Startups: developing software

Which functions?
The functions we develop for Passbolt are based on a road-map that’s open. It’s available on our website and fed by the requests of non-paying users on one hand and by customer requests on the other. So were always gauge which function has the most tug. Some functions are obvious, like the mobile version of Passbolt, that everyone asks for. And others that are less obvious, but that major clients with big budgets might ask for for specific cases of use. For us, as a startup, we have to assess: 1 – community satisfaction, which is very important since it’s our distribution source, 2 – the ROI, so how much energy we’ll need to put into a function versus how much it’ll bring in short term, medium term and long term.

Developing in-house?
This is my personal opinion. I believe that when you embark on a technological project, you need to internalize development. I think externalizing it is taking big risks, especially if you’re not tech-savvy yourself. Because you don’t fully control the production chain, or the quality of the code being produced. I’ve seen this type of thing backfire on several startups. And sometimes years of investment were lost over development they didn’t fully control. So especially when the core of a business plan is technical it’s something that should definitely be handled in-house.