How Outsourcing Works for Startups

startup illustration

There are many reasons why outsourcing is the best choice for startups, and each one is equally important. For example, outsourcing means you don’t have to establish a development office. It also means you can save money on employee hiring and education. Moreover, with outsourcing you’ll receive consistent pre and post-launch support, and you’ll benefit from swift prototype development for investor funding. All of these reasons are important, but there are several other factors that are equally important to your success. Factors that are especially important for startups looking to build a solid foundation not only for their business, but with a trusted outsourcing partner. These factors include:

  • Ideas
  • Innovation
  • Uniqueness, especially in terms of IP
  • Optimization. What can you do better than your competitors?
  • Accessing and attaching your company to the cutting-edge of new platforms
  • The ability to create a fantastic prototype for potential investors
  • The flexibility, human capital and financial capital to improve and refine your product/service as you begin to accrue investors
  • Confidence in your selected outsourcing partner, especially when it comes to IP. The "secret sauce" to your product or service is of utmost importance to you — so when you’re researching outsourcing partners, make sure you understand to what lengths they’ll go to protect your IP rights — i.e. NDAs, contracts, etc. Also, it’s a good idea to call a prospective partner’s references and discuss this subject with them.

As to the outsourcing process itself, an iterative development process more often than not offers the most flexibility and the best opportunity for idea-sharing for innovative projects whose requirements are either undefined or likely to change during development. The "remote outsourcing partner" model thrives in this milieu, as it allows for regular communication, consistent focus on best practices, short iterations, repeated reviews and rapid-fire deliveries. Moreover, each member of your outsourcing partner team becomes fully immersed in your project, understands the importance of customer relations, and is as excited about your insights, ideas and potential for success as you are. As a startup, you’re optimistic about what the future holds. Your outsourcing partner should share this optimism with you, creating a symbiotic relationship that boosts everybody’s game to another level.

If you’re starting a new platform or software business, the above insights will go a long way towards helping you identify an experienced, flexible outsourcing partner.

Featured case studies developed for Startups

Pro Angler: Highly-Rated Fishing App

Canada

Pro Angler is a popular fishing app which allows its users to benefit from loads of tips and insights authored by local pro anglers from US, UK and Australia.

Case study in details

BedTyme: Mobile App for Insomniacs

USA

This project, initiated by an American sleep physician, is designed for people who have insomnia. The app offers a solution based on cognitive behavioral therapy. BedTyme uses evidence-based techniques to help users sleep better.

Case study in details

Croo.tv: Scheduling Solution for Film Makers

USA

Aimed to facilitate the work of assistant directors and commercial producers, CROO is a scheduling solution for script-based projects such as commercials, TV shows, and movies. The cloud-based web application allows users to plan and manage every little detail during the shootings and print the schedule.

Case study in details

Vitralogy: Life-Saving Programming

USA

The project Vitralogy is truly exceptional. In the first place, it deals with the deadly infection outbreak striking the streets of New York. It is also an inspiring story of giving up everything and starting over.

Case study in details

A Top Rated Mobile Video Editor

When we started working with our client in 2013, he wanted to create a video editing mobile application superior to everything else on the market. After studying the competition, he set out to build a product with a features list the others could only dream of. To execute his vision, he turned to Sibers.

Case study in details

TapTrip: Seamless Business Travel Management

UK

Being the quickest way to find and book the best flight, train, taxi and hotel — covering all needs for a particular business trip, it also serves as a control center for managing all the travel within a company.

Case study in details

Filmr: World's Most Intuitive Mobile Video Editor

Brazil

This classy project’s customers are two professional surfers — twin brothers from Brazil. Having loved surfing since they were kids, one sunny day they began capturing their runs on camera.

Twenty years later, in 2016, the brothers decided to create a video editing app of their own — not just for personal reasons, but also because it was a good chance to ride the wave of video content’s rising popularity, which incidentally is still rising as it replaces static images.

Case study in details

HireWriters: A Freelance Marketplace for Writers

USA

While doing his business, our client, a talented engineer and entrepreneur, came across the problem of finding appropriate copywriters, thus decided to create the most convenient content marketplace ever.

Case study in details

LivDay: User-Generated Itineraries for One Perfect Day in San Francisco

USA

A group of San Francisco locals, owners of a startup focused on digital city guides, asked Sibers to develop a web platform that would enable their users to create their own itineraries and browse through other users’ itineraries.

Case study in details

Eyefi Wireless Memory Card

USA

One of the most rewarding aspects of being an outsourcing provider is watching a solution you helped create grow from a basic concept into a hugely successful application. One such success story is Eyefi, which has attracted thousands of customers worldwide and brought millions of dollars to its founders since its 2007 debut.

Case study in details

Connexiti: A Massive Financial Analysis System

USA

Connexiti is a massive financial analysis system that Sibers developed for a client which has since been acquired by Bloomberg L.P. The Connexiti platform allows its users to create customized portfolios, organize and upload company models and research, and filter and tag relevant news articles from thousands of global sources. This helps investors better understand money flows between companies on a global basis and make predictive stock calls.

Case study in details

Logos3D: A 3D Simulations Engine

Netherlands

This project, which has won multiple awards and scholarships, was launched in the Netherlands by two brothers, who are the two biggest 3D technology enthusiasts we’ve ever met. As with almost every game engine, their offering, Logos3D, began as an internal project intended to help the brothers create their own games. Later it grew into a comprehensive proprietary middleware for creating lush, natural 3D virtual environments ideal for games, interactive simulators, and research tools. Indeed, Logos3D’s application field is very diverse.

Case study in details

PushLocal Local Information On-Demand Platform

USA

Our client, an IT entrepreneur in Natchez, asked us to develop a solution that connects Natchez businesses and organizations with the local community. In response, Sibers developed a website that allows businesses to register, create, and schedule push notifications. iPhone and Android apps were built to supplement the website, allowing Natchez residents to receive the notifications. Today, this scalable solution is employed in multiple cities in the US and the UK.

Case study in details

History Educational Application

Denmark

Currently selling in the App Store, this iPad application was a good investment for its founders, having generated popularity amongst students and casual American history fans alike.

Case study in details

Taposé Multi-media Digital Notebook

USA

The name “Taposé” derives from the verb “juxtapose”, and means “to place things close together or side by side”. The name is ideal for the client in that it reflects the application’s purpose: Taposé’s split interface ensures interaction with multiple apps simultaneously. So-called "multitasking" for iPad.

Case study in details

Evidence-based self-triage instrument

USA

Self-diagnosis is incredibly helpful in emergency situations — for example, when calling 911, exchanging information efficiently when time is of the essence often means the difference between life and death.

Sibers was tasked by an experienced family doctor and medical entrepreneur to create an online version of a symptom-based, self-diagnostic tool of his creation.

Case study in details

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