How to Hire Developers for Startups in 8 Steps

Hiring developers for your startup is a high-stakes challenge. For early-stage startups, with limited resources, a need for specialized skills, and the pressure to move fast, every hire has to make an impact. In tech, developers are the brains that deliver your product. And at the same time, replacing an unqualified software engineer is very expensive. So how do you find the right talent that fits your budget and shares your vision in a highly competitive market?

If it already sounds tricky, it gets worse: How do you hire an authentically competent software engineer if you don’t know how to code?

This step-by-step guide is here to help. Whether you’re building your first MVP or scaling an existing product, you’ll learn how to deal with the complexities of hiring skilled developers for your startup with authority. Let’s dive in and break it down, starting with the most crucial step: defining exactly what you need.

Step 1: Define What You Need a Developer For

Before you even think about drafting a job ad or contacting candidates, it’s necessary to understand what you might need a developer for. Start by considering your current goals. Are you focused on building your first product from scratch, or are you updating an existing one? Depending on where you are, the skills required vary. For instance, creating a minimum viable product (MVP) might call for a versatile full-stack developer, while scaling your systems could mean bringing in a specialist with expertise in DevOps or back-end architecture.

It’s also important to think about the level of experience you’re looking for. Does your tech team need a senior developer who can take the lead, or would a mid-level professional be enough to get things moving? Beyond technical skills, also think about your startup’s culture and working style. Do you need someone who works well in an agile environment where priorities can shift rapidly? The tighter your grasp of these factors, the easier it will be to identify the ideal candidates.

Step 2: Decide Between In-House and Outsourced Developers

Figuring out whether to hire in-house developers or outsource the work is a big decision for any startup. Each option has its perks and potential drawbacks, so the right choice depends on your specific goals, resources, and timeline.

In-House Developers

Bringing developers in-house can be a smart move if you’re aiming for long-term success. With your team working closely together, you’ll have stronger collaboration and better alignment with your startup’s vision. This is especially valuable if you’re building a complex product that requires ongoing updates and tweaks. But keep in mind—it’s a bigger commitment. Salaries, benefits, and equipment costs can quickly add up, which might stretch your budget. Plus, hiring full-time employees takes time, which can slow you down if you need to move fast.

Outsourced Developers

Outsourcing can be a lifesaver when speed and flexibility are key. It’s often more cost-effective, and you get access to a global pool of talent. Need a front-end expert or a mobile app specialist? You can find exactly what you’re looking for without the long-term commitment of full-time hires. That said, outsourcing isn’t without its challenges. When you outsource, you usually trade off commitment. Those developers—who can be contractors or working with a staffing agency—might be far from your office. So, time zone differences and communication gaps can make managing projects trickier. Quality control can also be harder when your team isn’t all in one place, but plenty of companies have already found a workaround to the hybrid workplace, so it shouldn't be much of a hassle.

What’s Right for Your Startup?

If your startup needs ongoing software development and your product is tied to a unique technology or sensitive data, hiring in-house might make more sense. On the other hand, if you have a clearly defined, short-term project (like an MVP) or need to fill skill gaps quickly, outsourcing could be the smarter route.

Some startup owners mix and match—a small in-house team handles core tasks, while outsourced developers tackle specialized or time-sensitive projects. You can always hire freelance developers too.

The typical formula goes like this: If you want someone for a short-term task, look for an outsourced team or onboard a contractor. But if you're working on the long game, and most startups are, go for an in-house developer. It becomes cheaper in the longer run, and they'll be more committed.

Step 3: Set a Competitive Budget and Benefits Package

Attracting the right developers starts with understanding what devs want—and what you can realistically offer. Startups may not always have the biggest budgets, but you can still create a package that stands out.

Start with Salary Research

Do your homework on market rates. Software developer salaries vary depending on location, experience, and expertise, so check out job boards, salary surveys, or reports from recruitment platforms. If you’re open to hire remote developers, you might find exceptional candidates in regions where the cost of living—and market rates—are lower. Remember that hiring remote developers means you're accessing a global talent pool, rather than a nationwide pool of flyover-state developers.

Many companies are re-evaluating traditional salary structures to remain competitive. Some are adopting geo-agnostic pay policies that allow workers to relocate without pay cuts, while others are exploring hybrid remuneration models that balance global alignment with regional cost-of-living differences.

Think Beyond Money

Startups can raise their appeal by offering non-cash benefits such as equity stakes, flexible working hours, remote work options, and clear career paths. These perks can make your startup more attractive, especially to young candidates who value work-life balance and personal development.

Balance Costs and Quality

While it’s tempting to go for the cheapest option, keep in mind that talented developers can deliver far more value in the long run. Investing in quality talent can save you money—and headaches—as they prevent delays and make sure your product is built right the first time.

6 Tax Perks of Group Benefits for Small Businesses →

Step 4: Write a Clear and Precise Job Description

Your job description is often a candidate’s first impression of your startup, so it needs to hit the mark. The goal? To highlight your project’s vision, the role’s responsibilities, and why your startup is an exciting place to work—all while staying concise and straightforward, of course.

Start with the basics. Outline your project goals—whether it’s building an MVP, scaling an existing product, or introducing new features. Be specific about the technologies your team uses, like Python for back-end development or React for the front end, so candidates can quickly assess if they’re a good fit. Mention the team structure, including whether the role involves solo work, small-team collaboration, or working with external partners. Finally, set clear expectations for outcomes, such as delivering a functioning app prototype within six months or maintaining scalable cloud infrastructure.

When writing the description, also think about what a startup developer can value. Highlight opportunities to make a real impact, the chance to solve challenging problems, or perks like flexibility and equity. These details can make your startup stand out in the market.

You should always include the salary. More than 40% of job candidates reported they'd lose interest in a job that doesn’t list a salary range. Also, some states, like Colorado or New York, require employers to list a salary range. So there are multiple upsides.

If you're struggling to write the job ad, consider tools like TalentHR, an all-around HR tool. This easy-to-set-up SaaS can make hiring easier with its applicant tracking feature. It can optimize job postings to multiple platforms and even write job postings with AI.

Step 5: Source Candidates from the Right Platforms (Not LinkedIn)

Finding the right software engineers starts with looking in the appropriate places. General job boards may cast a wide net, but specialized platforms and strategic outreach can help you connect with candidates who are the real best match for your startup.

Instead of wasting hours on broad, unspecific, spread-too-thin professional sites like LinkedIn, consider launching a Careers page through a tool like TalentHR. It allows you to present your startup’s unique story while automating the hiring process. For startups looking to attract global talent, specialized platforms such as Relocate.me—ideal for roles involving relocation—or WeAreDevelopers, Arc.dev, and Honeypot.io are excellent choices. These sites are specially addressed to developers and are related to tech-focused hiring, which gives you a better chance to find candidates who are actively seeking roles in startups. Now, check the market these sites address before you start. Some, like WeAreDevelopers, are more focused on Europe.

Networking can also play a big role. Tap into the startup ecosystem through industry meetups or referrals from your own team or trusted contacts. Developers who come through referrals often have a stronger connection to your mission and culture.

So if you actually forgot your LinkedIn password, and you’re sweating because you’re locked out of your account and think that you can’t hire senior developers without it… Well, you can actually breathe and skip resetting your login credentials. It won’t make much of a difference if what you need are skilled developers.

Step 6: Screen Candidates for Skills and Cultural Fit

How do you determine if a developer is fit and knows their stuff? Hint: Not by hurling coding challenges at them. In fact, you should avoid coding challenges.

But we'll get into that. Let's consider you know a bit about programming. When you screen your profiles, you might need to dust off your HR chops. Start by evaluating basic tech knowledge. Review portfolios to get a sense of their past work, and pay attention to the scope of projects they’ve completed and how it aligns with your needs. If you know a bit about programming and can check their answers, code reviews are another useful step—they offer insight into how candidates write and organize their code, which is crucial for scalable development.

Now, if you don't know about programming, you might feel tempted to include coding challenges. But don't do that. Software engineers see coding challenges both as a time sink and as an outdated form of free labor. Yes, it sounds extreme, but that's what they've been saying on blogs and forums. When a tech job platform surveyed what developers hated the most about the hiring process, “unpaid tests” came in third. So don't push them.

Instead, you can take two routes: Rely on a strategic partner or use HR tools that can screen and sift the right profiles and right developers. The strategic partners—some of which we mentioned earlier on this blog, like WeAreDevelopers or even Dice and X-Team—might vet candidates and offer them to startups. This is called a “reverse-recruiting” process, and it usually pays off with a single hire.

Another route is to rely on tools that narrow down candidates based on questions or terms. For example, TalentHR’s customizable screening questions can streamline this process. If you can rely on a technical partner to help you write down these questions, you'll be able to prioritize a select group of candidates who have reached that far because of their tech knowledge. Plus, when deciding, it is easier to compare candidates without bias when you can set up personalized assessments and gather feedback in one place. There's more. TalentHR also has an AI-assisted scoring tool that offers a suitability rating. You can shortlist candidates that score 85% or higher, for example, because the tool will match their resumes with what your startup needs.

Okay, lastly: Now that you learned how to assess technical expertise, we should highlight that cultural fit matters just as much. Is the candidate aligned with your mission and startup’s quick-paced and creative environment? Use the hiring process to gauge their interest in your product and their ability to collaborate in a small, dynamic team. You can use initial screening questions for this, and if the candidate makes it to the interviews, then you can ask the right questions.

If you follow these steps, you'll now have a candidate shortlist.

New AI-powered Tool for Faster Talent Scoring →

Step 7: Conduct Engaging and Structured Interviews

Now that you have a pre-selection of candidates, you can start interviewing. Since it's a shortlist, you can manually schedule with a Calendly or you can run the process through an HR tool—in any case, neither will take up much time. And to know what to ask, you can start with behavioral interviews. Use these to explore how candidates work within a team, adapt to challenges, and handle feedback. For example, ask them to describe a situation where they faced a major roadblock and how they resolved it. Their answers can reveal their approach to collaboration, creativity, and resilience—qualities that are vital in a startup environment.

If your startup doesn’t have much HR experience, keep it simple but effective. Create a consistent set of questions to establish fair comparisons across candidates. Ask follow-up questions to dig into their responses and understand how they approach problem-solving.

❓Don't know what behavioral questions are? Then read this blog: 24 Best Software Engineer Interview Questions (2025) →

Step 8: Offer and Onboard Seamlessly

Once you’ve identified the perfect developer, it’s time to close the deal and make sure they hit the ground running.

Start by presenting a clear, well-thought-out offer. Go beyond just listing a salary—break down the full package, including equity, bonuses, and other perks that make your offer compelling. If your budget is tight, emphasize non-cash benefits like flexible work arrangements, opportunities for professional growth, or the chance to play a key role in shaping the company’s future.

Once the offer is accepted, onboarding should be swift and purposeful. Developers often face a steep learning curve, especially in startups where roles are very fast-paced. Prepare a structured onboarding plan that introduces them to the team, tools, and workflows they’ll be using. You probably don't have much documentation, so at least make sure they can get personally involved with the codebase or business plan from the outset.

The first few weeks are also an excellent time to build your company culture and set expectations. It's already confirmed: A good onboarding experience will impact how long your developer stays with you.

7-Step IT Onboarding Checklist →

Hire the Best Developers For Your Startup with Affordable HR Solutions

If your company is focused specifically on tech, hiring software developers is one of the most important investments your startup will make. It's very important because it can go in any direction. If you hire the right person, it might pay off rapidly—or, in the worst-case scenario, if you make a bad hire, it can burn down your cash in their salary and replacement.

If you made the right hire, then you need them to stay. The hiring process is just the beginning. Retention strategies, like promoting a supportive culture and offering opportunities for growth, make sure that your startup can maintain a strong team over the long haul.

Also, to build a competitive product, it’s mandatory to hire developers for startup needs who understand both the technical and business challenges of early-stage ventures. Asking the right questions and having the right screening process will funnel these people to your inbox.

So, yes, it's complicated. But managing this process doesn’t have to be overwhelming. HR software solutions like TalentHR can simplify every step for startups, from posting your job ad to screening resumes, scheduling interviews, onboarding new hires, and even managing employees once they’ve joined. As it simplifies these tasks, TalentHR allows you to focus on what matters most: building a product and a team that will propel your startup toward success.

Register now for free and automate HR tasks as soon as possible.