Ask HN: Trusting contract developers with codebase?

[ptaoussanis]

So I’ve been working for several months on a web startup that I’m very excited about - something which I sincerely believe has a great deal of potential.

The idea itself is slightly (if subtly) unusual. More importantly, the implementation strategy is unique as far as I know.

Now it’s not uncommon to overvalue ideas, but the fact is that I do value a number of the ideas involved quite highly. To a large extent, I believe that they’re going to be critical to fighting competitors.

I’d love to be able to hire someone to help speed development, but I’m concerned about opening the codebase to any outsiders at this point.

What is the general consensus when it comes to these kinds of trust issues?

I can definitely continue on as I have been, working by myself - but I feel there’d be an advantage to getting out the door ASAP. And even if I get out the door by myself, the idea has a lot of growth potential - too much for one person to handle adequately.

The matter is complicated by the fact that the chances of finding someone with the right technical knowledge in my country are about nil: so I’d need to trust someone I don’t personally know, and that I’m only indirectly in contact with.

I’ve got trust issues, generally, so maybe I’m overreacting? Still, I can’t help shake the fear that a contract developer is going to (un)-intentionally leak code now or in the future.

[seven]

It may sound too simple, but you should not hire anybody that you do not trust.

For sure, your faith in somebody is no guarantee that you won't get screwed, but in the end that is a risk that you can not avoid and that you have to take. (Or work alone.)

About your unique implementation strategy: You might be a genius, but I would guess that there are at least some people who would come up with the same or an even nicer solution for your problem, just by looking at your product once it is out. Please do not be offended, this is not intended and I might be wrong.

Thinking about one of my own projects right now.. I could imagine to stubb out some core elements from the code very easily. But perhaps this is not an option for you.

[Edit: About trusting somebody you don't know: Trust your guts. That is at least how I do it. Worked pretty well until now.]

[ptaoussanis]

Actually, I wish it were simpler still ;)

I guess it's just a difficult situation: especially with the geographical distance, a gut feeling is probably all I'll have to work with.

I'm curious though: is this not a common problem? Outside of the partner context, I don't often see discussions of trust relating to startups.

And about the value of the implementation: of course, I'm sure plenty could come up with the same or better solutions. The trick is that no one seems to have -yet- (publicly, at least) - which means that there may still be some ephemeral advantage to the first mover.