Agile sprints, tight feedback loops, and constant testing are non-negotiables at this level.
Complex apps (9+ months)
For enterprise-grade platforms, telemedicine, or anything with sensitive data and complex architecture, expect 8–12 people or more:
2–3 mobile devs per platform
2–3 back-end engineers
1 DevOps engineer
1–2 UI/UX designers
2 QA engineers
1 product manager
1 data analyst or ML engineer (if needed)
Budgets here often start around $250K and can stretch into the $500K–$1M+ range depending on scope, compliance needs, and scale.
But, here’s the key: bigger isn’t always bettter. Research consistently shows that team focus is more important than team size.
A small, dedicated group working full-time on one product often outpaces larger teams spread thin across multiple priorities.
Here are some practical ways to keep teams productive without bloat:
Set clear communication norms and avoid unnecessary meetings
Block out deep work time for developers
Use shared tools (like Notion, Linear, or Jira) to keep everyone on the same page
Run short retros to tighten your process as you go
Hiring more people won’t fix unclear goals or scattered focus. A well-structured, dedicated team almost always builds faster, cleaner, and smarter.
Key roles on a mobile app development team
Now, we’ll cover each role in a mobile app development team in more detail.
Product manager
The product manager is responsible for defining the vision and strategy for your mobile app.
They own the product vision and are responsible for turning that vision into a clear, actionable plan.
They’re the link between your business goals, your users’ needs, and your development team.
They also oversee and direct the whole development process from start to finish, making sure it’s aligned with your business goals.
Some of their key responsibilities are:
Defining KPIs for your app’s success – The product manager sets clear metrics to track your app’s performance, like retention rate, active users, onboarding completion, or feature adoption.
Developing a project roadmap – They map out what gets built, when, and in what order. This keeps everyone on the same page as priorities shift and new insights come in.
Prioritizing and defining features – Working with design and engineering, they decide what to build first, balancing impact, feasibility, and speed to value.
Aligning business goals with market needs – They bridge company goals with what users actually care about so your app delivers value and makes business sense.
In short, the product manager makes sure you’re building the right thing – not just building fast.
They’re essential to keeping your team focused, your decisions grounded in real data, and your app aligned with the bigger picture.
And that’s why they’re a crucial part of every mobile app development team team.
Mobile app engineer
The mobile app engineer is the one who actually brings your app to life.
Once the planning and design are done, they take over and start turning ideas, wireframes, and roadmaps into real, working software.
They’re a core part of your team from the moment development begins, and they’re involved through launch and beyond.
Whether you’re building for iOS, Android, or both, mobile engineers make sure your app functions as intended, runs smoothly, and meets all technical requirements.
Some of their key responsibilities are:
Developing your app – They translate designs and requirements into a working product and build your app using native (Swift, Kotlin) or cross-platform (Flutter, React Native) tools.
Performance optimization – They monitor and refine the app to reduce load times, minimize crashes, and optimize battery usage, so it feels fast, stable, and responsive.
Code maintenance and refactoring – They regularly clean up and refactor code to keep it scalable, readable, and maintainable, especially as new features and requirements come in.
Writing technical documentation – They write documentation that explains how your app works under the hood, making future development and troubleshooting easier for the whole team.
Testing and debugging – They handle early-stage testing, fix bugs, and collaborate closely with QA to make sure the app works smoothly across platforms and devices.
In short, the mobile app engineer builds your app from the ground up and keeps it running smoothly long after launch.
Without them, there is no product.
That’s why they’re a non-negotiable part of any mobile app development team.
Their job is simple on paper: make sure your app works.
But in reality, that means stress-testing every feature, catching bugs before users do, and making sure your app meets the high expectations people have when they download something from the App Store or Google Play.
They’re involved throughout the entire development cycle – not just at the end – and they work closely with both developers and product managers to make sure nothing gets missed.
Some of their key responsibilities are:
Bug triage and analysis – QA engineers don’t just report bugs. They analyze them, trace their root causes, and work with developers to get them fixed quickly. Their goal is to eliminate anything that could break trust or ruin the user experience.
Test planning – They create testing plans that define what to test, when to test it, and how. This includes unit, regression, smoke, and end-to-end testing, depending on the app.
Automated testing – QA engineers set up and manage automated test suites that run with each deployment. This helps catch bugs early, maintain quality, and speed up releases.
Manual testing – Some issues need a human touch. QA engineers manually test new features, edge cases, and user flows that automated scripts can’t reliably catch.
Cross-device and cross-platform testing – They ensure your app performs well across devices, screen sizes, and OS versions, so users get a consistent experience no matter what they’re using.
Bottom line: QA engineers are the final safety net between your product and the people using it.
They keep your launch from turning into a fire drill.
And that’s why every great development team has one.
Product designer
Your product designer is the person who brings your app to life visually and ensures it actually feels good to use.
They’re responsible for both how your app looks (UI) and how it works (UX), shaping the entire user experience from first tap to final screen.
Design isn’t just about making things pretty.
It’s about making your product usable, intuitive, and enjoyable – especially on mobile, where attention spans are short and expectations are high.
Here’s what product designers actually do:
Design the UI – They create what users see and interact with, i.e. buttons, typography, colors, layouts, and screens. A well-designed UI feels polished, clear, and intuitive from the first tap.
Creating wireframes and prototypes – Before final visuals, designers build low-fidelity wireframes and clickable prototypes. These help test ideas early, gather input, and get everyone on the same page before development begins.
Optimizing user experience – They focus on how the app feels to use by making sure navigation is logical, actions are clear, and users don’t get stuck or confused mid-flow.
Doing user testing – Designers plan and run usability tests to identify UX problems. They observe real users, gather feedback, and refine designs based on what works and what doesn’t.
Collaborate with devs and product – Designers stay tightly aligned with developers to ensure what they design can actually be built and with product managers to balance business goals with user needs.
Your mobile app’s design is the first thing your users will see, so you have to nail it from the start.
And that’s why having a product designer on your mobile app development team is so important.
Backend engineer
Backend engineers handle everything your users don’t see but your app can’t function without.
They build and maintain the systems, logic, and infrastructure that power your app behind the scenes.
Here’s some of the key components they build and manage:
Every time a user logs in, makes a payment, or loads data, that’s because a backend engineer made sure it all works smoothly and securely.
And some of their key responsibilities are:
Database management – They design and maintain secure, efficient databases that store everything from user profiles to transaction logs, ensuring fast access and reliable backups.
API development – APIs connect your app to the server. Backend engineers build and manage these interfaces so data flows reliably between frontend and backend.
Scalability and performance – They build systems that scale so your app stays fast and responsive even as traffic grows from hundreds to millions of users.
Third-party service integration – They integrate services like Stripe, Firebase, or Google Maps and make sure they connect smoothly with your app and follow technical best practices.
Security and data integrity – They protect your app’s data with secure authentication, encryption, and compliance standards to minimize risk and ensure user trust.
The backend is the engine room of your app.
Without a solid one, things break, fast.
And that’s why a skilled backend engineer is an essential part of every mobile app development team.
How to hire a mobile app development team
Here, we’ll show you the different ways you can hire a mobile app development team.
Freelancers
The most cost-effective option when you’re hiring a mobile app development team is hiring freelancers.
Hiring freelancers can result in annual savings of up to 30%, so it’s no surprise it’s an attractive option for a lot of employers.
And on top of that, you get access to a global pool of talent and the hiring process is quicker than in-house recruitment.
But, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
For starters, hiring freelancers is much riskier than hiring in-house or outsourcing development to a dedicated team.
And freelancer platforms like Upwork and Toptaltake a cut of every payment you make and that can add up quickly.
Plus, coordinating people who’ve never worked together before while also managing the quality of their work can be more trouble than it’s worth.
Still, if you’re on a tight budget or you need to build your app quickly, hiring freelancers can be a good option.
Key tips for hiring freelancers
Use reputable platforms – Make sure you use trustworthy platforms like Upwork and Toptal to hire the right people for your team.
Set clear expectations – You should be upfront about what you expect in terms of deliverables, timelines, communication, and deadlines
Check their portfolio and references – Always check a freelancer’s portfolio and references to make sure they’re the right fit for your app development team
In-house team
Another option when hiring a mobile app development team is hiring a full in-house team.
With an in-house team, you get full, direct control over the development process and you can more easily adjust and pivot if circumstances change.
Also, collaboration between team members is much easier than if you hire freelancers since they’re all in the same place every day.
On top of that, you can much more easily align an in-house team with your company values and culture.
And that can help you build an app that truly represents your brand.
But, there’s a catch – hiring an in-house team is expensive and comes with a bunch of hidden costs.
Even just hiring and onboarding come with a lot of added costs:
According to a report by SHRM, the average cost of onboarding a new hire is $4100.
If you do the math for the 5-person team we discussed earlier, just onboarding them will cost you $20,500.
And that number doesn’t include other expenses like:
Salaries and raises
Benefits
Training costs
Retention costs
Management overhead
Tools and infrastructure.
So, even though you get total control and ownership, hiring an in-house team comes with huge upfront costs.
And you might be able to better use that money elsewhere – which brings us to the final hiring model, outsourcing.
Key tips for hiring an in-house development team
Clearly define roles and requirements – Before you can hire an in-house team, you need to clearly define each role and the necessary skills needed for the job.
Invest in quality recruitment – Investing in quality recruitment will help you find top talent that also align with your company values.
Focus on cultural fit – Hiring people who fit well into your company culture should be one of your top priorities when hiring an in-house team.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing and hiring a team from a mobile app development company is one of the most common ways to build a mobile app development team.
And there’s a good reason for that – on average, outsourcing can help companies reduce costs by 15%.
Also, hiring a team and outsourcing your app’s development can help you get your app to market faster, which can mean the difference between success and failure.
Of course, there are risks involved, too – especially if the company you hire isn’t the right fit.
However, if you hire a dedicated team from the right vendor, you’ll get all the benefits of an in-house team at a significantly lower cost.
Hiring a dedicated team is right in the sweet spot between quality and affordability – it’s cheaper than an in-house team and more reliable than hiring freelancers.
And the best part?
A dedicated team works just like an in-house team, except it’s formed by an agency or a third-party service provider.
They can handle your app’s development from start to finish, from validating your idea to post-launch maintenance and support
On top of that, you also gain a long-term development partnership with the company you’ve hired.
Staff augmentation, also known as outstaffing or an extended team, is a good option if you already have an in-house team you need to quickly expand to tackle a big project.
For example, it’s a great option if you already have an in-house team working on an existing product and you want to build a mobile app to complement it.
In any case, outsourcing development can help you cut costs without sacrificing quality.
And that’s why it’s a good idea.
Key tips for outsourcing a mobile app development team
Clearly define your requirements – Before you hire a company, make sure you clearly define your app’s requirements so you have an easier time finding one that’s the right fit.
Pick the right company – Make sure you pick a mobile app development company that has a proven track record developing similar apps to yours.
Plan for a long-term partnership – You should pick a company that can be your long-term development partner, so you don’t have to worry about your app’s future.
Factors to consider when hiring a mobile app development team
Your app’s complexity is one of the biggest factors that shapes how you build your mobile app development team.
It directly affects:
How many people you need
What kinds of specialists you bring in
The level of experience they need
How the team should be structured and managed
If you’re building a simple app, you can often get by with a lean team: a mobile engineer, a designer, a QA, and a product manager.
In these cases, cross-functional team members (like a full-stack developer) can help you move fast without unnecessary overhead.
But once your project moves into medium or high complexity, things change fast.
Let’s say you’re building something like a fintech app with regulatory requirements, or a social app with real-time messaging, notifications, and content moderation. You’ll likely need:
Separate iOS and Android engineers
A backend team
DevOps support
A product designer
A QA team
A dedicated product manager
The more complex your product is, the more critical these roles become.
But, if your app is simple, don’t overhire. More people often means more overhead, not faster progress.
Focus on the right team size and skill set for what you’re building now.
Hire people who’ve built similar apps before – relevant experience beats a bigger team every time.
Budget
Your budget doesn’t just shape what you can build.
It shapes who can build it for you.
It’s one of the most important factors to think through when hiring a mobile app development team.
With a larger budget, you can:
Hire specialized roles
Hire an experienced team
Choose a top-quality company (if you’re outsourcing)
Invest in training and professional development
Invest in the right tools and infrastructure
That said, not every great app starts with a big budget.
If you’re working with limited funds, you still have plenty of options. You just have to be more strategic.
For example:
Hire one experienced full-stack engineer instead of splitting between front-end and back-end
Start with a no-code or low-code MVP to test your idea, then rebuild later once you’ve validated it
Work with a smaller, specialized agency instead of hiring a full in-house team
Focus on core functionality only, and delay “nice-to-have” features until after launch
The main thing to remember is this: your budget should match your scope.
Don’t overhire for a basic MVP, and don’t underfund a complex product that needs real infrastructure behind it.
Mobile app platform and type
Your app’s platform and type play a big role in determining what kind of development team you need to build it.
If you’re building for iOS, you’ll need iOS engineers. If you’re building for Android, you’ll need Android engineers.
And if you’re building an app for each platform, at a minimum you’ll need:
1 iOS engineer
1 Android engineer
1 backend engineer
But, in this case, you have another option – cross-platform development, using a framework like Flutter or React Native.
This is also a more budget-friendly option, especially if you’re a big company:
A basic e-commerce app needs a much smaller team than a complex healthcare app, for example.
In short, your team should reflect your technical needs, not just your idea.
Before hiring, be clear on two things: what platforms you’re targeting and how technically demanding your app is.
Once you’ve figured that out, it becomes much easier to build a team that fits your needs.
Mobile app development process
Here’s the mobile app development process we’ve refined through 13+ years of experience building mobile apps:
We’ll briefly cover each stage and what each team member does during it.
Product discovery
Product discovery is where your app actually starts taking shape – before a single line of code is written.
It’s how you figure out whether your idea is worth building in the first place.
This phase helps you understand your users, define the right problem to solve, and avoid wasting time and money building something no one wants.
It’s not about guessing – it’s about learning fast and building with confidence.
Here’s what typically happens during discovery:
Market research – Identify trends, gaps, and demand in your target market.
User research – Talk to real people, map out personas, and understand user pain points.
Competitive analysis – See what other apps are doing (and what they’re missing).
Cost and effort estimates – Get a rough idea of what it’ll take to build your MVP.
Feature prioritization – Decide what to build first, and what can wait.
User flows and wireframes – Start shaping how the app will actually work.
Your product manager leads the discovery process – setting the direction, asking the hard questions, and keeping everyone aligned.
At the same time, your product designer begins exploring early concepts, sketching ideas, and testing how users might interact with the product.
Your engineers and QAs should absolutely weigh in during this phase, especially when discussing feasibility and tech choices.
But, discovery is primarily driven by product and design.
Once you’ve validated your concept, you’ll move into design and prep for development with a lot more clarity and a lot less risk.
Product design
The design stage is where your app really starts taking shape.
It plays a huge role in whether users actually enjoy using it.
It’s not just about picking colors or laying out buttons.
A great design solves real user problems, guides people through the app effortlessly, and sets your product apart in a crowded market.
At this stage you:
Develop user flows – Mapping out key user actions like sign-up or checkout to define how your app should work before creating any visuals
Create wireframes – Wireframes are low-fidelity blueprints that show screen layouts and core interactions. They help the team visualize structure and flow before diving into detailed design work.
Build a mockup – Mockups add visual polish to the wireframes like colors, fonts, icons, and imagery. They’re static previews of how the app will look, designed to align with your brand and user expectations.
Create a prototype – Prototypes are interactive mockups built to test usability and catch UX issues early before development starts.
Finalize your app’s design – Lock in layouts, accessibility, and design specs so developers can start building your app.
Throughout this stage, the product designer does most of the work, while the product manager makes sure everything is in line with your business goals and technical constraints.
They collaborate closely to make sure what’s being designed is not only usable and beautiful, but also buildable within your timeline and budget.
Once the final designs are approved, they’re handed off to engineering.
Developers use design systems, specifications, and component libraries to start building your app exactly as envisioned.
Done right, this stage lays the foundation for great UX and saves you from endless rework later.
Because when design solves the right problems from the start, the rest of development moves faster – and your users get something they actually want to use.
Software engineering
This step is where the magic happens and your app comes to life.
Your team takes everything from the discovery and design stages and turns it into real, working software.
It also takes the longest and requires the most amount of work.
Development typically takes up the bulk of your project timeline, especially if you’re building for multiple platforms or working with advanced features.
Here, your engineering team:
Builds your app’s backend – This includes setting up your server infrastructure, creating databases, writing APIs, and making sure your app can securely store, retrieve, and process user data.
Develops the frontend – Mobile engineers turn your final designs into code, bringing layouts, animations, and user interactions to life.
Integrates third-party services and APIs – Whether it’s Stripe for payments or Segment for analytics, the team connects your app to the services it needs to function smoothly and scale efficiently.
Rigorously tests your app – QA engineers run automated and manual tests across different devices to catch bugs, fix performance issues, and make sure everything works as expected before launch.
This is where the mobile app engineer, back-end engineer, and QA engineer do the heavy lifting.
The product manager stays hands-on during this phase too.
They make sure timelines are met, blockers get removed quickly, and everyone is aligned on what’s being built and why.
They also coordinate feedback loops between design, QA, and development to keep things running smoothly.
Once all core features are stable, tested, and production-ready, your app is officially ready to launch.
But you’re not done yet – this is also when you’ll start planning for feedback, updates, and the next release.
Continual product improvement
Your app’s journey doesn’t end after you launch it. On the contrary, the launch is just the start.
Getting your product into users’ hands is just the first step. If you want your app to stay relevant, competitive, and valuable, you need to keep improving it over time.
This phase is all about making smart, data-informed decisions based on how real users interact with your app.
At this stage, your team focuses on:
Setting up a feedback loop – Collecting user input through in-app surveys, app store reviews, support tickets, and analytics tools. The goal is to understand what users love, what’s confusing, and what’s missing.
Plan and prioritize new features – The product manager uses feedback and data to prioritize high-impact features, balancing user needs, business goals, and technical limits.
Rolling out improvements – Engineers implement new features, refine existing ones, and resolve bugs. Updates can range from small UI tweaks to major updates.
Monitoring performance – QA and engineering keep an eye on crash reports, performance metrics, and usage trends to catch issues and optimize the app as it grows.
Continuous iteration – Every release is a chance to learn. You’re testing assumptions, measuring outcomes, and adjusting based on what’s working and what’s not.
The product manager leads this ongoing cycle. They keep priorities focused, guide the team, and make sure user needs are always front and center.
Meanwhile, the engineering team keeps building and shipping those improvements.
Remember, the best apps aren’t just built once. They’re built again and again, version after version.
And that’s how you create long-term success.
Common challenges when building a mobile app dev team
Finally, we’ll discuss some common challenges you’ll face when building your team and give you some tips on how to solve them.
Communication barriers
Whether you’re working with an in-house team or outsourcing across time zones, poor communication slows down everything.
And the bigger your team or the more spread out it is, the harder it gets to keep everyone aligned.
This is especially tricky when you’re working with outsourced teams from other countries.
Different time zones, work styles, and expectations can derail your project if you don’t set clear ground rules from day one.
Here’s how to keep communication clear and productive:
Set communication norms early – Define what channels to use (Slack for quick updates, Confluence for documentation, video for planning), how fast people should reply, and how to escalate issues.
Create overlap hours – If your outsourced team is 8+ hours ahead or behind, set at least 1–2 hours of daily overlap for real-time conversations. The rest can be async.
Use the right tools – Async tools like Notion, Loom, Linear, and shared docs help keep work moving even when people aren’t online at the same time.
Write things down – Decisions, next steps, and responsibilities should always be documented in one place so nothing gets lost in translation or buried in a Slack thread.
Rotate meeting times – If you’re running recurring calls across time zones, switch up the schedule so the same people aren’t always stuck with late-night or early-morning calls.
Share work hours visibly – Use timezone-aware calendars or Slack plugins that show availability to avoid pinging people when they’re offline.
Be culturally aware – Teams may have different norms around feedback, hierarchy, and urgency. A short cultural guide or onboarding session helps everyone work better together-
Clear communication doesn’t happen by accident.
It’s something you have to design into your team’s day-to-day.
And if you’re outsourcing, it’s even more important to overcommunicate, document decisions, and make sure there’s always a path forward.
Quality control
If you’re building with a distributed or outsourced team, keeping quality high takes more than just skilled engineers.
You need clear standards, reliable tools, and regular check-ins to make sure things stay on track.
Code reviews, automated testing, and performance benchmarks aren’t just nice to have—they’re non-negotiable if you want to catch issues early and avoid technical debt piling up.
Here’s how to build quality into every stage of your mobile app development process:
Set up structured code reviews – Use GitHub or GitLab with pull request templates so reviewers know what to look for, like structure, logic, naming, edge cases. Senior devs should lead here and set the tone.
Define your quality gates – Use clear benchmarks like minimum test coverage, load time thresholds, error rate limits, and compliance checks.
Automate testing early – Use tools like GitHub Actions, CircleCI, or Jenkins to run your test suite with every commit. Layer in Selenium for UI testing, and JMeter or k6 for performance testing.
Keep a regular audit cycle – Monthly or quarterly code audits help spot long-term risks like bloated architecture, outdated dependencies, or security blind spots.
Run post-sprint retrospectives – Use retros to dig into what’s working and what isn’t. If a release had bugs, break down why and assign someone to fix the root cause.
Keep knowledge accessible – Keep up-to-date docs on coding standards, architecture decisions, and onboarding workflows so new hire don’t have to guess how your team works.
Track key quality metrics – Dashboards tracking test coverage, bugs, and tech debt help catch problems early.
These practices aren’t just for big teams or enterprise apps.
They’re what allow small teams to move fast without breaking things.
And when you’re working across time zones or outsourcing work on your app, they’re the glue that keeps your codebase stable and your product reliable.
Team integration and culture
Building a strong team culture in a remote or distributed setup doesn’t happen by default.
When people aren’t in the same room, you miss out on those everyday interactions that naturally build trust.
That’s why you need to create those moments on purpose—and do it consistently.
Here’s how to keep your team connected, aligned, and actually enjoying working together:
Create space for casual connection – Use non-work Slack channels or host quick virtual hangouts. These moments build real relationships that make working together smoother.
Celebrate wins often – Give public shout-outs and send small rewards to recognize contributions and keep team energy high.
Define and document team values – Run short workshops to decide what matters most. These shared values help guide decisions and keep everyone grounded.
Make onboarding intentional – Create a clear path with milestones for the first week, month, and beyond so new hires know what to expect.
Implement a buddy system – Pair new team members with a teammate who can answer questions, give feedback, and explain the team’s culture.
Set clear standards – Make coding standards, workflows, and best practices easy to find and explain why they exist. Show examples of great work and common pitfalls.
Document what matters – Include decisions, rationales, and links to discussions that explain your team’s thinking so new members catch up faster and everyone stays on the same page.
Remote and distributed teams can be just as tight-knit and effective as in-person ones.
But, this takes planning, consistency, and a little creativity.
When you get this right, you don’t just build a team that works together. You build one that wants to.
Mobile app development team: FAQs
It depends on how you plan to build it.
Building a full in-house team usually takes the longest, up to 6 months. You’ll need time to post job listings, review candidates, run interviews, and onboard each person.
And that’s assuming you can find the right talent quickly.
If you’re outsourcing, the timeline is much shorter.
Working with an experienced agency or hiring freelancers means you can often have a full team up and running in just a few weeks.
Some companies even offer pre-formed product teams you can onboard in days, which can be a major time-saver when you’re on a deadline.
Yes.
When you don’t have someone keeping the big picture in focus, it’s easy to get lost in the details or build features that don’t actually solve a user problem.
A product manager helps you define goals, prioritize features, manage timelines, and turn feedback into smart next steps.
They’re the person connecting design, engineering, and business needs.
Without them, even small projects can stall, go off track, or cost more than expected. So if you can bring one on – do it.
Definitely. Full outsourcing isn’t your only option.
Many companies outsource specific parts of the process depending on what they already have in place.
For example, you can hire an external team to handle QA testing, build the backend, or create your app’s UX/UI design.
Or, if you already have an in-house core team, you can bring in outside developers or specialists through staff augmentation to handle short-term needs or fill skills gaps.
This kind of hybrid setup gives you flexibility without the commitment (or cost) of hiring a full in-house team from day one.
Need a mobile app development team?
Do you have a great idea for a mobile app but don’t have the right team yet?
We’ve got you covered.
We can build you a dedicated team and take care of your app’s development from start to finish, from validating your idea to post-launch support and maintenance.
An Applied Sciences graduate and a true connoisseur of tech, Ivan is a software developer with a genuine love for exploring new technologies. QAs love his code, and his fellow developers always value his input. For Ivan, there is no issue too small to talk over, and no problem that can’t be solved together.
When he is not coding, Ivan is usually hiking or playing football. His ideal workspace? Probably a cottage in the mountains, with a serious gaming setup and fast internet connection.