I don't know what your budget is, but $8,000 is not a lot. I've managed dozens of software projects and I would never trust ANYONE who says they'll build ANYTHING for $8,000. Very, very few successful websites, rails sites, iPhone apps, or desktop apps were ever made for $8,000. Even for a simple MVP. Hiring quality people costs money. Hiring lower quality people leads to problems.

Based on the information you provide, unless you have min. $50,000 to invest I would recommend a technical co-founder or a seed investor.