You know what needs building. What you cannot do is tell a strong engineer from someone who interviews well. Nobody expects you to become technical in a month. The way through is to stop judging how candidates talk about code, and start judging evidence you can read without a computer science degree.
The scorecard
Score each candidate from 1 to 4 on each row, with a note on the evidence. A row with no evidence scores 1, however good the conversation felt.
| What you are judging | What good looks like | How to see it as a non-technical founder |
|---|---|---|
| Understanding the problem | Asks questions about users and constraints before proposing anything | Describe a real feature, and count the questions before the first answer |
| Breaking work down | Splits a feature into small, shippable steps, in a sensible order | Ask them to plan the feature on a shared doc, out loud |
| Code quality | Readable, tested, consistent | Have a trusted engineer review the paid task (below) for 30 minutes |
| Trade-offs | Explains what they would not do, and why | Ask “what would you cut if you had half the time?” |
| Communication | Explains a technical choice so you understand it | Ask them to explain their last project to you as if you were a customer |
| Ownership | Talks about outcomes they were responsible for, including failures | Ask “what went wrong on your last project, and what did you change?” |
| Working in writing | Clear written updates, flags risks early | Ask for a short written summary after the task |
The paid task
A short, paid, realistic task tells you more than any interview.
- Make it real. Use a small, self-contained version of something you actually need.
- Keep it short. Under three hours of the candidate’s time. Pay for it. Good people say no to long unpaid tests.
- Ask for a written note with it: what they built, what they skipped and why, and what they would do next.
- Get one review. An engineer you trust, an advisor or a fractional CTO can review the code in 30 minutes. You read the note yourself.
The note is where non-technical founders learn the most. A strong candidate’s note tells you which corners they cut deliberately. A weak one tells you everything is done.
Reference questions that get real answers
- “What did they own, start to finish?”
- “When something broke in production, what did they do first?”
- “What would you have them work on if you hired them again?”
- “What should their next manager know to get the best out of them?”
Red flags you can spot without reading code
- Answers that are all tools and no users
- No questions before solutions
- Every past project was a success
- A take-home that is beautifully over-engineered, and late
If you would rather not run this yourself
This is the gap a satellite office is built to close. Before you see anyone, every technical candidate goes through:
- a technical assessment
- an English fluency and time zone check
- a culture and communication evaluation
You receive a shortlist of around three people, each with assessment notes, salary expectations and our recommendation. Then you run the final interview, and you decide.
If the fit turns out to be wrong, the SoTalented Office Guarantee covers a replacement within 30 days. A mid-level full-stack developer costs $2,800 to $4,200 a month, all-inclusive.
The vetting kit, the scorecards and test structure we use, is coming soon. Meanwhile, see how it works or talk to us.