Growing businesses eventually ask: should we hire a developer, or keep working with an agency? Here is how we think about it with our own clients.

In-house makes sense when

• You need daily, hands-on changes to a product that's core to your business
• You have enough ongoing work to keep one person fully utilized
• You're ready to own recruiting, management, and knowledge continuity

An agency makes sense when

• You need a range of skills (design, backend, DevOps) without five hires
• The work is project-based, with periods of heavier and lighter need
• You want to launch in months, not after a multi-month hiring process

Most of our clients land in the middle: an agency for builds and automation, with a lightweight in-house owner for day-to-day content and requests.