Yes - this is a common model. But those in the west should also recognize another opportunity: given a couple of months, you can also recruit a great team rathe

Yes - this is a common model. But those in the west should also recognize another opportunity: given a couple of months, you can also recruit a great team rather than simply a large one. You just need to do it a little differently than the bodyshops. There are a lot of good workers stuck in the desk farms described above and they'd love to work for you. The recipe for hiring them: 1. Don't be a dick, your outsourced team here is just as good and deserves the same respect as a US based tech team. 2. Really, see (1). Treat your outsourced team with the same respect you'd give a US based team. Don't be a PHB or a know it all American. 3. Pay above market. Instead of paying $chipotle_wages, pay 2x$chipotle_wages. I recently helped a startup recruit over here. It was a great team - I'd be very happy to work with such a team in NY or anywhere else. It took about 1 month to recruit them (good luck trying that in the west). Unfortunately they all quit 2 weeks after I stopped being involved - apparently there were failures with steps (1) and (2).