# Should I hire a developer, hire an agency, or find a technical cofounder?

URL: https://wonderful.so/blog/hire-developer-agency-or-technical-cofounder
Markdown URL: https://wonderful.so/blog/hire-developer-agency-or-technical-cofounder.md
Content type: Question and answer
Published: 2026-05-13
Updated: 2026-05-13
Author: Rulian at Wonderful
Asked by: A non-technical founder
Tags: Hiring, Strategy, Working Together

## Question

Should I hire a developer, hire an agency, or find a technical cofounder?

## Answer

People talk about agencies, freelancers, and technical cofounders like they're three prices for the same thing. They're not. They're different tools for different problems.

An agency is a machine, and that can be great. If you have money and not a lot of time, an agency can fill in gaps fast: design, development, management, QA, deployment, all the stuff you may not even know to ask for yet. The catch is that it's their machine. You can ride in it, but you don't get to pretend you're driving every turn.

## Freelancers Are More Intimate

A freelancer is usually slower and cheaper, but you're closer to the work. That means more involvement, more decisions, and more of your fingerprints on the final thing, for better and worse. If you want to not just build, but understand what's being built, this can be the right path.

Don't kid yourself though. Cost-effective doesn't mean effortless, and you will be part of the process.

## A Cofounder Is Responsibility

A technical cofounder isn't a developer you pay with imaginary future money because cash is tight. That's a terrible start to a relationship.

A technical cofounder takes responsibility for the technical side so you can carry more of the business side. Maybe they manage an agency, maybe they work with a freelancer, maybe they build the first version themselves. The point is ownership.

So the question isn't which one is best. The question is what you actually need: speed, understanding, or someone to own the technical burden with you.