Find and work with developers
Hire, brief, and work with builders without getting burned.
4 steps to get you moving, each with a resource worth your time and more waiting underneath
Think of this as a friendly starting line, not the last word. Each step gives you the gist, then a resource worth your time from founders who've been there. There's always more underneath, more questions and more resources, whenever you feel like digging in.
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1
Finding & working with developers
Get it built when you can't build it yourself.
I'm non-technical, do I actually need a technical co-founder?The gist If you're building a technology product for the long haul, yes: agencies and freelancers are a stopgap, not a foundation, and YC's data shows teams without technical ownership underperform. In the very short term you can validate with no-code or a contractor, but plan to bring technical ownership in-house. Don't build your company on rented hands.
Why you really DO need a technical co-founder Y Combinator This is the resource that most directly backs the hard version of the answer. Caldwell draws on data from thousands of YC companies to argue that teams without a technical co-founder consistently underperform, and that no-code and outsourced development are being oversold. Read it when you are tempted to believe you can skip technical ownership entirely. -
2
No-code & low-code building
Ship a product without writing code.
Which no-code tool should I use to build my first product?The gist Match the tool to the job: Bubble for a real full-stack web app or marketplace, Webflow for a marketing site or content-driven landing page, Glide or Softr for internal tools and portals on top of a spreadsheet, and an AI builder like Lovable or Replit when you want to go from prompt to prototype fast. Don't shop for tools before you know the one workflow you need to ship.
How to Build an MVP Y Combinator Startup Library Michael Seibel, who ran YC, makes the blunt case for shipping something almost embarrassingly simple and learning from real users instead of chasing a perfect first version. His line that if it takes more than a month to build, it is not an MVP is a practical yardstick for anyone stuck polishing. Watch it when the urge to add one more thing before launch takes over. -
3
Building your MVP
Build the smallest thing that tests the biggest risk.
What actually counts as an MVP, and what's the smallest one I can get away with?The gist An MVP is the least you can build (or fake) to test your single riskiest assumption, not a shrunken version of your dream product. Ask 'what's the one thing I must learn next?' and build only that; often it's a landing page, a manual service, or a Notion doc, not code. If you're not slightly embarrassed by it, you over-built.
The Mom Test momtestbook.com The single best thing ever written on customer conversations. It teaches you to ask about the customer's life and past behaviour, not your idea, so you can't be lied to. If a founder reads one thing before talking to a single customer, it's this. -
4
Shipping, iterating & roadmap
Ship weekly, learn constantly, prioritise ruthlessly.
How do I decide what to build next?The gist Prioritize outcomes, not output, and use a simple scoring frame like RICE, Reach x Impact x Confidence, divided by Effort, to compare ideas honestly. The score's real value is forcing you to admit how low your confidence is on pet projects. When in doubt, build what your best customers are already pulling out of your hands.
RICE: Simple Prioritization for Product Managers Intercom Blog The original, primary source where the RICE framework was introduced, cite this, not the SEO reposts. The clearest way to compare hard-to-compare feature ideas.
