Hiring developers blindly dooms startups — here’s how to avoid that fate

To those outside the technology scene, programmers speak jargon-filled alien languages. Understanding their technobabble is a challenge for me as well, despite having cut my teeth in the tech startup world for about a year now.

At the StartupRootsSG Panel held at Hackerspace Singapore yesterday, an interesting discussion raged about the granular differences between PHP, Ruby, and Python. The three wise men representing each domain were Michael Cheng, Sau Sheong, and Calvin Cheng respectively.

Vociferous laughter, inside jokes, and light jabbing filled the already cramped room, but for poor sobs like me who think Python is a slithery animal, the event felt like an intergalactic confab for the United Federation of Planets.

So now you understand the predicament facing non-technical startup founders who want to hire a developer into the team. How do you evaluate someone who speaks in an entirely different (programming) language?

Fortunately, much of the discussion that night revolved around this very fascinating topic. While I do not intend to give a blow-by-blow of what transpired, I shall note down some general points below.

Get a programmer to evaluate a programmer

As a non-technical entrepreneur, evaluating technical talent is a humongous task. While you can attempt to pick up some programming to understand what exactly developers face, nothing beats getting another programmer to suss out wheat from chaff.

If you don’t have a CTO, your best bet is to check out the developer’s profile on LinkedIn and find out who he has worked it. See if you can get references or impressions from another noted programmer. Check out GitHub too: Uploading some public code onto the platform is essential for developers who want to build credibility.

Another option for entrepreneurs is to get established developers to interview potential employees for you. You may even find it worthwhile to pay them a fee to be your makeshift HR personnel.

Generally, bosses should look out for programmers who can work fast and learn fast, since startup work is more rapid and fluid than less torrential corporate environments.

The challenge comes in evaluating and separating spongy minds from lesser, stony ones.

Be sure to nurture the potential in young developers

Since companies are often eager to hire the top talent, startups might be better off snagging a junior developer with a strong upside and hunger to learn. The next step is to water them the right way such that they’ll grow with the company.