Are business consultants "worth it"?
Hey IndieHackers,
I'm a consultant for post-Series A startups and I’m currently trying to productize my consultancy so that it’s more accessible to earlier stage startups (like you guys).
To that end, I’m doing some research. What’s the perception of consultants amongst Indie Hackers? Have you ever worked with a consultant or coach for your startup? How was your experience? Was it “worth it”? Why or why not?
Once you reach the stage of having a product launched and you’re actively trying to make sales, why would or wouldn’t you work with someone to help you develop your sales plan, strategy, and long term vision?
My impression is that most early-stage founders don’t work with outside consultants or industry experts but that almost all post-Series A startup founders do. Is that solely a function of bootstrapping and trying to keep costs low at the beginning? Wanting to be a lone-wolf? Or something else? What do you think?
To make the question even more general, do you think there is there a market for a consultancy that works directly with indie founders to develop their product, strategy, vision, etc?
Thanks for any thoughts on the subject!
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Hey! We used a couple of consultants early on in our development with MESG. Looking back, these people provided a huge amount of value, but it was premature.
The issue was that the product was not mature enough to really be able to apply the suggestions given to us. It was simply too early to build a community around our product. At this point, we are finally mature enough as a product where we could probably use a consultant.
Now we have finally began to apply their suggestions, but this is now about a year after we spent a considerable amount on their expertise.
With all the great suggestions in the world, nothing can beat a product that is ready and able to provide value, right now. So, I think it really depends on the development timeline of the specific projects you're looking to help.
Hi,
I don't think we are the best niche for consultants. Indie hacker are usually a resourceful group. With the exception of highly technical consultations most of the things can be found and learnt. Average indiehacker has more time than money. Specially if you don't if your product has any potencial (post-Series A startups are in a totally different situation)
Hey Juan,
Thanks for the feedback. I totally hear what you're saying and I think you're probably right about the mindset regarding Indie founders. From my viewpoint, I see a lot of early-stage products fail that I think could have been successful with the right strategy, vision, technical leadership, etc.
So to your point, if you're building a product and you don't know it's potential then I think it would be helpful to talk to someone who knows the broader market and has that sense so they can perhaps guide you towards profitability/a better market/strategy/etc.
You make good points, thanks!
Hi Steve,
I also work as a consultant for start-ups (design & strategy), as you noted Series A funding tends to be the point at which people recognise the need for experts so that they can achieve the numbers that they are promising their new investors.
However there's a small sub-section of founders in the seed stage who bring in external resources as early as they can. These are generally people who've already had some success in earlier investments and have money to put into their business early to maximise the valuation of their business before they bring in investors.
These people are an illusive group, and you need to build a lot of trust with them to be considered. Then of course there are sweat equity deals, which often happen before Series A funding too.
I think generally it's a case that bootstrapped start-ups, and indie founders are simply priced out of the consultancy market. But, I do believe there's a market (potentially untapped), for someone who focuses on helping those kinds of founders find success.
It's a question I'm currently exploring too, so if you'd like to connect and share notes, hit me up on linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thatseika/
Ooh, thank you for sharing this!
I am currently attempting to create the market to help bootstrapped founders with some cash flow, as an expert in analytics. (Though maybe I should switch to the Series A guys..) Would love to talk to you both.
Hey Blake, would love to connect. I'm shorturl.at/dwX04 on LinkedIn and my email is in my profile on IndieHackers too. Thanks!
Hit me up on LinkedIn, would love to connect with like minded folk! :D
Great thoughts. Thanks for your reply!