If you are a start-up and you have an idea to build a marketplace, a social network app or a file hosting service or any other such, goal should be to create a quality piece of software using the right tech stack. But how do we choose the tech stack that would enable us to do just that?
Good news is that there are many correct answers to choose the appropriate tech stack. The quality of the software has very low correlation to the technology stack used. I’ve personally seen great software craftsmanship, user-friendly interface with excellent performance and scalability, written in both NodeJS as well in old-school Java. I’ve seen a lot of bad code in many languages including the trending ones.
So before zeroing in on the technology stack, here are some of the prerequisites to be considered while choosing the right one for your business:
- Cost: As a start up, you may likely have a shoe-string budget that is split between development and marketing. It is no secret that new technologies cost heavy spending, so being a start-up, you wouldn’t want to waste money. Thus, the most profitable thing for you to do would be to embrace open-source solutions. The best thing about open source is that the original source code will be available and open to the public, meaning you can use such technologies for free.
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Community: Make sure that the technology you are going to use for a start-up has a vibrant and active community. The community also indicates how rich is the technology for learning resources which would be beneficial for any start-up environment. Moreover, the community offers support for solving technical issues that a start-up might face.
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Time to market: Speed has a significant advantage for ANY kind of a start-up. Why? Well, there are two reasons for this: First, somebody might be just addressing the same problem you are trying to solve. And you know, the first one to launch and address the issue will be the one to hit the jackpot; Second, a start-up budget isn’t endless, so the longer you are stuck in the developing phase, the more money you’re going to spend.
As a Bootstrapped entity, our recommendation would be to choose technologies that are easy to implement, flexible and have a lot of beneficial third-party integrations for speeding up the development process.
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Scalability: You are planning on growing your start-up and engaging with more users, right? Well, then choosing a programming language that is easily scalable is a must-have. What exactly does a scalable product mean? Well, a scalable application, whether mobile or web, should be able to process quickly multiple requests to your server. Say for instance, you have a hundred requests per day, your product may accommodate this traffic and function perfectly. But will it continue to operate the same as you begin to gain traction and get more requests? What if it crashes in the peak time? In order not to face such nightmare, use scalable programming languages and frameworks.
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Project size: The right goal for a start-up should be not creating a Unicorn all at once right from the start, but to focus more on the problem that needs to be addressed step by step and look for gradual business growth. Obviously, at first, you are going to focus on creating an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) that will help collect the necessary feedback from your target earlyvangelists and build the features that are missing. However, your tech stack should have a promising future in creating not only a basic MVP but rather the grown-up start-up that your heart desires. At Merkat intellekt, we believe that every start-up and every business should do a grand experiment that tests product ideas against consumer demand. That’s why we advocate targeting a problem and then developing a minimum viable product to begin the process of learning.
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Web vs Mobile: You will be able to decide only if you researched well on your target audience. Therefore, it is advisable to analyse your target audience especially your earlyvangelists and go ahead with a suitable type of product that meets the requirement.
In a nutshell
A technology stack should function as a tool to help getting your start-up up on its own feet. But the essential thing is not to forget about the quality in chase of time and economy otherwise, the result might be another dropped product that didn’t see the light of day. As a company, Merkat Intellekt has been helping start-ups succeed with our pool of expertise & I2IP Engagement model. We believe that in order to choose the best technology stack designed for your needs, you should consider using our services especially I2IP Engagement model for MVP that shortens GTM with minimal investment. Besides, it also can help you to exhibit your product to investors for raising funds.