag #1: They can’t explain things simply
If they can’t explain their plan in plain English now…
It won’t get better later.
🚩 Red flag #2: Everything takes “2 more weeks”
This is the classic.
It usually means:
- poor planning
- unclear scope
- or low accountability
🚩 Red flag #3: They won’t work in your GitHub
If they insist on using their own repos, run.
🚩 Red flag #4: No demos, no staging link
If you can’t click it, it doesn’t exist.
🚩 Red flag #5: They push complexity early
Microservices, Kubernetes, event-driven architecture…
If your MVP needs that, you’re either building SpaceX…
Or you hired the wrong person.
Green flags: what good developers do
✅ Green flag #1: They talk in tradeoffs
Not opinions.
Tradeoffs.
✅ Green flag #2: They simplify
Constantly.
✅ Green flag #3: They ship weekly
Not monthly.
✅ Green flag #4: They document decisions
So you’re not stuck later.
The safest first 30 days plan after hiring
If you want a simple expectation framework:
Week 1
- repo setup
- staging environment
- first feature shipped
- demo
Week 2
- core user flow working end-to-end
- basic data model
- second demo
Week 3
- payments or core workflow
- admin view
- demo
Week 4
- MVP usable by 1–3 real users
- bugs fixed
- clear plan for next month
If you don’t have a demo every week, you’re in danger.
Free PDF: Tech (Restaurant) Stack Decision Tree
Even if you’re hiring a developer, you still need guardrails.
Because the fastest way to get burned is to outsource all tech decisions to someone else.
That’s why I created this free PDF:
Tech (Restaurant) Stack Decision Tree
It helps you choose a stack like you’re choosing a restaurant:
- based on what you need
- based on your risk tolerance
- without drowning in jargon
👉 Download it free here: Get my Tech (Restaurant) Stack Decision Tree PDF
Want help hiring + setting guardrails in 90 days?
This is exactly what Lean Tech Direction is for.
It helps non-technical founders go from:
- guessing about tech to
- clear principles
- stack guardrails
- safe dev plans
- steady shipping
If you want to join the founding cohort:
👉 Apply here: To join the Lean Tech Direction Program
FAQ
Can I hire a developer without a CTO?
Yes. But you need:
- guardrails
- milestones
- proof-of-work
- ownership control
Should I hire a freelancer or agency?
Freelancer = more flexible, more risk.
Agency = more coverage, more cost.
Hybrid can work.
What’s the safest first hire?
Usually:
- a strong full-stack developer or
- a fractional tech lead + developer
How do I know if they’re good?
You don’t guess.
You use a paid trial and measure shipping + communication.
Want help hiring a dev or just want to get in touch ? Find me on either insta or LinkedIn
