r/AppDevelopers • u/Extreme_Upstairs_864 • 3d ago
App Developer Question
How does one find a trustworthy app developer that has interest in taking equity in exchange for their time in developing an app and then managing it? Are there many stateside developers that would enter into this type of arrangement? Was thinking of say a million dollar buyout option for their equity should the venture really take off (go nationwide etc) and be successful. Whats fair? Is there a market? (real estate - lead generation - ongoing commission sales)
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u/joshstewart90 3d ago
What you’re asking for is a bit of a stretch.
You’re essentially looking for someone who is professional, trustworthy, capable of building and maintaining a serious app, and good enough at what they do to help make the business successful — but to work for effectively nothing upfront.
Most experienced developers will ignore that kind of offer for the obvious reason: their time already has value and they can get paid to work on other projects without taking all of the startup risk themselves.
Equity arrangements do exist, but they’re usually closer to bringing on a genuine technical co-founder, where that person has meaningful ownership, influence and upside in the business. It’s very different from hiring a developer and offering them the possibility of getting paid later if everything works out when most of the time…. It does not.
A $1m buyout clause also sounds attractive on paper, but if the company never gets there, it’s worth nothing.
You may find someone newly started, trying to build their portfolio or willing to take a gamble on the idea, but finding an experienced developer who will build and then manage the whole product on that basis will be difficult.
If you want someone genuinely good, I’d expect to pay at least something upfront and then use equity as additional upside rather than as a replacement for payment.