Offshore Team Setup
More work done. Less cost. No chaos.
I built and run a production team in India that’s making an animated series faster than most studios. I’ll help you build yours.
The problem
You have more work than people, and hiring locally costs more than the work can carry. So you try freelancers. Some disappear, some deliver late, and you spend more time chasing work than doing it.
Offshore talent isn’t the problem. Most offshore teams fail on how they’re hired and managed: vague roles, no testing, no rhythm, no standards, and an owner trying to manage everything personally at midnight.
That’s the part I fix.
One country, one team
“Offshore” isn’t a strategy. Where your team lives decides how they work together, when you can talk to them, and whether you can even pay them reliably.
We build each team in one country. If you choose India, everyone is in India. If you choose Colombia or the Philippines, the same rule applies. That means:
- One time zone: handoffs, meetings and deadlines that line up
- One holiday calendar: no surprise gaps when half the team is off
- One way to pay everyone: set up once, and it works every month
- A shared language and work culture, so the team collaborates with each other, not just with you
Choosing the country comes down to three questions:
- Cost: what can your budget carry for the skill level you need?
- Time zone: do you need live collaboration during your day, or does an overnight handoff work? An overnight handoff can be an advantage: work moves while you sleep.
- Paying them: some countries are easy to pay every month; others mean failed transfers, high fees and delays. We’ve run into this paying contest winners abroad. We confirm the payment route before you hire anyone.
The trade-off we’ll be honest about: one country means one national holiday or regional outage can pause everyone at once. For small teams, the benefits far outweigh it, and we plan around the calendar from day one.
What we do
Location strategy
Choose the right country for your budget, time zone and payment needs
Role design
Define exactly what each person owns, what “done” means, and who they report to
Hiring
Where to find candidates, how to write the posting, and paid test tasks that show real skill before you hire. We tell you what you should pay.
Onboarding
The first 30 days, planned, so new hires produce quickly
Operating rhythm
Weekly planning, midweek check-ins and Friday reviews that keep work moving without you hovering
Quality standards
Written standards your team checks its own work against, so you review only what matters
Lead structure
Grow team leads who own their area, so the business doesn’t stop when you step away
How it works
01
Team blueprint.
We look at your workload, budget and goals, choose the country, and map the roles you need, in the order to hire them.
02
Hire.
We set up the hiring process with you: postings, test tasks, interviews and offers, all with clear criteria.
03
Install the operating system.
Weekly cadence, response-time rules, quality standards and the tools to run them, set up and running before your team starts.
04
Coach.
Regular sessions while your team finds its rhythm. We troubleshoot issues before they become turnover.
Proof, not promises
Uggalot: an animated series, built by our team.
Caveman Productions runs a team of 9 people in India: illustrators, 2D animators, a social media manager and full-stack developers. We’re 50% through Episode 2. Many independent animated series take years per episode. Watch Episode 1 →
The same team ships software.
JobBeggar.com, AI Hyperdox and IADB were built by our offshore developer, under the same operating model.
A lead-owned operating model.
Discipline leads own their pipelines with a 2–4 week backlog. Monday planning, a midweek async checkpoint with a 12-hour response rule, and a Friday review of only the highest-risk work, checked against written quality standards. The owner reviews what matters, not everything.
Enterprise-scale experience.
10+ years as a Senior Technical Project Manager at Dell, including merger work spanning 80+ countries and 75+ people.
The cost.
A full production team for roughly the cost of one US junior hire.
Pricing
| Package | What you get | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Team Blueprint | Workload review, role map, hiring plan and budget | $1,000 |
| Team Setup | Blueprint, plus hiring support for your first 1–3 roles, onboarding plan and full operating system | From $3,500 |
| Coaching | 2 sessions a month, async support and issue troubleshooting | $500/month |
| Managed Team | Our team does the work under our management | Quoted, limited availability |
Fixed prices, agreed up front. The Blueprint fee is credited to Team Setup.
Who this is for
Yes, if:
- You have more work than your team can handle, and local hiring costs too much.
- You’ve been burned by freelancers who vanished or missed deadlines.
- You want a real team that stays and grows, not a rotating cast of gig workers.
- You’re willing to invest a few hours a week in running it right.
Not for you if:
- You want the cheapest labor possible and no involvement at all.
- You need someone to handle payroll, contracts or international tax. We work alongside those providers; we don’t replace them.
Who you’ll work with
Monte Turner. Based in Leander, Texas. Founder of Caveman Productions, where I built and run a creative and development team in India. Before that, 10+ years as a Senior Technical Project Manager at Dell. I’ve made the hiring mistakes already so you don’t have to.
FAQ
Do you handle contracts, payroll and taxes?
No. We recommend established employer-of-record and contractor-payment services, and your accountant, for the legal and tax side. We focus on hiring right and running the team well.
What kinds of roles does this work for?
Creative and technical work we’ve done ourselves: illustration, animation, design, software development, database design and management, social media and SEO, and project support. We’ll tell you honestly if your role isn’t a fit.
How long until my team is productive?
Typically 4–8 weeks from blueprint to a working team, depending on how many roles you’re hiring.
Can you just provide the team?
Sometimes. Our Managed Team option has limited availability. Ask on the call.