A solo-built product now needs growth help, but equity feels costly
A founder started building a niche product alone about nine months ago. They are not a mobile developer, but they have strong software and experience, and helped them turn the idea into a working product with several releases. The harder problem now is not building the product but growing it.
They lack experience in , , partnerships, , and scaling a around the product. They are seriously considering bringing in an industry partner who has already done what they are trying to learn. The tradeoff is painful because hundreds of hours have gone into the product, and giving away equity feels expensive.
At the same time, owning all of a product that never grows may be worse than owning a smaller share of something that succeeds. The main questions are how to tell whether someone deserves to be a true partner instead of an advisor or consultant, and how to decide a fair equity split once the product already exists.
Key points
- The product was built solo over about nine months and has had several releases.
- helped a non-mobile developer create a working product.
- The missing skills are , , partnerships, , and scaling.
- The central decision is whether to bring in a true partner or use an advisor or consultant.
- A smaller share of a growing may be worth more than full of a stalled product.