Set up the centre
The right structure, then the ground under it: EOR or incorporation, payroll, workspace, laptops, VPN, and the policies auditors ask for. Local follow-through, not a remote shared inbox.
Services
A working team in Bengaluru — set up, hired, and looked after
Most companies come with one of three problems: they want to hire in India and do not know how to do it legally; they have hired and it is not working; or they need to know whether the numbers justify it at all. We handle all three — and we will tell you if the answer is no.
What we do
Everything between the decision and a working team
You keep the product and the technical direction. Someone in Bengaluru handles the entity, employment, hiring, and compliance that make the team real — and picks up the phone when something stalls.
Hire and keep the team
Roles written for the team you will need, live Bengaluru salary bands, panels with your engineers, and retention after day one — because the first five hires decide whether good people say yes later.
Stay compliant and governed
IP assigned to you, filings on a calendar, data controls your customers will ask about, and exit terms agreed before you start. Regulated pieces go to named partners; you still have one accountable person.
01 · Setup
How setup actually works
You should not need a thirty-slide “operating model” deck to get three people working in Bengaluru. You need the right legal shape, a place to sit, machines that connect securely, and someone local who answers the phone when payroll or a vendor stalls.
We start with a short discovery call: roles, seniority, budget, IP and data constraints, and how your team already works across time zones. You leave with a plain written note — which model fits (EOR, BOT, or your own entity), a realistic cost shape, and what could go wrong. No fee for that note.
Then we stand up the ground under the hires. That usually means Employer of Record contracts or the incorporation path if you are going direct; payroll calendars; bank and vendor setup; managed desks if you want them; laptops and VPN; access control; and the basic HR policies your customers or auditors will eventually ask for. You stay in the loop. You are never left guessing who owns the next step.
Anupam is in Bengaluru. When a registration, office visit, or vendor needs a same-day push, that is not a ticket in a distant shared inbox — it is a person who can show up.
02 · Hiring
How hiring works when the first five matter
Most India programmes fail quietly on people, not on paperwork. The first few hires set the bar every later candidate measures themselves against. We treat that as the main job, not an afterthought.
Together we write the roles for the team you want in eighteen months — not only tomorrow’s ticket backlog. We share current Bengaluru salary bands for those levels (not a stale spreadsheet), source and screen, and run interview panels with your engineers so the bar stays yours.
Offers are honest. Founding hires get paid properly; underpaying the people who define the centre is the expensive shortcut. After they join, we do not disappear: onboarding plans, probation reviews, and the unglamorous retention work that keeps a five-person team from losing twenty percent of capacity to one resignation.
If your plan needs three disconnected generalists with no one to learn from, we will say so on the first call rather than fill reqs for the fee.
03 · Governance
How governance works without drowning you in jargon
Your customers will ask who employs the team, who owns the IP, and how data is handled. Those answers should be boring and documented — not improvised when a security questionnaire arrives.
Employment contracts assign intellectual property to your company from day one, drafted with an Indian employment lawyer rather than copied from a template. Statutory contributions and monthly filings run on a calendar you can see. Device management, VPN, access reviews, background checks, and confidentiality terms with real remedies sit underneath the work.
Where the work is regulated — company filings, employment law opinions, transfer pricing for a subsidiary — it goes to named partner firms in Bengaluru. Anupam stays accountable for the outcome and for translating what they need from you into something a busy US or European founder can actually do.
Exit terms are written before you start. Under an EOR that usually means thirty days notice both ways. On a BOT, transfer price and timing are in the first contract — not renegotiated when you have no leverage.
How it runs
From first call to a team that ships
A clear path you can show your board — with a person in Bengaluru owning the next step at each stage.
Weeks 1-2
Understand and choose
Roles, seniority, budget, IP and data constraints, and how your team actually works. You get a costed comparison of EOR, BOT and your own entity, and a recommendation with the reasoning shown.
Weeks 2-8
Set up the ground
Employer of Record contracts, or incorporation and registrations if you are going direct. Payroll, policies, workspace, equipment, VPN and access control: everything a new joiner needs on day one.
Weeks 4-12
Hire the founding team
Benchmarked offers, screened shortlists and interview panels run with your engineers. We hire the first team slowly and deliberately, because everyone after them is recruited by the culture those people set.
Ongoing
Operate, then hand over
Payroll and compliance run monthly, retention and training tracked openly, and a short written report you can forward to your board. On a BOT, transfer happens on the date and terms agreed at the start.
Commercials
How we charge, in plain terms
Salaries and vendor invoices are passed through at cost with documentation. Our fee is stated separately, so you always know what you are paying us for.
Employer of Record
Monthly fee per employee
A flat monthly amount for each person employed on your behalf, plus their salary and statutory contributions at cost. No percentage of salary, so the fee does not quietly grow when you promote someone.
- Contracts, payroll and filings included
- Equipment and workspace billed at cost
- Thirty days notice, both ways
Setup and BOT programmes
One-time setup fee, then a monthly management fee
A fixed fee for standing the centre up, then a monthly amount to run it that steps down as your own leadership takes over. Transfer terms and any transfer fee are written into the first contract, not renegotiated later.
- Fixed scope and fixed price per phase
- Partner firm invoices passed through at cost
- Monthly written report on hiring, spend and risks
Hiring only
Fixed fee per hire
If you already have an entity or an EOR and only need the right people, we run the search for a fixed fee per role rather than a percentage of salary, with a replacement guarantee if someone leaves inside the agreed window.
- Benchmarked salary bands shared up front
- Interview panels run with your engineers
- Onboarding support for the first month
Rates are quoted in your currency after the discovery call and held fixed for the agreed term. Ask for the cost model and you will get the spreadsheet, not a brochure.
Questions buyers ask us
Do you have case studies or client references?
Not yet, and we are not going to borrow anyone else's. This is a new firm. What we can show you is the founder's twenty years of building and running technology teams in India, a written plan for your specific situation before you commit money, and references from our partner firms in Bengaluru. If a track record in this exact service is your deciding factor, we are not the right choice today, and we would rather say so now.
Do we need to register a company in India?
Not to start. Under an Employer of Record your people are employed compliantly by an established Indian employer while you direct their work, which avoids incorporation entirely. Most companies move to their own entity somewhere between ten and twenty-five people, when the monthly EOR fees start to exceed the cost of running a subsidiary. We model that crossover point for you before you choose.
How quickly can we have someone working?
Four to six weeks from a signed brief to a first hire onboarded under an EOR is realistic for most roles, assuming your team is available to interview. Notice periods are the usual constraint: thirty to ninety days is common in India, and senior candidates are often at the longer end. Setting up your own entity adds roughly two to three months before anyone can be paid through it.
Who owns the IP, and how is our data protected?
You do. Employment and contractor agreements assign IP to your company from the first day, drafted by an Indian employment lawyer rather than copied from a template. On data, we map your obligations (GDPR, customer contracts, sector rules) onto India's DPDP Act and implement the practical controls: device management, access reviews, VPN, background checks and confidentiality terms with real remedies.
What happens if it does not work out?
Exit terms are agreed before you start. Under an EOR it is thirty days notice on both sides, with statutory dues settled and equipment returned or bought out. On a BOT, the transfer price, timing and what happens if you want out early are all in the first contract. You will never be in a position where stopping is expensive because the terms were left vague.
How do you handle the time difference?
By designing for it rather than apologising for it. India Standard Time shares a working afternoon with Europe and hands over to the US East Coast first thing in their morning. We agree core overlap hours, a written handover habit and which decisions the India team makes without waiting, then hire people who are comfortable with that pattern.
Is a three-person team even worth it?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no, and we will tell you which. Three people under an EOR can absolutely make sense for support coverage or a focused data team. Three people spread across three unrelated functions usually does not. There is nobody to learn from and the first resignation takes a third of your capability with it. If your plan looks like the second case, we would rather redesign it than sell it.
Want a straight answer for your roles?
Twenty minutes with Anupam in Bengaluru, then a written note covering the model, the cost shape, and the risks — no fee, no obligation.