Five Tips to Reduce Costs of Software Development for Startups

Five Tips to Reduce Costs of Software Development for Startups

Startup development is rarely easy. 

It is possible to start an online business just in a few clicks. However, it is hard to reach sustainable growth with an innovative product. 

- Why?

Software development is expensive, especially for fresh startups being in search for their niche.

- Why?

Startups need to constantly verify assumptions. Having a limited budget, they must be very careful about every step and focus only on things that bring value. 

This post will help you identify five common pitfalls that block cost-effective software development. Keep them in mind not only to ensure timely launch but also sustainable, long-term business development. 

1. MVP development

Although startup founders may have an idea of a fully featured product, they must save it for later stages. Rather than focusing on endless releases, they must reach the market as soon as possible with software. (Each attempt is expensive, do you remember?)

This is possible when reducing an idea to its core and launching only essential features. This will be the version one of a product. 

Initial plans often change as soon as startups get feedback from real users. Only a few points will remain from their original ideas. Therefore, no need to waste time and money on them.

2. Discovery stage

Discovery stage costs money. Still, it is always wise to start software development for startups from a discovery stage. Depending on project complexity, this can be a detailed estimate, a visual presentation (wireframes, use case diagrams, etc.), or a prototype. 

During discovery stage, development team detects flaws, evaluates project risks, and determines possible tradeoffs that will let keep up with project priorities. 

Discovery stage makes it possible to narrow down scope of work and make a realistic estimate on costs and timeline. Few chances are left on scope creep and software inconsistency. 

3. Team’s expertise

A common pitfall lies in choosing software development team based on its hourly rate. Top programmers with multiple successful project under their belt tend to charge higher hourly rates. Still, the entire project cost is lower due to team’s efficiency of development processes and their constant suggestions on the best path. How?

An, experienced team uses Agile approach to software development for startups. It focuses on business value. It works flexibly and switches to features a startup needs even if those features are not included to the initial scope. 

4. Continuous market research

Startups live in a fast-paced environment. They cannot stop even for a second with both studying competitors and asking users for their feedback. What is more important, they must do both: raising the bar above competitors’ in terms of user flow and system friendliness, and incorporating user feedback into new releases. This way, startups ensure they hear their customers and simplify their lives thus motivating to convert to paying customers or to keep using paid subscription plans. 

(yes, Agile development allows startups to optimize costs by doing important work and abandoning unimportant.)

5. Support of business growth plans

Another important reason for hiring an expert-level team: it builds source code and app architecture adjusted to business development plans. 

App code base is ready for extension and scaling. The team can modify it and add new features with minimum hassles. 

By introducing best development practices and constant optimization, the team extends project lifecycle thus, decreasing long-term development and maintenance costs. 

In its turn, startup can incorporate already developed source code in long-term planning. Product redevelopment is always painful when the business is already up and running. 

To sum up, expertise, flexibility, and narrow focus save startup development costs. It always makes sense to initiate discovery stage, then start developing core features. 

Always take your time to find and retain a professional development team. It saves you both short- and long-term costs.