When startups and growth-stage companies need talent quickly, working with individual freelancers can seem logical. 

But based on our research, we found that pre-formed cross-functional freelance experienced squads offer far greater impact. Below are seven advantages of pre-formed freelance teams over identifying independent freelancers.

Reduced Management Overhead Through Lean, Proven Practices

As our approach is outcome-driven, Squads process isn’t cluttered with every Agile practice in the book. Rather, it’s distilled to what truly works. 

By showing progress weekly, non-essential work gets exposed and eliminated.

Weekly client reviews, upfront expectation-setting, and retrospectives create natural accountability and cut waste. Pairing and #nostandup practices replace stand-ups, and estimations are kept optional, further streamlining collaboration and freeing founders from micromanaging day-to-day activities.

Accelerated Ramp-Up and Delivery with Ready-Made Teams

It takes time, money, and effort to build a high-performing team from individual freelancers. 

As per Tuckman's model of group development, new groups must pass through forming, norming, and storming phases before starting to perform, which could prove too slow and costly for lean startups. 

You may even need to hire someone to mold them into a self-organizing unit, adding further expense. And even then, performance isn’t guaranteed. With a pre-formed squad, you skip the forming, norming, and storming phases and start delivering results from day one, meeting the speed and certainty lean startups demand.

Seamless Support from Idea to Scale

In the early stages of "Discovery" and "Validation" in Customer Development, speed, flexibility, and the right mix of talent are critical. However, hiring a full in-house team is risky and expensive. Squads provides high-velocity teams that help founders quickly validate problem-solution fit and build MVPs in weekly iterations. 

Once product-market fit is found, we support scaling by transferring technical capabilities, recruiting CTOs, adding growth and marketing capabilities, and pairing with your first hires. 

From idea validation to scale-up, our squads focus on true agility when it matters most. One such example is what we did for Dutch energy startup Vandebron.

Consistent Quality Through Cross‑Functional Capacity

Squads builds lean startups by assembling designers, developers, growth hackers, and product leads to validate assumptions and iterate quickly. A squad comprises complementary talents aligned from day one, unlike disjointed freelance silos.

Better Risk Mitigation Through Built‑in Redundancy

Work structures like weekly reviews, paired learning, and peer accountability are baked into Squads’ process to manage uncertainties. 

For instance, as we pair regularly, if someone is unavailable, the team adapts almost immediately because of the continuous shared knowledge base and repositories. 

On the other hand, solo freelancers can drop off unexpectedly and disrupt timelines.

Lean, Predictable Costs & Scope

Rather than juggling multiple freelancer contracts and billing rates, squads operate with one unified pricing and iteration plan per sprint or phase, matching the lean and weekly‑cycle approach that Squads champions. 

This clarity makes budgeting and forecasting easier.

Enhanced Innovation Through Collective Intelligence

Squads promote paired work and self-organizing behavior, reinforcing that teams—not individuals – solve problems better. 

Innovation emerges from cross-functional collaboration, not individual freelancers working in isolated roles.

Conclusion

Cross-functional freelance squads deliver swift execution, predictable costs, strong quality, innovation, and risk-resilient structure – all while fitting into lean, agile startup workflows rooted in weekly learning cycles and team autonomy.

If you're ready to supercharge your product delivery with a team that's ready from day one, get in touch: https://squads.com/contact-us. Let’s explore how a tailored squad can accelerate your journey to market-fit or scale up your growth.