Having access to talent from around the world gives startups the best chance at finding the perfect people to fit their niche needs. But the challenges of hiring across borders can often sway founders away from tapping into this huge talent pool.
In the latest edition of Sifted Talks, we asked three leaders how startups can scale internationally without getting tripped up:
Our panel of industry experts are:
- Jack Thorogood, founder and CEO at Native Teams, a global platform for work payments and employment
- Gina Griffiths, head of people at Hadean, a deeptech startup developing distributed computing software to power large-scale virtual environments
- Alan Chang, founder and CEO at Fuse, a full stack energy company looking to lower the cost of energy
1/ The rewards outweigh the red tape
Hiring worldwide is messy — tax, payroll and legal headaches pile up fast. But Thorogood argued it’s still worth it: access to the best people beats the bureaucracy.
“The benefits that come from hiring on a more distributed global basis far exceeds the friction points.” — Jack Thorogood, Native Teams
2/ Don’t let culture slip through the cracks
Remote-first doesn’t mean culture-free. Griffith warned that without deliberate onboarding and communication, startups risk building silos instead of teams.
“If you don’t get really deliberate about things like onboarding, communication and how you’re connecting, you can risk building silos instead of teams.” – Gina Griffiths, Hadean
3/ Outsource compliance, then bring it home
Employer of records (EORs) are third party companies that employ staff on behalf of another business in another country, handling payroll, taxes and benefits. They also ensure local labour law compliance.
EORs can take the pain out of early international hires. But Chang said once the headcount grows, it pays to internalise.
“We use [an EOR] to help us solve a lot of headaches but as soon as we have enough people in that country, we start taking payroll in-house.” — Alan Chang, Fuse
4/ Ask: Could AI do this job?
Thorogood urged founders to think twice before hiring for roles that could soon be automated. Smarter workflows might be cheaper — and more future-proof — than adding headcount.
“If [a role] is going to be eaten by AI anytime soon, focus your efforts on how to improve workflows to avoid having to hire anybody in the first place.” — Thorogood
5/ Timezones still matter
Not every role can be done from anywhere. Griffith pointed out that customer-facing jobs often need timezone alignment, while grouping technical teams in the same region boosts collaboration.
“Being close to customers and in the right time zone can really make or break some roles, like pre-sales.” — Griffiths
6/ Fly people in, don’t burn them out
Meeting online can only take you so far. To keep global teams connected, Chang brings remote staff into Fuse’s HQ every month or two — investing in face time to build trust.
“The constraint is timezones and making sure the whole company is communicating with each other. We fly people working remotely to the office once every one or two months to solve that problem.” — Chang
