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Launch HN: Astro (YC W21) – Build your own dev teams in Latin America

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Re: Launch HN: Astro (YC W21) – Build your own dev teams in Latin America

#71

Post by FrankLicea »

SOLAR_FIELDS wrote: post #67

It’s not super clear to me, or maybe I don’t have deep enough knowledge here and that’s why it’s not obvious. Are the people that Company A hires through this service direct employees of Company A, or are they C2C paid hourly from Company A to Astro who then has their own C2C with the developer?

We love this question. We become the employer of record, similar model to a Professional Employer Organization (Think Tri-Net). We'll handle all the international legal HR stuff. Then Company A signs a contract with us to work with the teammate full-time and transfer all the IP, etc.

Re: Launch HN: Astro (YC W21) – Build your own dev teams in Latin America

#72

Post by darau1 »

FrankLicea wrote: post #68
darau1 wrote: post #60

I've been in contact with 3 different firms like Astro in the past 3 months, and now you guys pop up. Did something happen somewhere in the American job market? Or have I just been discovered to be living under a rock?

Ha! I can't say why of course, but our bet is that more companies are open to expanding their engineering departments to other parts of the world. Keyword being "departments" with strategies for benefits, perks, equipment, etc. and they need a logistics partner on the ground to help, etc. That's our hope anyway!

Well I'm happy to see opportunities coming our way. Best of luck to you guys. Maybe I'll hear from an Astro rep one of these days :)

Re: Launch HN: Astro (YC W21) – Build your own dev teams in Latin America

#73

Post by causality0 »

FrankLicea wrote: post #66
rootsudo wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Pricing-wise, I'd say the all-in fees on a per dev basis are comparable to a developer's salary here in the US, the fees are all inclusive of benefits, tech equipment, offices, perks, etc..." Well, then as a USA based org, I'd have to say - what's the point? If it's comparable to a USA dev Salary, what savings/arbitrage/win a I achieving here? Wouldn't it be easier for a USA based company to just corp 2 corp/1099 or…

So for us, hiring domestically (either 1099 or FTE) vs internationally, wasn't a mutually exclusive decision. Finding good people was a real risk to our growth. So we expanded the top of our funnel to more locations simultaneously. However, we weren't just interested in salary arbitrage, we really did need to attract good people with premium benefits. Good international teammates aren't going to leave their team only…

That's nice but would you mind actually answering his question? Why should he pay comparable rates to someone residing where the cost of living is a fraction of the US? There are concrete benefits to having dev teams composed of people who share a common culture. What's on the other end of the scales to balance out losing that if it isn't money?

Re: Launch HN: Astro (YC W21) – Build your own dev teams in Latin America

#74

Post by 0xffff2 »

causality0 wrote: post #73
FrankLicea wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So for us, hiring domestically (either 1099 or FTE) vs internationally, wasn't a mutually exclusive decision. Finding good people was a real risk to our growth. So we expanded the top of our funnel to more locations simultaneously. However, we weren't just interested in salary arbitrage, we really did need to attract good people with premium benefits. Good international teammates aren't going to leave their team only…

That's nice but would you mind actually answering his question? Why should he pay comparable rates to someone residing where the cost of living is a fraction of the US? There are concrete benefits to having dev teams composed of people who share a common culture. What's on the other end of the scales to balance out losing that if it isn't money?

I'm not in this space at all, but my reading of OP's comment was that the _total_ cost of a dev from their service is comparable to just the _salary_ (excluding benefits and other overhead) of a US developer.

Re: Launch HN: Astro (YC W21) – Build your own dev teams in Latin America

#75

Post by jacsamira »

andrew_ wrote: post #57
jacsamira wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Andrew, thank you for the feedback. This is something we'd love to be able to be better at and would love any advice you may have. We send the rate with each developer. We don't have a flat rate; otherwise, that means we set the rate. The developers set their own rate and we send that over with their profiles after you state what you're looking for and who in our platform is a match. What's a better way of going abou…

I'd recommend some document that outlines the fees Astro charges based on selections for the teams. Any AWS pricing calculator is a decent model to use.

amazing suggestion, seems so obvious but we had never considered - thank you! <3

Re: Launch HN: Astro (YC W21) – Build your own dev teams in Latin America

#76

Post by FrankLicea »

causality0 wrote: post #73
FrankLicea wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So for us, hiring domestically (either 1099 or FTE) vs internationally, wasn't a mutually exclusive decision. Finding good people was a real risk to our growth. So we expanded the top of our funnel to more locations simultaneously. However, we weren't just interested in salary arbitrage, we really did need to attract good people with premium benefits. Good international teammates aren't going to leave their team only…

That's nice but would you mind actually answering his question? Why should he pay comparable rates to someone residing where the cost of living is a fraction of the US? There are concrete benefits to having dev teams composed of people who share a common culture. What's on the other end of the scales to balance out losing that if it isn't money?

I believe I did answer the question, but let me try rephrase!

First, the rates tend to be comparable to _just_ the salary component of a US teammate (Austin, Texas). The US salary component doesn't include insurance, taxes, and other perks, which could add another 30-50% to the cost of employment. With Astro all those items are included in the rate.

Second, and hopefully I answer the question, the reason you would pay for those benefits for an international teammate (and not just an arbitrage play), is because we believe that it allows companies to recruit and retain a different pool of teammates not accessible on the other platforms like Toptal/Turing/Outsourcing, etc.

I hope that's better! Let me know.

Re: Launch HN: Astro (YC W21) – Build your own dev teams in Latin America

#77

Post by swatcoder »

If Astro is providing ongoing “local fulfillment” to make “teammates” feel like first class workers on an international stage, what happens to my team in XYZ when Astro makes a radical business decision (closing offices in that city, pivoting to court a next funding round, etc) as VC-funded startups often need to do?

Aren’t I making my business extraordinarily vulnerable to an unpredictable early-stage startup? How is that better than hiring/contracting through a mature overseas staffing agency in Mumbai, Kviv, or Buenos Aires? I mean, there are thousands of the latter, many with great history and references, and I don’t see what you’re adding besides risk and branding.

Re: Launch HN: Astro (YC W21) – Build your own dev teams in Latin America

#78

Post by FrankLicea »

swatcoder wrote: post #77

If Astro is providing ongoing “local fulfillment” to make “teammates” feel like first class workers on an international stage, what happens to my team in XYZ when Astro makes a radical business decision (closing offices in that city, pivoting to court a next funding round, etc) as VC-funded startups often need to do? Aren’t I making my business extraordinarily vulnerable to an unpredictable early-stage startup? How i…

Fair question!

Regarding VC influence, we actually bootstrapped the company in 2018, and we've had to build a profitable self sustaining business from the get-go. So we don't have the "court the next VC round" problem and given that we've built a sustainable and growing business, we're don't want pivot away from that either, but I see where you are coming from.

And yes, there are plenty of international staffing agencies to choose from, but keep in mind that their reputation in the US is only part of the equation. Among international developers, these staffing agencies may have a different reputation. We believe that by using us, companies can provide their teammates with the kinds of experiences that attract a different pool of professionals otherwise unreachable through overseas staffing agencies.

Re: Launch HN: Astro (YC W21) – Build your own dev teams in Latin America

#79

Post by jokethrowaway »

There is nothing stopping companies from hiring freelancers from Latin America, without adding another middleman (like your service) which will, of course, cost something.

Having tried this setup and having dealt with middlemen (eg. Pilot) and not, I can't say I noticed much difference with dealing with self employed.

Especially if the team members are senior, they're likely to know the ropes of setting up business in their country.

That said, hiring from Latin American has its challenges - the language barrier is not easy to overcome and the political instability can take a toll on your friends and coworkers (especially in these trying times).

Re: Launch HN: Astro (YC W21) – Build your own dev teams in Latin America

#80

Post by edferda »

Hey this looks pretty awesome. Currently I work in LATAM for international corporations and it is also hard for us, developers, to find a good fit. Dealing with Latin American agencies is always a pain, it seems Astro might attract companies that care more about their people and building quality, long term relationships. What are you doing to treat candidates like human beings? How do developers join your roster?
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