One of the things a startup should do early on, if they can afford it, is a third-party code audit. The nature of software is such that suboptimal architecture decisions can lead to significant rework in the future. If best practices are followed from the beginning, functionality can be implemented at a faster pace. Here are some benefits of a third-party code audit:
- The auditor reviews many projects and can share common best practices
- A new set of eyes will see things that get missed with tunnel vision
- Improving the code while the base is smaller will pay dividends in the future
For example, if you have a Rails project you should talk to the good people at High Groove Studios. My recommendation is to consider a third-party code audit if you have any concerns about your current code and you have the money to afford it.
What else? What are some more benefits of a third-party code audit?
David Cummings on Startups 
Thanks for the mention, David!
We love sharing our templates for Code Reviews for Ruby and Ruby on Rails projects, if anyone is interested. It’s the open-source way. 😉