When working with a software agency to build your MVP, it’s of VITAL importance to make sure that you get two things, and I’ll have to split this over two posts.
The first thing you need to make sure that you get is what’s called the “source code”.
When you commission software to be built, there are two things that are produced. One of those is the actual software that runs and people can use, e.g. an app that can be installed on a phone, or a website that runs on a server.
However, to produce that the developers will first write something called “source code”, which is then used to produce that actual software.
Without that source code, you cannot make changes to the software. It’s a bit like the difference between a PDF, which you can read and print, but can’t change, and the Word document that was used to create that PDF.
You need that Word document equivalent, i.e. the source code.
Sometimes founders can get bamboozled by this and end up not having the source code. You ABSOLUTELY need that an accept no alternatives to actually having it.