Friends outsourced their dev team… now they’re stuck. I’m about to do the same, what should I be careful about??

Few of my founder friends recently outsourced dev work for their startups. Most of them are now dealing with missed deadlines, rigid teams, and vague updates. Feels like things started fine, then slowly went sideways.

I’m about to start working with an outsourced dev team myself (non-technical founder here), and I’m trying not to repeat the same mistakes.

What are some things I should be careful about before and during the engagement?
Any advice, hard-learned lessons, or “I wish I knew this earlier” kind of stuff?

Would love to hear from anyone who's gone through it the good, the bad, and the in-between.