No offense, but I wouldn't hire you to work on a project like the one being described in this thread. There are many developers writing proprietary code for a living, but they should still have something recent to show that is public. In this type of job, just like in other creative jobs, you should be prepared to show a portfolio - that goes a lot further than a resume.

So while some good people would be missed, it also cuts out a lot of chaff right off the bat.

When I want to see the goods, I want to see a completed project, not a routine, and the developer should be able to explain how it was conceived, developed, what stumbling blocks they had, what tools were used, etc. Someone with a track record isn't going to be pulling code off the net. Someone with any exiting reputation isn't going to need to either.

If hiring someone green, then they may not have a tremendous amount of code written on their own. But they should still have some. Someone fresh out of school who has not worked on their own software (anything really) isn't someone I want to touch (ever again). It's potentially (and always in my experience) a sign they lack passion and self-motivation, as well as creativity.

I've worked with some great people and I've worked with some real duds in the past 20 years.

For a first-timer, it might make sense to go to a small "shop" or "studio" that specializes in taking an idea from concept to completion. There should be no shortage of those at the moment, with decent client lists and published (public) examples of their work. It would be difficult for someone who hasn't dipped their toe into this industry to audit whether a particular sole developer has all the skills that will be needed for the concept as it evolves.