Prothes Barai
Founder & Engineer, PSBM Labs
We've been brought in more than once to rescue or take over projects that started with a different team. The mistakes tend to repeat across cases, and most of them are avoidable with a bit of upfront diligence.
Skipping a written scope of work
Starting development based on a verbal agreement or a rough chat thread, rather than a written scope both sides sign off on, is the single biggest predictor of a project going over budget and timeline. Without a shared reference point, "done" means something different to each side.
Choosing based on price alone
The cheapest quote is sometimes cheap because corners are being cut on testing, code quality, or documentation — costs that resurface later as bugs and rework. Comparing quotes on scope and included deliverables, not just the final number, avoids this trap.
Not confirming code ownership upfront
We've taken over projects where the founder didn't have access to their own source code or app store account, because it was never formally handed over. Confirm in writing, before the project starts, exactly what you'll own and receive at completion.
No design or technical documentation
Projects handed off without documentation are expensive to pick up later — a new team has to reverse-engineer decisions instead of building on them. Ask for basic documentation (architecture notes, environment setup, key decisions) as a standard deliverable, not an optional extra.
Treating the MVP as the finished product
An MVP is meant to test a hypothesis with real users, not to be a polished, feature-complete app. Startups that pour their full budget into an MVP with every imaginable feature often run out of runway before they've learned whether the core idea works.
No plan for what happens after launch
Contracts that end abruptly at launch, with no maintenance or support arrangement, leave founders scrambling the first time something breaks in production. Agree on a post-launch support plan before development even starts.
A simple checklist before you sign
- Written scope of work, signed by both sides
- Clear code and account ownership terms
- Agreed communication cadence
- Documentation as a stated deliverable
- A defined post-launch support plan