Easy money has passed its prime. Founders will be lucky to receive one chance as the Venture Capital (VC) industry collapses under the weight of the economic slump, meaning that hasty decisions and bad project management are now irrevocable errors. One small mistake and you’re out.
The IT sector has become more unpredictable during the past six months. The stock values of 61% of all software, internet, and fintech businesses are below where they were in 2020 before the epidemic.
Of course, businesses like Kormoan are also harmed. The costs of our services are being anxiously negotiated with our potential partners. In an effort to conserve money wherever they can, some are turning to inexpensive businesses or people.
We believe the situation calls for a reaction from our perspective since what we are witnessing are risky decisions motivated by uncertainty.
We’re going to put diplomacy aside and be absolutely honest about common strategies used in our sector to deceive clients — something we’ve touched on in the past — at the risk of offending some of our rivals. We sincerely think that now is the moment to discuss warning flags, not to cause fear but rather to aid you in reevaluating your choices and making future plans.
You cannot afford to take the risk of picking the wrong partner.
We at Kormoan can’t quickly add 20% of high quality after 80% of a low-quality product has been completed. That 80% needs to be fixed in the past. Sometimes, it’s so horrible that we essentially have to start over. Always take more time, effort, and money than the entrepreneur anticipates. If we had been the sole team working on the project, the cost would have been two to three times higher. However, there are neither short cuts nor substitutes.
You will pay for choosing a less expensive, less qualified partner in more ways than one. Additionally, errors won’t be accepted because VCs are under so much pressure. Quality is more important than ever, and it starts with the quality of the raw materials.
The ideal business partner can give you advice and suggest actions that make sense for your operation. Do they comprehend your overall objectives and can they create the most effective plan to achieve them inside your budget? Do our ideals and perspectives coincide? Only by doing that can you be certain that they’ll stand with you when things go tough and crucial.
Tricks Used by Most Agencies & How to Conduct a “Trust Check”
To begin with, we urge you to become proficient in recognizing BS in sales pitches. Specifically:
- Is the estimate process too quick and simple, or is it individualized and thorough?
- Are you frequently questioned on the proposed product and your vision, or mostly about your financial situation?
- Is the present being prioritized more than potential scalability and iterations in the future?
- Are there any technical participants in the process, or simply salespeople?
What about certain, common agency ploys that you should be aware of?
The methods by which agencies deceive unwary clients will now be openly listed, along with advice on how to avoid falling victim to one of these traps.
- Making inflated claims about its performance history and abilities
Because it’s difficult to prove, everyone claims to have the greatest staff and to have worked on a ton of projects (or disprove). NDAs, the definition of a project (it could have only been a few hours of assistance), attributing one person’s labor to the entire organization, etc. are a few of the causes.Check for trust: To find verified facts, look. For how long have they been available? Are they willing to give you references from past customers? Have they been in numerous long-lasting relationships? Inquire about the organization’s culture, recruiting procedure, and continuous training. You may also look at the agency’s Glassdoor page to see what employees are saying about it. - Selecting team members based on availability rather than compatibility:
A staff with the necessary experience and genuine enthusiasm for your project may make all the difference, but achieving this requires a lot more planning on the part of agencies. Despite being a highly common assertion, few really do it.Check for trust: Verify the agency’s claims that they have chosen the ideal candidates for your project by requesting more evidence. Has the engineer already worked on a project like this? Does the designer have any examples of their work in a setting like this?
- Displaying design concepts to make it appear as though the project is legit:
A designer develops a design concept that they subsequently provide to the requested firm. These ideas are occasionally used by agencies to display logos on their websites, giving the impression that the company is an official partner even if they have never collaborated.Check for trust: Check the agency’s credibility by asking to see a formal case study, particular design outputs, or by requesting to talk with team members who worked on the project.
- Include prizes that were purchased or that were not meritorious:
Nowadays, the simplest claim to make about an agency is that it has won awards. Numerous online newspapers get in touch with agencies and offer them prizes in exchange for a little fee or a mention of their publications on the agency’s website. It’s more of a deal than a well-earned honor.
Check their trust: By researching the accolades they cite (assuming they do so at all; if not, there is a major problem). Usually, a fast Google search will provide you with all the information you want.
- Claiming they can assist with anything:
Few, if any, firms can genuinely handle everything, including brand definition, design, engineering, marketing, SEO, etc. Therefore, while they claim that everything is possible, they frequently outsource portions of the job to other firms, whose quality you can seldom examine. They may be improvising.Check for trust: Ask to view the results of each and every service they are providing as a trust-check. An agency will have case studies and references with mentions and outcomes of those services if it really provides a professional service.
- Preventing you from interacting with engineers and designers:
A product manager is a must, but they shouldn’t be the only people you work with on the project. To hide disorder and because it’s simpler for them, some agencies keep the rest of the staff behind closed doors. This leads to misunderstandings, delays, and subpar results.
Check for trust: By inquiring about the communication procedure early on. How will it function after the project is launched? In order to readily discuss technical concerns and adjustments as needed, make sure there are procedures in place that provide you access to the whole team.
- Taking up a new endeavor without conducting thorough research:
The outcome might be a nightmare if an agency doesn’t follow the right procedures, including analyzing the current codebase (after signing an NDA), offering an analysis along with recommendations, and explaining the future steps (refactoring? rewrite? no action needed?). Many agencies lack the time, expertise, and established procedures necessary to do it properly.Check for trust: Before working with them to avoid problems like production delays caused by outdated code that should have been updated or rebuilding the entire codebase just for the agency’s convenience. Verify that their recommendations take into account a product’s scalability and long-term success.
- Praising your plan despite the likelihood that it will fail:
Experienced professionals are fairly adept at identifying concepts with genuine potential. Business, however, is business. Most organizations won’t question you if your concept isn’t fantastic but you have the funds to finance it in order to prevent upsetting or frightening you off.
