The most expensive mistake you can make is hiring a developer who builds high-quality code for a product nobody wants. Architecture matters, but validation matters more.
The Hiring Scorecard
| Candidate Type | Best For | The Warning |
|---|---|---|
| The "Founding" CTO | Scaling a complex product. | Hard to find, requires high equity. |
| The Freelancer | Building a 1-month MVP. | Often "disappears" when bugs occur. |
| The No-Code Specialist | Testing early market fit. | Limited on ultimate scalability. |
| The Agency | Fast, high-end polish. | Extremely expensive ($10k-$100k+). |
🛑 Benchmarking Technical Quality
| Signal | Green Light ✅ | Red Flag 🚩 |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Ships a feature in 48 hours. | Needs 4 weeks for a simple landing page. |
| Thinking | Asks: "Why are we building this for the user?" | Just asks for a list of Jira tickets. |
| Communication | Explains tech in plain English. | Uses jargon to hide delays or bugs. |
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