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Today we are excited to have a guest author in to take us through how startups are hiring remote teams, and that is Bill Kerr, founder of Athyna, and author of Open Source CEO. Enjoy!

How & Why Nearshoring Works Today

The world is evolving at a fast pace with new technologies, emerging roles, and the demand for new skills, the need for qualified talent has become a challenge for businesses. Companies are rethinking their hiring strategies and they must adapt to survive.

Today, with Bay Area Times hiring partner Athyna, we are here to explore why hiring in Latin American markets is a smarter choice compared to the U.S., focusing on the advantages in compensation, talent availability, and overall business growth.

The U.S. Compensation Landscape

The U.S. job market is highly competitive, with compensation packages reflecting the high cost of living and demand for specialized skills. Key factors influencing U.S. compensation include:

• High Cost of Living: Cities like San Francisco and New York drive up salaries, making it expensive for companies to hire locally.

• Expensive Benefits: Comprehensive benefits packages further increase hiring costs.

• Premium for Skills: Specialized skills, particularly in tech and finance, command high salaries.

• Talent Shortage: Predictions indicate a significant talent shortage in the U.S. by 2030, particularly in the tech sector, driving up competition and salaries even further.

Why Latam Over the U.S.?

• Cost Efficiency: Cost of living in Latam is significantly lower than in the U.S. This allows companies to offer competitive salaries that are more affordable (up to 80% less depending on the role) without compromising quality of life. This means maximizing your budget while still attracting top talent. More on this below.

• High-Quality Talent: Emerging tech hubs in São Paulo, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City are producing highly skilled professionals, coming from very mature tech ecosystems.

• Cultural Fit: Latam professionals operate within similar time zones to the U.S., meaning significant overlap (6 hours or more) for collaboration. The English proficiency and similar work cultures, born from years of working with global companies, make integration smooth and effective.

• Remote Work Advantage: The shift towards remote work means companies can tap into Latam talent without the need for expensive relocations, balancing cost efficiency with skill acquisition.

• Diverse Perspectives: Hiring in Latam brings regional diversity, which enriches company culture and fosters innovation.

• Strategic Market Expansion: Establishing a presence in Latam can open doors to new markets and customer bases, driving business growth. You can also operate in a wider time zone.

Here are some analysis from Glassdoor and internal analysis from Athyna on the compensation differences between a typical US salary vs Brazil and Colombia.

With companies looking more nearshore and offshore for talent you can see how beneficial hiring Latam based talent is. And companies like Athyna can make that happen smoothly and easily.

But it’s not just cost-savings to take into consideration. It’s quality of talent. Latam is home to some incredible tech companies, not to mention big tech that is housed there. The internal Athyna team has team members from Amazon, Meta, Uber, Oracle and more along with talent from local decacorns like Mercado Libre ($84B) and Nubank ($38B).

And that's it! You can follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn and also don’t forget to check out Athyna while you’re at it.

TWEET WRAP 🐣