Engagement models
Most US and European companies enter India through Employer of Record, then convert to Build–Operate–Transfer or their own subsidiary when headcount and IP risk justify it. The right model depends on how many people you expect in eighteen months, how sensitive the work is, and how much management attention you can spare. Below is the plain comparison; on a call we make it specific to your roles and Bengaluru salary bands.
Three ways in
Most companies start light and convert later. Nothing here should lock you into a structure you will regret at fifteen people.
Fastest start
Your people are employed compliantly in India through an established employer while you direct the work day to day. No Indian entity to unwind if the plan changes.
Most common route
We build the team and run the operation for an agreed period, then transfer the entity, contracts and people to you at a price and date fixed at the start.
Full control
You incorporate the Indian subsidiary and own it from day one. We run setup, hire the founding team, and stay as long as useful, or hand over at go-live.
Same decision, three shapes. Use this table with your expected headcount in eighteen months. Then we can pressure-test it on a call with real Bengaluru bands.
| Employer of Record | Build · Operate · Transfer | Your own entity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian entity needed | No | Not at first | Yes, from day one |
| Time to first hire | 4-6 weeks | 6-10 weeks | 3-6 months |
| Who employs the team | Licensed EOR provider | Our operating structure, then you | You |
| Best team size | 1-15 | 10-50 | 15+ or IP-critical work |
| Cost shape | Monthly fee per person | Setup fee plus monthly management fee | Your costs plus advisory fee |
| Control of hiring | You choose every candidate | You choose every candidate | You choose every candidate |
| Exit | 30 days notice | Transfer on pre-agreed terms | Yours already |
| Typical trigger to move on | Fees exceed entity running cost | Transfer date reached | - |
Ranges assume standard technology roles in Bengaluru and a client team that is available to interview. Regulated sectors, security clearances or unusual equity arrangements move these numbers, and we will say so before you plan around them.
Services · Why Bengaluru · EOR, BOT, or own entity · BOT conversion paths
Commercials
Salaries and vendor invoices are passed through at cost with documentation. Our fee is stated separately, so you always know what you are paying us for.
Monthly fee per employee
A flat monthly amount for each person employed on your behalf, plus their salary and statutory contributions at cost. No percentage of salary, so the fee does not grow quietly when you promote someone.
One-time setup fee, then a monthly management fee
A fixed fee for standing the centre up, then a monthly amount to run it that steps down as your own leadership takes over. Transfer terms and any transfer fee are written into the first contract.
Fixed fee per hire
If you already have an entity or an EOR and only need the right people, we run the search for a fixed fee per role, with a replacement guarantee if someone leaves inside the agreed window.
Rates are quoted in your currency after the discovery call and held fixed for the agreed term. Ask for the cost model and you will get the spreadsheet, not a brochure.
Not yet, and we are not going to borrow anyone else's. This is a new firm. What we can show you is the founder's twenty years of building and running technology teams in India, a written plan for your specific situation before you commit money, and references from our partner firms in Bengaluru. If a long track record in this exact service is your main filter, we may not be the right choice today, and we will say so now.
Not to start. Under an Employer of Record your people are employed compliantly by an established Indian employer while you direct their work, which avoids incorporation. Most companies move to their own entity somewhere between ten and twenty-five people, when the monthly EOR fees start to exceed the cost of running a subsidiary. We model that crossover point for you before you choose.
Four to six weeks from a signed brief to a first hire onboarded under an EOR is realistic for most roles, if your team can interview. Notice periods are the usual constraint: thirty to ninety days is common in India, and senior candidates are often at the longer end. Setting up your own entity adds roughly two to three months before anyone can be paid through it.
You do. Employment and contractor agreements assign IP to your company from the first day, drafted by an Indian employment lawyer. On data, we map your obligations (GDPR, customer contracts, sector rules) onto India's DPDP Act and put practical controls in place: device management, access reviews, VPN, background checks and confidentiality terms with real remedies.
Exit terms are agreed before you start. Under an EOR it is thirty days notice on both sides, with statutory dues settled and equipment returned or bought out. On a BOT, the transfer price, timing and what happens if you want out early are all in the first contract. Stopping should not become expensive because the terms were left vague.
We design for it up front. India Standard Time shares a working afternoon with Europe and hands over to the US East Coast first thing in their morning. We agree core overlap hours, a written handover habit and which decisions the India team makes without waiting, then hire people who are comfortable with that pattern.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no, and we will tell you which. Three people under an EOR can make sense for support coverage or a focused data team. Three people spread across three unrelated functions usually do not. There is nobody to learn from, and the first resignation removes a third of your capability. If your plan looks like the second case, we would rather redesign it than sell it.
Use Employer of Record to test India with one to fifteen people and keep exit simple. Use Build–Operate–Transfer when you want a partner to build and run the centre for a defined period before transfer. Incorporate your own entity when the roadmap is committed, IP is sensitive, or EOR fees will exceed subsidiary running costs. The crossover is usually somewhere between ten and twenty-five people — we model that point for your roles.
Twenty minutes with Anupam in Bengaluru, then a written note covering the roles, the realistic cost, the model that fits, and what could go wrong. No fee, and no obligation afterwards.
