How To Hire Developers For Your Crypto Project
Finding the right developers for your Crypto project is the single biggest & most important decision you’ll ever make. Period. I’ve learned this the hard way.
As the CTO of 2 Web3 startups that raised hundreds of thousands, and now running a dev agency that over time has had around 30 members, I’ve interviewed over 2,346 developers (yes, I kept track).
Development has always been the #1 expense—and the make-or-break factor for every project I’ve worked on.
So if you’re stuck trying to figure out how to hire the right devs, here’s everything I’ve learned after years of trial and error.
Understand Your Project Needs First
Before you even start looking for developers, get clear on what your project actually requires. A lot of founders waste time (and money) hiring the wrong person because they didn’t define their needs upfront. Trust me, you don’t want the headache, take the time to ACTUALLY do this.
- What’s Your Tech Stack?
- If you’re building a dApp on Ethereum, you’ll need Solidity for smart contracts and something like React for the front end.
- For Solana, it’s Rust.
- Not sure? Look at similar projects in your space and see what they’re built on. You can even ask the developers you are interviewing.
- What’s the Complexity?
- Is your project relatively simple, like a staking dashboard? Or are you building a fully decentralized game?
- The more complex the project, the more experienced (and specialized) your developer needs to be.
- Does Their Experience Match Your Vision?
- This is the #1 most important criteria
- If your developer has already worked on similar projects, it’s a huge advantage. They’ll anticipate issues, solve problems faster, and you’ll have more confidence in their ability to deliver.
👉 Pro Insight: Always review their previous work—actually use the products they’ve built, ask them a ton of follow-up questions about each one. It’s the best way to gauge their skills and attention to detail - and find out if they are lying.
The Hidden Costs of “Cheap” Developers
This one’s important. A lot of founders are tempted to hire the cheapest option they can find. But here’s the problem: development is one of those areas where you truly get what you pay for.
Here’s what happens when you go too cheap:
- Your timeline drags because they’re slower or less experienced.
- Bugs slip through, and you end up with an unstable product.
- Worst-case scenario: security vulnerabilities lead to hacks, lost funds, or user frustration.
👉 Pro Insight: A bad hire doesn’t just cost time and money—it costs reputation. In Web3, trust is everything, and a buggy or insecure launch can permanently damage your credibility.
Real Example:
A client of ours (BAM) had hired a budget team to build their staking platform. After 4 months, they asked us to review the project, this is what we found:
- A smart contract that failed every single audit and test.
- A buggy front end that broke under load.
- No documentation to help future developers understand the codebase.
They immediately asked us to fix it, but by then they’d already burned through $20,000 and wasted half a year.
Just avoid this headache by making the right decision from the get-go.
How to Spot a Quality Developer
Now, after you have verified their past experience and that they check off all the technical requirements, can you just go ahead and hire them? NO.
Those are just the minimum standards, here is what comes next:
- Communication Skills:
- This might seem basic, but 99% of people get it wrong. A developer who can’t explain their thought process clearly, or can’t understand how you want the product to work will be very hard to work with.
- If they are a bad communicator, once the project starts, they won’t be providing regular updates, won’t keep you in the loop on problems that have arised, and won’t make sure they completely understood your vision.
- Timezone and Availability:
- If your developer is in a completely different timezone, it can create delays, or situations where it takes days to resolve an issue as when it’s your day time, it’s their nighttime, and vice-versa.
- Same thing goes with their availability, are they working other jobs, have other responsibilities, clarify what these are and MAKE sure they don’t conflict.
👉 Pro Insight: I’ve found that cultural fit matters just as much as technical ability. If you don’t get along with your developer, it’s going to be a rough ride. Always do a vibe check before committing.
👉 Pro Insight: Contact past employers to understand candidates’ behavior, skills, and work ethics.
The Secret to Avoiding Mid-Project Nightmares
Even if you hire the best developer in the world, things can go off the rails if you don’t plan properly and stay on top of the progress.
Here’s how to avoid the common pitfalls:
- Create Clear Documentation:
- Before any code is written, make sure you have:
- Wireframes or mockups.
- A detailed feature list.
- Clear user flows.
- This reduces confusion and ensures everyone’s on the same page.
- Before any code is written, make sure you have:
- Set Realistic Milestones:
- Break the project into phases (e.g., smart contract development, front-end integration, QA testing) and assign timelines to each.
- Regular Updates:
- Schedule weekly or bi-weekly check-ins to review progress. This helps catch issues early before they snowball.
- Test Early and Often:
- Don’t wait until the end to test. Start QA as soon as the first feature is live.
- Prepare for Launch-Day Chaos:
- Every launch has hiccups. Make sure your developer has a contingency plan for handling unexpected bugs, traffic spikes, or other issues.
👉 Pro Insight: One trick I’ve used is creating a “soft launch.” Release the product to a small group of beta users first. This lets you iron out major bugs before the full launch.
Where to Find Great Developers
If you’re ready to start your search, here are the best places to look:
- Freelance Platforms:
- Upwork (I have had the most success with Western and Eastern Europe), Toptal, and Fiverr (this one sucks) are popular, but quality varies. Always vet candidates thoroughly.
- Developer Communities:
- Discord servers, Reddit threads, and Telegram groups are great for networking with Web3 developers.
- Referrals:
- Ask other founders or colleagues for recommendations. Personal referrals are often the best way to find reliable talent.
- Work With An Established Studio Like MyWeb3Startup.com (ONLY FOR FOUNDERS WHO NEED FAST RESULTS & THE BEST OF THE BEST DEV):
- Recruiting, hiring, setting up tools, training, and dealing with all the extra costs (like payroll taxes, health insurance, sick leave, and more) can take weeks—and cost you on average 4x what you would’ve paid a studio (stats on spreadsheet below).
- Our studio brings the expertise from having worked on 157+ projects with millions of users and $$$ earned, a ready-to-go team with systems & processes already in place, ready-built components from past projects, which means faster execution and fewer headaches for you.
- Just look what the stats say, on average you’ll pay 4.43x to build an in-house team… that you don’t even know will function properly.
Final Thoughts
Hiring the right developer is more than just checking boxes. It’s about finding someone who understands your vision, can execute your ideas, and will grow with your project. It’s worth taking the time to get it right because the success of your entire startup depends on it.
If you’ve made it this far, you’re already ahead of the game. Keep these insights in mind, and you’ll avoid a lot of the mistakes I’ve seen other founders make.
If you’re still feeling stuck, drop me a line on TG or book a free discovery call. I’m happy to share more advice or potentially consider working together.
