When to Rely on an External Team to Develop an App

When you’re planning to launch your digital product, it can feel difficult to hand over responsibility for development to third parties. Inevitably, this means delegating part of the credit — and the blame — for your app’s outcome.

So, what’s the best choice? Should you build an in-house team or rely on a skilled mobile and web app development agency? And does outsourcing mean losing control of your app? Let’s answer these questions together.

What Outsourcing Really Means: The Founder’s Role

Does outsourcing mean giving up decision-making power over your app? As a founder, your main concern may be that your product could slip out of your control when working with an external team.

Entrepreneurs are the first designers of their own product: they already have a clear idea of how it should function, look, and — most importantly — they know their target market well.

For this reason, the founder never loses their guiding role, even when relying on an external team.

Moreover, having an external team allows the founder to focus on the core aspects of the business, such as product sales, market analysis, and fundraising, without having to worry about writing code.

What Are the Benefits of Choosing an Agency for Your App Development

While an in-house team allows for closer, day-to-day control (but also greater responsibility to ensure everything runs smoothly), choosing an external team also comes with advantages.

The ultimate goal, of course, is to bring your digital product to market as quickly as possible, with minimal margin for error, and — why not — spending as little as necessary. Let’s see how selecting an external development agency can help you achieve this.

Choosing an External Team Reduces Costs

When you choose an agency to develop your app, it’s like hiring an entire team at the cost of developing your product alone. In other words, for the price of building your MVP, you get a full team ready to support you in every aspect.

In the early stages, your goal is to test the waters as quickly as possible to see whether your product will succeed or not. Working with an external team allows for a faster go-to-market, with timelines clearly defined in the contract.

The cost of an external team typically ranges from €20,000 for the validation phase up to €150,000 over a couple of years, offering a substantial potential return if your product succeeds. In any case, you decide whether to continue the partnership or end it after each phase.

Conversely, hiring an in-house team means being bound by employment contracts and schedules of your collaborators, rather than the needs of your product.

All the Expertise You Need in a Single Package

Sometimes, a naive view of app development leads people to think that hiring “a developer” is enough to build a mobile or web app. But would you ever redo your entire home plumbing system without basic knowledge of plumbing, just because you’re an expert electrician? Of course not; you’d call a specialist. The same applies when building software.

Typically, a software house includes multiple professional roles, such as:

• Frontend developers
• Backend developers
• UX/UI designers
• Business developers
• Marketing experts

In practice, you get access to people with experience across different fields who can advise you on which professional is needed for each aspect of your product.

Naturally, the decision of which services to purchase is always yours.

On the other hand, if you choose to rely on in-house collaborators, you’ll need to hire more people to cover all the expertise required, without any guarantee that you’ll identify all the product’s needs. As a result, you’ll also pay more salaries, even after the first sprint is completed and your product is already finished.

Developing with an External Team Means Sharing Responsibility

For us at Mabiloft, developing a product means becoming a partner with the person who conceived it and their collaborators. An external team isn’t just someone you pay to do part of the work for you; it can be a partner with whom you share responsibility for the project’s success.

Of course, the relationship with an external team depends on both parties: you need to be sure to find someone reliable, someone you feel comfortable delegating development to. For us, the bond between the software house and the founder is not only contractual but, first and foremost, human.

The Importance of Choosing the Right Partner: 3 Tips to Avoid Mistakes

Choosing the right agency for your app development isn’t easy. Many clients come to us after disappointing experiences with other developers. So, what’s the secret to selecting the right software house for your app? Let’s look at three key aspects not to overlook.

Don’t Choose Based on Price

Trying to save money can sometimes lead to higher final costs. On the other hand, the most expensive software house isn’t necessarily the best. Within the budget you can afford for your product, price shouldn’t be the main factor in choosing your future collaborators.

Review Case Studies and Client Feedback

Almost all software development companies have a section showcasing past projects (you can find ours here). Reviewing past work, and especially feedback from previous clients, can help you understand whether the company is the right partner for you.

Trust Your Instincts

It may sound like a cliché, but it’s true: your instinct is your best guide. Pay attention to your feelings during initial contacts and calls — can you see a future working together?

For us at Mabiloft, building a collaborative relationship from the very beginning — as if we were your co-founders — and seeing you as a partner, not just a client, is essential for long-term success. We share responsibility for your product, for better or worse, taking on risks and sometimes sacrificing profit rather than damaging a good working relationship. We work with you to achieve your goals, even the most ambitious ones.

An External Team Has Developed My App: Now What?

Your product is ready and on the market, developed by your external team: does this mean you’re bound to outsourcing forever? Absolutely not! Once the initial hurdle is overcome, you’re always free to decide to build your own team to maintain your product.

Even if you choose to do so, starting with the right team makes all the difference. Why?

• The right team will leave clean, maintainable code that’s easy to expand with new features.
• A team you’ve worked well with from the beginning will be willing to prepare the new team to work on the product.
• First impressions matter, even for apps: if your product is high quality when launched, it will be better received by users and more likely to succeed.

If you’re unsure how to proceed or feel stuck after the initial excitement, we at Mabiloft offer a completely free service to analyze your business idea.
Our experts can help you determine the best way forward in your specific case. You can use our Sprint Check to validate your idea and understand how to navigate the world of digital product development, with no obligations.