[tivert]

>> I've had a lot of problems with people who (seemingly) only have experience maintaining projects.

> And similarly I've had problems with people who (seemingly) only have experience with starting a new project and then simultaneously over-engineering and piling on tech debt.

The best thing is to build a greenfield project and then maintain it for several years, fix your mistakes, then do the same thing on a new project again (including the maintenance).

You really need the full spectrum of experience, and put yourself in the shoes of the future maintainer when you're building something new.