Should I build a POC in house or outsource it?
Short answer
Outsource a proof of concept when you need an answer in a week or two and your team is busy or lacks the specific skill. Build it in house when the question is about your own systems and only your engineers have the access and context. A POC exists to answer one question, so choose whoever can answer it soonest.
By Kailesk Khumar, founder of HouseofMVPs. Last reviewed .
Start with the question the POC must answer
A proof of concept is not a small product. It is an experiment with a yes or no result: can this model extract these fields accurately, can these two systems be connected, will this approach be fast enough. Write that question down with the pass mark before deciding who builds it.
In house or outsourced
| Factor | In house | Outsourced |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Depends on spare capacity | Fixed, usually 1 to 2 weeks |
| Cost | Salary time and delayed roadmap | A fixed fee |
| Access to internal systems | Already there | Needs setting up |
| Specialist skill | Only if someone has it | Chosen for it |
| Objectivity | Teams can be attached to their own idea | An outsider has no stake in the answer |
| Knowledge kept | Stays in the team | Needs a proper handover |
Make an outsourced POC worth having
- Agree the question and the pass mark in writing.
- Give real sample data, not invented examples.
- Ask for the code and the test results, not just a demo.
- Ask for a written recommendation: proceed, change approach or stop.
- Check the POC is built on a stack the full product could use, so a yes does not mean a rewrite.
How HouseofMVPs handles this
Our POC is $3,999 fixed, delivered in 7 days, scoped in writing within 24 hours of the first call. It is built on the same stack as our production MVPs, so a successful POC continues into the product without a rewrite, and you own the code either way.
Get a written scope and fixed priceRelated questions
How much should a POC cost?
Enough to answer one question, and no more. Published fixed prices for a one to two week POC exist in the low thousands of dollars. Ours is $3,999. If a quote is much larger, check whether it is really a POC or the start of the product.
What happens if the POC fails?
Then it worked. A POC that shows an idea is not feasible has saved you the cost of building the product. Ask for the evidence and a recommendation on whether a different approach is worth testing.
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