How do I choose the right software agency?

Short Answer I'd judge an agency not by their portfolio, but by the discovery call itself. Tell them what you're trying to build and see what they do with it. Do they simply take your requirements and send you a quote? Or do they ask questions that make you stop and think? For me, that's the biggest test. If I leave the call with a clearer product than I had before, I'd take that agency seriously.

Why I Think This Most founders come into an agency call with plenty of answers. They know what they want the product to do. They have features in mind. Maybe they have wireframes or a competitor they like. What they usually don't have are the right questions. That's where a good agency can really help. Good questions should change something An agency can ask you 50 questions and still not understand your product. I look for what happens because of the questions. Say you tell me: "I want users to have two dashboards." I could just write that down. Or I could ask: "Why two dashboards?" You might tell me that users can both buy and sell. Then I'd ask: "Do they really need two dashboards, or could they switch between the two?" Now we're getting somewhere. You might realise you don't need two dashboards at all. That's a good question because it changed the product. For me, good questions usually do one of three things. They simplify something.  You realise you don't need it. They clarify something.  You finally know how that part should work. They uncover something.  You realise there is a problem you hadn't thought about. If the agency asks lots of questions but nothing changes, I'm not sure how useful that call was. I saw this on one of our discovery calls A founder from Canada came to us with an idea for a parking and storage marketplace. He had already started building it himself. He knew what he wanted, had a competitor he liked, and had spoken to 3 agencies before us. We could have taken his requirements and sent him a quote. Instead, we started asking questions. Can one person be both a host and a renter? Can one property have multiple parking spaces? Can each space have different pricing? What happens when a host changes their price? Who can cancel a subscription? Who pays the tax? What happens when a booking is cancelled? These weren't questions for the sake of asking questions.  Each answer changed something in the product. By the end of the call, some things were simpler, some were clearer, and some decisions had finally been made. He actually told us it was probably the best 30 minutes he'd spent planning the product, as he himself got a lot more clarity. That's what I'd want from an agency. How I'd Test an Agency I'd give them the idea and see how they think. 1. Do they ask why? If they ask  "Do you want email notifications?",  That's a requirements question. If they ask "What does the user need to know here? Does this actually need an email?". That's a better question. 2. Do they listen to your answers? A good call shouldn't feel like someone going through a checklist. If you say something unexpected, they should dig into it. One answer should lead to another question. That's how you know they're actually listening. 3. Are they willing to disagree? If you say "I want this in Version 1",  I'd want them to ask "Why?". Not because they're trying to control the product. Because they should be thinking about whether it belongs there. I don't want an agency that says yes to everything. I want one that can say "I'd do this differently, and here's why." 4. Do you leave the call knowing more? This is probably the simplest test. After the call, ask yourself "What do I understand now that I didn't understand before?" Maybe you removed a feature. Maybe you found a problem. Maybe you changed a workflow. Maybe you finally know what the first version should look like. If you can't think of anything, the call probably wasn't very useful. If I Were Starting From Scratch... I'd speak to two or three agencies. I'd give them the same basic idea and leave some things open. Then I'd compare the conversations, not just the quotes. I'd write down: What did they ask that nobody else asked? Which questions changed how I thought about the product? Did they simplify anything? Did they find something I hadn't considered? Then I'd ask: "If this were your product, what would you do differently?" That answer would tell me a lot. If they give me a thoughtful answer based on what I've told them, I'd keep talking. If they say: "We can build exactly what you've described." I'd probably keep looking. Because I don't think the best agency is the one that understands your requirements the fastest. It's the one that helps you understand your own product better. And you should be able to feel that in the first call, before you've spent anything.