Companies budget $120,000 for a front end web developer. Six months later, they’ve spent $175,000 when factoring in employer taxes, benefits, recruiting fees, and the three months it took to find someone. Meanwhile, their competitors hired two senior developers offshore for the same total cost. The gap between what companies
The sales pitch sounded perfect: qualified developers in two weeks, 40% cost savings, zero hassle. Three months after signing the contract, companies discover they’ve burned $50,000 on developers who can’t code, missed every deadline, and disappeared during critical production issues. Not all remote staffing agencies operate the same way. The
Your technical co-founder is coding 16-hour days. Your MVP just hit 10,000 users. Investors want to see 5X growth in six months. You need more developers yesterday, but hiring full-time feels like committing to the wrong person on the second date. This is the moment most startups discover resource augmentation.
Your backend developer just quit. They accepted an offer for $165,000 base salary, plus equity, plus a signing bonus. You were paying them $140,000. Now you need to replace them, and every qualified candidate wants even more money. Backend developers command premium salaries in 2026 for specific reasons. Understanding why
Your job posting requires a PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, or related field. The search has dragged on for three months. In that time, you’ve interviewed two candidates. Both wanted $280,000+ compensation and already had multiple offers. Neither accepted your role. Meanwhile, strong engineers with practical machine learning experience
Small business owners face a frustrating dilemma when researching SEO. Premium agencies charge $3,000-$10,000 monthly, which exceeds most small business marketing budgets. Budget providers advertise affordable seo services for $299-$799 monthly, but reviews are mixed. Some businesses report excellent results while others claim they wasted thousands with nothing to show.
