4 ms·
Not to be a downer, but that's pretty expensive. I spent last week in [latam capital city] and met with 3 local outsourcing firms, down from 6 that I'd pre-scre
by smallerfish 4y ago
Not to be a downer, but that's pretty expensive. I spent last week in [latam capital city] and met with 3 local outsourcing firms, down from 6 that I'd pre-screened by Zoom. I then reduced the list to 2 based on the co-founders of each being technical, and their solid recruiting practices. Both have offices which devs are free to come into (or work remotely), both pay salaries and offer benefits, both provide embedded developers with project managers in the background, both provide in house training and skills development. One charges $30/hr-$45/hr, one $40-$55, with the rate difference being based on the location of the devs (the cheaper range is 2 hours north of the metro area).
Both have accounts in the US which you can pay directly if you don't want to deal with wire transfers (though those also are easy). Both handle taxes.
- jacsamira 4y agoNot a downer at all! We're not a fit for everyone. We totally get that. We let the devs set their prices, and then have a standard premium benefits package because we believe everyone should have silicon valley level perks. We're definitely not the cheapest, but we're invested in a long-term relationship for both parties and not just a cost-savings play. In our experience, turnover ends up being super high with low rates. But maybe you found some gems! I hope it works out. I really believe there is a need and an opportunity for everyone. We're just trying to do our part to help in any way we can.
- eulercoder 4y agoI want this too please Thank you so much!
- Shorel 4y agoHonestly, reading many comments from potential customers and their complaints, and then reading your answers, while me being from Colombia and knowing many developers who could benefit from your vision, I thank you. While the others seem to care about cost-cutting to catering to their customers, you seem to also care about the developers, and this is a breath of fresh air. I hope many of my friends in Colombia will benefit from your initiative. The idea of extending Silicon Valley level perks is the one that works in the long term. I wish you and the developers all the success.
- FrankLicea 4y agoThank you Shorel! I think many people that object to the model haven't experienced these pain points themselves, either in the US or in Latam. But we recognize the model is not for everyone.
- woleium 4y agoWould you be willing to share your research? my email is on my profile if you are.
- smallerfish 4y agoSure, emailed.
- lobocinza 4y agoAlso interested. hn at posix dot dev dot br
- vitalychernobyl 4y agoCould you share with me as well? :) Thank you!
- oohaba 4y agoLiving in LATAM and would also like to see your research, if you'd be so kind.
- agucova 4y agoAt this point, you might be tired of requests, but I'm also interested :).
- horlux 4y agosorry to bother but with me too please
- ricardonunez 4y agoIf you don't mind sharing, I am interested too. Email is my username @gmail. Thanks
- moltar 4y agoMe too, please :) email in the profile!
- moonchrome 4y agoAt those prices I'd expect inflating estimates, catfishing juniors by selling seniors in interview/contacts and splitting senior staff between multiple clients. Basically that's the price range a senior developer can make on his own remoting on platforms like toptal - there's no buffer there for the agency cut unless they are some partnership or losing money to catch clients. And best case scenario - they have decent devs available at those prices right now - it's likely they will figure out what I've said and cut out the middle man/work for some US client directly and get a 30% bump for little effort.
- FrankLicea 4y agoWe kept encountering the same issues you mention. Our teammates weren't satisfied with the outsourcing company and didn't like being interleaved between projects (formally or informally). And with negotiating down lower rates, the clients they tended to attract weren't exactly tech companies, which was uninspiring for our latam teammates. We believe that by providing a platform that lets tech companies provide a premium developer experience, similar to the "Silicon Valley engineering culture", we can provide access to teammates that aren't typically found on Toptal/Turing nor at the typical outsourcing firm.
- sebleon 4y agoDude - it's way better for companies to hire developers directly, no need for a middle man like Astro that's charging 15% (eg. 15% of $80k/yr = $12k/yr in middle man fees)... platforms like letsdeel.com or remote.com charge as little as $50/mo per person to take care of compliance and payroll
- 1123581321 4y agoOh, it’s only 15%. No, it’s not say better to avoid paying that. Just marginally better, and that assumes the ability to reliably attract and retain the same talent.
- lincolnParkKid 4y agoHave you ever had to deal with paying salaries in local currencies in many countries, with all the legal/tax implications in countries like Argentina and Venezuela with ramping inflation and multiple legal currency exchange rates? Maybe if you need one you are better off doing it yourself but if you are going to build a team and want to avoid dealing with all that crap this model sounds interesting at least
- mantas 4y agoDo you want cheap price or smart people? Coming from eastern europe, such sweatshops usually pay local salaries and attract junior people. If you have experience and ain't afraid of talking to clients... You cut the middleman and work with foreign clients directly.