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Constant competition between companies in the market has turned the familiar credo “do more with less” into not just a sales quote, but a real necessity. Series A startups and mid-sized technology companies alike are trying to be financially efficient and constantly asking questions about how can we grow our development output without overloading our payroll?
The good news: there’s a smarter way to scale.
In this article, we’ll tell you how to scale a technical team without expanding the number of employees. These methods are widely used by forward-thinking companies that have learned to maintain flexibility in uncertain times and have increased the speed of project implementation with minimal costs.
Why Traditional Hiring Isn’t Always the Answer
Hiring full-time specialists is a long-term and, as a result, expensive process, which, unfortunately, is not always effective. So, CodinGame and CoderPad conducted a study in 2023 that showed that today the biggest problem of hiring is finding truly highly qualified developers. 61% of technical recruiters said so. In addition, do not forget about hidden costs:
- Long hiring cycle (up to 49 days to hire one technical specialist)
- Time spent on onboarding and adaptation
- Risks of improper hiring and staff outflow
- Provision of equipment, “goodies”, office
Scaling a company solely through direct hiring ultimately leads to burnout, misalignment with delivery timelines, or simply blowing past budget limits.
Rethinking Scale: It’s Not Just About Headcount
Growing your development team doesn't necessarily mean hiring more people - it means hiring the right people and being flexible. The smartest companies use a modular, flexible resource model that looks like this in practice
1. Tap Into Subcontractors for Specific Project Needs
Today, one of the most effective ways to scale is to engage individual subcontractors or entire teams. Regardless of whether you need to develop a mobile application from scratch or refactor it, short-term contributors can help speed up delivery without burdening your core team.
Benefits:
- No overhead costs
- No long-term commitments
- No need to allocate additional human resources like HR
- No need to pay for vacations, insurance, and other perks
- Ability to gain access to highly specialized skills that may not be available within the company
Subcontracting is ideal if you want to:
- Accelerate time to market
- Temporarily support the product
- Need specialized talent (e.g., blockchain, AI/ML, or cybersecurity)
These developers often come through verified agency networks or vetted platforms, making the process more secure and predictable.
2. Work With Recruiting Agencies — But Smarter
While traditional recruiting agencies still play a role, their fee structures (often 15–25% of annual salary) and lengthy processes make them less appealing to modern teams.
A growing number of companies now collaborate with recruiting partners through platforms that connect them directly with pre-vetted candidates. This reduces friction and keeps costs transparent — often with a fixed fee rather than a percentage-based commission.
Look for networks or tools that:
- Aggregate candidates from multiple sources
- Pre-screen for soft and technical skills
- Let you choose between contract and full-time engagement
3. Integrate Marketing Talent Without Hiring an In-House Team
Tech growth isn’t just about product — it’s also about marketing, lead generation, and branding. But building a full in-house marketing department may not be realistic.
That’s why many tech teams are now scaling through marketing agencies that plug into the team like an external unit. These agencies specialize in everything from SEO and performance marketing to B2B content creation and design, helping tech companies build visibility and generate leads — without expanding internal teams.
The sweet spot? Finding agencies that:
- Already work with tech clients
- Offer clear SLAs and reporting
- Can start fast and iterate quickly
Some platforms now offer access to both tech subcontractors and marketing partners, streamlining the hiring process across departments.
4. Use Hybrid Teams: In-House + Freelance + Agency
Many high-performing product teams in 2025 rely on a hybrid team structure. For example:
- Core engineers in-house for strategy and continuity
- Freelancers or subcontractors for high-speed execution
- Marketing agencies for demand generation
- External recruiters for scaling key roles
This blended approach provides agility and cost-efficiency, allowing you to respond quickly to market demands without overstretching.
Think of it like cloud computing — you scale resources as needed, instead of maintaining peak capacity at all times.
5. Leverage Talent Platforms Instead of Job Boards
Posting on job boards can feel like shouting into the void. Between the volume of unqualified applicants and the time it takes to sort them, you end up wasting valuable hours for little return.
Modern hiring platforms — like Unbench — offer curated access to:
- Pre-vetted developers available for contract or full-time
- Entire agency teams for turnkey projects
- Marketing firms with proven tech experience
These platforms act as a connector, not a gatekeeper — giving you control, speed, and confidence in every hiring decision.
6. Focus on Outcome-Based Collaboration
Another shift in how teams scale: they no longer hire “just in case.” Instead, they hire based on project outcomes.
That means:
- Defining clear deliverables
- Setting timelines and budgets up front
- Collaborating with teams that have domain expertise
This approach changes the mindset from "how many people do we need?" to "how can we achieve this goal efficiently?"
Platforms that support this model often allow companies to browse by capability (e.g., “React team with fintech experience”) or by past project success metrics.
7. Build a Bench — Before You Need It
If you're always hiring reactively, you're too late. The most scalable companies today maintain a bench of vetted specialists they can call on when needed.
That includes:
- Freelancers they've worked with in the past
- Boutique agencies that specialize in their stack
- Passive candidates who’ve expressed interest previously
Some smart companies go further by using platforms that manage this bench for them, ensuring availability, fit, and compliance.
8. Automate the Admin Around Hiring
Finally, scaling isn’t just about who you hire — it’s also about how smoothly you can hire and manage contributors.
Look for tools that:
- Generate contracts automatically
- Manage timesheets and payouts
- Handle NDAs and compliance
- Offer visibility into past performance or reviews
This reduces administrative drag and allows your team to focus on delivery, not bureaucracy.
Final Thoughts: You Don’t Have to Hire Big to Build Big
In a market where developer salaries are rising, churn is common, and speed matters more than ever — scaling your tech capabilities doesn’t have to mean scaling your headcount.
By combining subcontractors, marketing partnerships, agency support, and curated recruiting networks, you can create an agile, high-output team that’s ready for anything — without adding dozens of people to the payroll.
This new approach to team building is already happening. And platforms that connect the dots — across engineering, marketing, and recruitment — are quietly becoming the backbone of modern scaling strategies. One such ecosystem is Unbench, where flexibility meets speed in a single workflow.
