Only Need One Developer? What a Small Team Should Know Before Adding One
Many small companies start with one developer, and that works. One developer is a vulnerable position wherever they sit: when your only back-end developer is ill or leaves, the work stops and the search starts again, and in a small team nobody else can take over. Through Tunga you can start with one person, also part-time; in the first 4 weeks either side can end at one working day's notice, and if the person leaves, Tunga replaces them at no extra cost. In 2025 about 1 in 56 Tunga placements ended because the professional left for another job. It does not work when nobody in your company can say what the developer should build.
Is one developer too small to work with a staffing partner?
No. There is no minimum team size, and many clients start with one person.
Provolve IT, a Dutch IT services company, was a small team with limited web development capacity of its own when it set out in 2017 to rebuild its software as a cloud product. It worked with one developer through Tunga, Amos from Uganda, for six continuous years; he became its lead developer. Its CEO: "We already had a remote-first culture. Amos was a perfect fit. I'd give him one sentence, and he'd build something from it."
Why one developer is a vulnerable position, wherever they sit
When companies say one remote developer feels vulnerable, the worry is usually what happens if that person drops out. That risk comes from being the only one, and it is the same for a developer down the corridor:
- Illness or holiday. The work waits, because nobody else knows the code.
- Leaving. The search starts again, and the knowledge leaves with them. European tech companies lose on average 12% of their engineers a year (Ravio, all reasons for leaving).
- No one to cover the staffing side. A small team rarely has HR or a recruiter, so the founder or CTO handles the search, the contract and the onboarding.
Turnover at the supplier is a known weakness when the developer comes through a provider: in a 2025 study of 652 Dutch supplier relationships it was named in 22% of them (Eraneos/Whitelane Dutch IT Sourcing Study). At Tunga, about 1 in 56 placements ended in 2025 because the professional left for another job, and none so far in 2026.
What Tunga takes off a small team's plate
- Finding and vetting. Tunga presents a shortlist, usually 3 candidates or more; you decide whom to interview and whom to work with.
- The contract. One contract with Tunga and one invoice a month, on the hours actually worked; €26-37 an hour, with no other fees.
- Absence. Days off and sick days are not invoiced; when an absence lasts longer, Tunga arranges cover.
- Replacement. If the person leaves or it isn't working, Tunga replaces them, at no extra cost and without a time limit.
- Onboarding and check-ins. A delivery manager with experience in onboarding works alongside you in the first weeks, and checks in with both sides at least once a month after that.
How to keep the knowledge in your company
With one developer, most of the knowledge sits in one head. A few habits keep it in your company, whoever the developer is:
- Code, accounts and documentation live in your company's repositories and tools, not in the developer's.
- Short notes on how things work are part of the work, written as it is done.
- Someone on your side reviews the work regularly, so you know what is being built and why.
If a replacement is ever needed, the new developer can then start from your repository and notes.
Starting with one person, also part-time
You can start with one person, and with fewer than 40 hours a week. The first 4 weeks work as a real trial: you or Tunga can end the engagement at one working day's notice. After that the notice period is 4 weeks, for both sides.
Tunga does not place someone for a task of a few weeks. The engagements are meant to run for months or longer, because that is where finding, vetting and onboarding someone pays off.
When it doesn't work
- Nobody can direct the work. If nobody in the company can say what the developer should build, or check whether it is good, one developer will not solve that. The first role is then a tech lead or product owner who reports to you.
- A task of a few weeks. For a short, fully defined job, a freelancer is usually a better fit.
Where Tunga fits
Tunga takes the staffing side off the plate of companies that need digital professionals: software engineers, AI operators, product managers and other digital roles, from across Africa. The client directs the work. Tunga handles finding and vetting, contracts, payments and compliance, onboarding, keeping people, and replacing them when someone leaves or it isn't working. The professionals are independent freelancers contracted by Tunga and work remotely from their own country; the client has one contract, with Tunga, and a delivery manager who checks in with both sides. In 2025, about 1 in 56 placements ended because the professional left for another job. Founded in 2015; 3,500 professionals across 38 African countries and 300+ client companies, as of September 2026.
Tunga is not the right fit when the role has to be on site, when the work means talking to your clients in a language other than English or French, or when saving on cost is the main reason you're looking.
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