I am partnering with some intermediate-large outlet stores to make an online outlet store in Argentina which there are none with real stock as we will have. Plus, we will have the advantage of having all the items on consignation (from the brands) or/plus having a factory produce any best seller again (my factory). I am considering different developers which i will want to handle the SEO, social media, online marketing, email marketing, virality, a/b testing, logistics, picture taking, data entry, system and stock matching (retail and online), etc, so basically I am outsourcing everything to them. The options I am having range from 1000-6000 for the development of the e-commerce, and 500-2000 for the monthly maintenance. The most expensive ones are the most recommended ones but there is a great difference with the rest. He also is interested in being a part of the project, but he is offering me to still charge me 6000 for the site and 2000 for the monthly fee or 7%, whichever is greater. My question is, why should i partner with him if he is not absorbing any of the initial cost and he is not taking any risk on the monthly cost? (He is an open cart developer)
Your business needs a strong technical team working on your project consistently. So its natural to be tempted to partner with a technical person who you may be able to offload the demand of ensuring the technical details are adequately implemented and maintained. However, they must bear risk. In your case, the person you're considering seems to be demanding stake plus payment for his services. Your vision is to grow your business, his maybe to get rich. If you're confident in their ability to develop and maintain then I'd suggest keeping it that way. The worst thing you'd want in your startup is having partner disputes early on. Also, no one developer can realistically handle all the tasks you identified. For the social media, online marketing and email marketing I'd hire a tech savvy marketer with a proven track record. For the technical bits, you can build a team around the core developer according to how far your budget can stretch. You may be able to find junior or inexperienced talent to work along with your senior experienced core developer. Whatever you do though, ensure that you can consistently do marketing and sales.
Answered 10 years ago
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