Question 1

How is Vellumarc different from Upwork or Toptal for hiring developers?

Accepted Answer

Upwork is a marketplace — you post a job, receive dozens of applications from developers you have never heard of, run your own technical screens, and hope the proposal rhetoric matches the production output. Toptal is a curated marketplace, which is better, but it is still a marketplace: the platform's incentive is placement volume, not your project's success. Vellumarc is a staffing arm of a real agency. Every developer we place has been vetted by engineers on our own team — against real codebases, not algorithmic skills tests. Our tech lead reviews the shortlist before it reaches you, which means by the time you are interviewing, we have already filtered for production standards, communication quality, and fit for your stack. We then stay involved: weekly check-ins, escalation paths, and a 14-day replacement guarantee if a placement is not working. You are not alone after the contract is signed.

Question 2

What time zones do your India developers overlap with — PST, EST, UK, AU?

Accepted Answer

Our engineers work India Standard Time (IST, UTC+5:30), and we structure every engagement around a guaranteed 4-hour overlap window with your team. For PST (UTC-8), that window is IST 8:30 PM–10:30 PM overlapping PST 7 AM–9 AM — developers start their day early and are live for your morning standup. For EST (UTC-5), the overlap is wider: IST 6:30 PM–10:30 PM maps to EST 8 AM–12 PM, giving you a full half-day of synchronous collaboration. For UK (GMT/UTC+0/+1), IST morning hours — 9 AM–1 PM IST — map directly to UK working hours with no schedule adjustment needed. For AU Eastern Time (AEDT, UTC+11), IST 6:30 AM–11:30 AM overlaps with AU afternoon, which typically suits AEDT clients well for code review handoffs. Every engagement brief asks for your standup time so we can guarantee the developer's overlap hours match from week one.

Question 3

How do you ensure the code quality of developers you place?

Accepted Answer

Code quality is enforced at three points. First, at vetting: every developer submits a real-world code sample — not a LeetCode puzzle — which is reviewed by a Vellumarc senior engineer for architecture decisions, naming conventions, error handling, and test coverage. Developers who write cowboy code, skip types, or ignore edge cases do not pass. Second, at placement: our tech lead joins the first sprint planning session, reviews the first pull request on your codebase, and sets code-review standards in writing. Third, ongoing: we run a monthly async review of a random sample of merged PRs from every active placement — if standards have slipped, we flag it to the tech lead and to you before it becomes a problem. We expect developers to write typed code (TypeScript or type-annotated Python), maintain test coverage proportional to the codebase's existing baseline, and follow a documented CI/CD process from day one.

Question 4

Can I interview the developer before committing to a hire?

Accepted Answer

Yes — we require it. Every placement goes through a client interview before any contract is signed. You run the interview your way: technical screen, architecture discussion, pair programming, culture-fit conversation, or all four. We prepare the candidate with context about your stack and your product, so they come ready with relevant questions — not a blank stare. If a standard interview does not give you enough signal, we offer a paid 4-hour trial slot: a real task from your backlog, time-boxed and scoped by our tech lead, with a deliverable you can evaluate directly. The trial is billed at the developer's hourly rate — it is not free, because we do not want to waste anyone's time with low-intent evaluations. If you proceed after the trial, the trial hours are deducted from the first month's retainer invoice. If you do not proceed, you owe only the trial cost.

Question 5

What happens if the developer is not working out — is there a guarantee?

Accepted Answer

Yes. If a developer is not the right fit for any reason — technical shortfall, communication mismatch, velocity below expectations, or simply a personality clash — you raise it with us within 14 days of the developer's start date and we activate the replacement guarantee. We run a new internal shortlist at our cost, present two or three replacement candidates within five business days, and issue a pro-rata refund for any days during which the developer was not delivering. You do not pay twice, and you do not lose time waiting while we sort it out. Beyond the 14-day window, we still take replacement requests seriously — but the pro-rata refund and free re-shortlist are guaranteed only within the window. Replacement requests beyond 14 days are handled case-by-case at our discretion, with no extra placement fee charged. We would rather fix a placement than lose a client.

Question 6

How is confidentiality and IP handled — who owns the code the developer writes?

Accepted Answer

You do, fully and without exception. Every Vellumarc developer engagement includes a mutual NDA signed before access to any client systems, and an IP assignment clause that transfers all work product — code, architecture decisions, documentation, designs — to you at the time of creation. Vellumarc retains no licence to reuse, resell, or reference the work. The developer also signs an individual confidentiality agreement as part of the Vellumarc employment contract, so the protection runs at both the agency and the individual level. If you have an existing master services agreement with standard IP and confidentiality terms, we can sign your paper instead of ours — redlines welcome. We do not add Vellumarc branding to work product, we do not list client projects in our portfolio without explicit written permission, and we do not share client codebases with other developers inside or outside the agency.

Question 7

Can I start with one developer and scale to a full team?

Accepted Answer

Yes — scaling from a single contributor to a full pod or squad is the most common trajectory for retainer clients. The typical path: you start with one senior engineer to validate the collaboration model and build out an initial feature. Once trust is established — usually after six to eight weeks — you add a second developer for a parallel workstream. At three developers, we introduce a dedicated tech lead whose time is structured around review, planning, and unblocking rather than direct feature work. A squad of five or more developers typically adds a product manager, either from the Vellumarc specialist bench or from your own team with our PM embedded as a bridge. Every scale step is documented in the engagement contract before it happens — no surprise invoice line items, no verbal agreements. If you need to scale down, the monthly retainer model allows reducing headcount at the next monthly boundary with no penalty.

Question 8

Can I hire a product manager or tech lead, not just engineers?

Accepted Answer

Yes. On monthly retainer engagements, a tech lead is included at no extra cost — their time is structured around code review, sprint planning, architecture decisions, and escalation, not individual feature delivery. If you need a tech lead as a standalone hire — for example, to supervise your existing in-house team or an offshore team you already manage — they are bookable at the hourly rate or as a part-time monthly retainer. Product managers are available as specialists through the same vetting and placement process as engineers: scoped engagement, interview before placement, replacement guarantee. PMs on Vellumarc engagements typically own backlog grooming, stakeholder communication, sprint planning facilitation, and roadmap documentation. If you need a fractional CTO — advisory-level technical strategy without full-time commitment — that is also a conversation we can have; it is a different scope and priced accordingly.

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How to Hire a Digital Agency in India: The 15-Question Vetting Guide

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