Exploring India for the first time?
You've probably heard the case for an India team. You may have even looked at it before and walked away. We work with mid-market companies at exactly this stage — and we take the uncertainty seriously, because it's usually warranted.
The first one is the hardest. Here's why.
Companies that have successfully built India teams will tell you the first one is harder than they expected. Not because India is uniquely complicated — but because you're making decisions without the benefit of having made them before. Entity structure, compensation benchmarks, management bandwidth, cultural integration. Each one has a right answer. None of them are obvious the first time.
Our job is to surface those decisions early, give you clear options, and carry the operational load so your internal team isn't consumed by the build.
The patterns we see — and how we avoid them.
Rushing the hiring process to meet an artificial deadline. We build in the time to get it right — typically 12–16 weeks from brief to first hire.
Choosing a location based on cost alone without assessing talent density and retention risk. Kochi has a meaningful cost advantage and better retention than Bengaluru — we'll show you the data.
Underinvesting in management integration. The India team and the parent org need to work well together from week one. We facilitate that, not just the operational side.
Using a vendor who wins the pitch then disappears. We stay involved after the handshake — because our reputation depends on your team's performance, not the contract signing.
We carry the operational burden. You stay focused on your business.
We manage everything from entity formation to your first hire's first day — so your internal team is involved at the decisions that matter, not buried in the ones that don't.
What a well-run first GCC looks like, week by week.
Discovery & planning
Deep-dive sessions with your stakeholders. We map the engagement model, roles, timelines and success metrics — and deliver a costed proposal.
Entity & infrastructure
Legal entity formation, office setup and IT infrastructure run in parallel with the talent pipeline. You're kept informed at every decision point.
Hiring & onboarding
Shortlists presented for your approval. Offers, onboarding and first-week integration managed by us. Your first hire is operational before week 12.