Growing a Tech Startup (MemSQL/SingleStore) in Portugal to 40 Employees
11 days ago
- Software Engineering Salaries
- Remote Work
- Employee Expansion
- Company Growth
- Stock Options
- Tech Startups
- Started as a remote employee in Portugal, grew an engineering hub there to 40+ employees
- Learned about expanding engineering teams abroad over 7 years, including starting hubs in Ukraine and India
- Options for starting a new engineering hub for a mid-to-late stage startup, including hiring full-time contractors or using EOR services
- Geographically binding teams to prevent silos and enable better collaboration
- Importance of having a local site leader with freedom to operate in expanding teams abroad
- Legal logistics in Portugal and considerations around benefits, time off, and other regulations
- Finding talent in Portugal through referrals, career fairs, networking, and internships
- Approach to hiring inexperienced people and giving them challenging projects for growth
- Managing time zones and fostering async communication to facilitate working across multiple countries
- Organizing local events, hosting leadership visits, and diffusing company culture in different locations
- Considerations around salaries for companies expanding in Europe
- The more you pay in software engineering salaries, the better talent you can attract up to a certain degree
- In Portugal, stock options are still important to motivate people despite high taxes
- Utilizing referrals and online job listing websites like LinkedIn for hiring in Marketing, HR, and IT roles in Portugal
- Having a full-time HR person with knowledge of Portuguese regulations has been beneficial for the company
- Growth of the company in Portugal from 3 to over 40 employees between late 2019 and early 2024
- Multiple office spaces in Lisbon and Coimbra due to company growth