Need advice on hiring for my SaaS MVP (experienced engineer vs freelancers vs interns?) I’ve reached the point where I need to start building my SaaS, and I’m honestly stuck on one decision.
I have:
A validated product idea
A complete PRD
A detailed MVP specification
An Architecture Decision Record (ADR)
The product scope is well defined, and I want to build and launch the MVP as quickly as possible.
My biggest challenge is hiring.
I don’t have the budget to hire a full in-house senior engineering team, but I’m also skeptical about relying entirely on interns because I feel it could take much longer and require a lot of hand-holding.
At the same time, hiring a single experienced engineer feels risky because I’m not sure if one person can realistically build the entire MVP (frontend, backend, cloud infrastructure, AI integration, database, etc.).
I’m trying to figure out the best execution strategy.
If you were in my position, what would you do?
Some specific questions:
Should I hire one experienced full-stack engineer first?
Should I work with a small development agency instead?
Is it better to hire multiple freelancers?
Would a senior engineer plus one or two interns be a good balance?
Where have you had the best experience hiring? (Upwork, Toptal, LinkedIn, Wellfound, referrals, etc.)
My goal isn’t to build the perfect product—it’s to launch a solid MVP as quickly as possible without making expensive hiring mistakes.
I’d really appreciate hearing from founders who have built SaaS products or engineering managers who’ve hired early-stage teams.
Looking back, what hiring approach worked well, and what would you avoid?
Thanks in advance!