Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by nikolai_tarasov 801 days ago
The original plan was to run the agency with a co-founder, but since the beginning and in the nearest future I'm going solo, until my co-founder frees up from his full time job. That's why I used "we". Now there's a trend with productized agencies so I wanted to show mine because I haven't seen many such agencies in native iOS development. If you have any constructive feedback - I welcome it ;)
1 comments
piterrro 801 days ago
What is a "productized agency"? Why should I choose you instead of a freelancer, hiring an engineer or hiring an agency that is not "productized" (whatever that means)?
link
nikolai_tarasov 800 days ago
A "productized agency" is a type of agency that offers standardized services packaged as products, often with clear pricing, deliverables, and processes. Productized agencies often specialize in specific areas, such as iOS development with SwiftUI, like SwiftAppLab. This means you're working with experts who have in-depth knowledge and experience in their field, leading to better outcomes for your project. Additionally, productized agencies typically offer transparent pricing and clearly defined deliverables, making it easy to understand what you'll get for your investment. This eliminates guesswork and helps you budget effectively.

I used to work for Fidelity Investments, helping them build their enterprise-wide Design Language System for iOS in SwiftUI. I remember how challenging it was to find SwiftUI experts. Many candidates who claimed experience with SwiftUI on their resumes actually had only basic knowledge. SwiftUI significantly speeds up iOS development that's why it's in high demand currently.

When you work with a productized agency, you don't need to "hire" them. Some clients schedule a quick intro call, while others subscribe to a plan and start adding their tasks immediately. The beauty of productized agencies is that you can pause or cancel your subscription, unlike with "non-productized" agencies, where you have a contract. In productized agencies, there are no terms like "hire" or "fire", but rather "subscribe", "pause", "unpause", or "cancel".

This way of working isn't for everyone. If you require your developers to attend meetings or need invoices with line items and hourly breakdowns, SwiftAppLab may not be the best fit. Additionally, while I specialize in native iOS development with SwiftUI, I can't be an expert in everything. If you need help with ReactNative or Flutter, for example, I'm not the best fit.

link