What to Look for in a Dev Partner

Choosing the wrong development partner can set you back months and cost tens of thousands of dollars. Here’s how to evaluate your options and avoid the common pitfalls.

The Core Questions

1. Have They Built Something Similar?

This seems obvious but many founders skip it. Ask for examples of similar projects—not just similar technology, but similar business problems.

Building a marketplace is different from building a SaaS tool. Building for consumers is different from building for enterprises. Experience in your domain matters.

2. Who Actually Does the Work?

Agencies often use the “bait and switch”: senior people on the sales call, junior people on the project. Ask directly: Who will be coding? Can I meet them? What’s their experience?

3. How Do They Handle Scope Changes?

Every project has scope changes. The question is how they’re handled.

Red flags: “We charge hourly for any changes” or “Everything is fixed-price, no changes allowed.”

Green flags: “We use weekly sprints and reprioritize based on what we learn” or “We have a clear process for evaluating change requests.”

4. What Happens After Launch?

A launched product needs maintenance, bug fixes, and updates. What does ongoing support look like? What are the costs? Will the same team be available?

Many agencies disappear after launch, leaving you scrambling to find someone who can work with unfamiliar code.

5. How Do They Communicate?

Ask about their communication cadence. Weekly updates? Daily standups? Slack access?

The right answer depends on your preferences, but there should be a clear answer. “We’ll figure it out” is a red flag.

Red Flags

Promising Too Much

“Yes, we can build that in 2 weeks” for something complex. “No problem” to every request. If they never push back on scope or timeline, they’re either lying or don’t understand the work.

No Portfolio Depth

A flashy website with “trusted by” logos but no detailed case studies. Ask to see actual projects, talk to actual clients, understand actual challenges they solved.

Unclear Pricing

“It depends” without being able to give even a range. Good partners can estimate based on experience. If they can’t give you ballpark numbers, they either haven’t done similar work or aren’t being transparent.

Tech-First Thinking

They want to talk about frameworks and architectures before understanding your business problem. Technology choices should serve business goals, not the other way around.

No Product Thinking

They wait for detailed specifications rather than helping you figure out what to build. The best partners challenge requirements, suggest simpler alternatives, and help you avoid building the wrong thing.

Green Flags

They Say No

Partners who push back on unrealistic timelines, unnecessary features, and premature optimization are protecting your interests.

Clear Process

They can explain exactly how the project will work: milestones, deliverables, communication rhythm, decision points.

References Check Out

When you talk to past clients, they describe realistic experiences: challenges that came up, how they were handled, what they’d do differently.

They Ask Hard Questions

Good partners dig into your business model, your users, your constraints. They need to understand the problem before proposing solutions.

Ownership Handoff

They build systems that you own, with documentation, and without dependency on them. Some agencies create lock-in deliberately.

The Interview Process

1. Initial call: Do they understand your problem? Do you trust them?
2. Portfolio review: See real work, ask detailed questions
3. Reference calls: Talk to past clients without the partner present
4. Proposal review: Is the scope clear? Is the pricing reasonable?
5. Small test project: If possible, start with a limited engagement

Trust your gut. If something feels off in the sales process, it will be worse during the project.