What's going on you beautiful human!
After running a digital product agency for over 5 years, I often get asked "Aren't agencies super expensive?" or "What's the benefit of hiring an agency?". Let me explain:
You've got $50,000-$100,000 in the bank and an idea that you believe has traction and the capability to be something huge. Why hire a digital product agency? After building over 30+ products for clients, here are some reasons why people choose to work with a digital agency over hiring internally.
A Diverse Skillset
If you hired a designer or an engineer as an employee and they cost you $400-$500 per day, you are hiring specifically for that skillset.
If you hire a product agency at the same rate, you also gain access to a diverse set of skills. You're $400-$500 can be used for design, backend development, growth, mobile applications etc. All experienced talent that the agency has ready for your product. Switch in and our skillsets as required.
They are experienced
As Andrew Wilkinson once said, if you are laying new decking in your back garden, do you hire the overly eager but inexperienced person or the person who has laid decking 1,000 times before. There are no doubt pros and cons to both. However, when an idea is in its infancy, having an experienced and professional team beside you to help educate, navigate and build based on past knowledge will help you to move at a great pace.
They can open doors
A great agency will be connected to incubators, accelerators, corporates, investors and more. They will also have built many other companies products. They will even pair the right two companies together when they can see a fantastic collaborative opportunity. The right joint venture can be a superb opportunity.
Low Risk
The risk balance of having a digital product agency against a team of 4-5 people within your company is low. You can ask the agency to scale up or down the resources required for your product. The risk is on the agency and not your company.
Vision & Speed
A good agency should understand what the client is looking to build, a great agency will understand the clients' vision, strategic goals and growth strategy. Understanding a companies vision will ensure that the digital product is built upon a solid foundation. The strategic goals will ensure clarity on where the product is going in the future.