[wes-exp]

Two things:

1) You don't outsource your core in business, so outsourcing tech is not appealing for tech startups, period.

2) Typically tech startups are more of a growth optimization problem than a cost optimization problem. Outsourcing to cheaper parts of the US, let alone overseas, usually doesn't increase the startup's growth potential.

[hyperliner]

Your [1] is flawed because what is core is continuously shifting as the advantages of the knowledge you can get somewhere else exceed the costs.

An example from banking:

"Morgan Stanley has about 500 people employed in India doing research and statistical analysis. About 100 of Goldman Sachs’ 3,000 employees in Bangalore are working on investment research."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/business/worldbusiness/12i...

[wes-exp]

Be careful not to conflate offshoring with outsourcing, which the article does. Some startups will have their own employees overseas, but my point is specifically about outsourcing to other companies.

[tuyguntn]

> Be careful not to conflate offshoring with outsourcing

Ups, thats my fault, lets add offshoring to the title.

[hyperliner]

Great clarification

[conductr]

1) the tech is rarely the product (so, rarely the core), does the end user care how nice the code is? what's the stack? or that it just works and provides a valuable service?

2) OP's point is that you should spend less on dev and more on marketing thus, more optimized for growth(?)