Remote Hiring from India: Small Challenges, Big Advantages
Nov 23, 2024
Advantages of hiring from India
Broader access to talent
Due to the thriving startup space in India, there are a lot of highly skilled product designers that are hungry to prove themselves, just like how I am.
Save your budget
Since the cost of living is significantly cheaper in India, the equivalent of a good salary in your country is considerably lower in India but still coming with talents with the same or better skillset.
Diverse Skillsets
Indian designers are highly adaptable and skilled in a wide range of design practices, from user research to interaction design. With the rise of tech-focused industries and specialized education, Indian talent is often trained to meet global standards, making it an excellent resource for your design needs.
Avoid the Pitfalls of Early-Stage Product Design
All the examples below are my first-hand personal experiences with the startups and I can help prevent these issues from happening to your product.
Hiring freelancers
Problem
Freelancers tend to prioritize quick deliverables over long-term product growth, which can lead to a lack of continuity and commitment.
Example
A seed-stage startup, Company A, hired a freelancer to design their product from scratch. The freelancer followed instructions without questioning the long-term vision, resulting in outdated UI and poor UX. This caused low user adoption and high drop-offs. Company A later spent 3 out of their 12 months of runway revamping the entire product to fix these issues.
Lack of a solid product architecture
Problem
Many startups underestimate the value of building a strong foundation early on. This oversight can severely impact the product’s scalability, leading to costly maintenance down the line and unnecessary use of their limited runway.
Example
Company B, a seed-stage startup, was heavily engineering-led. Their product ended up being complex, with technical jargon and confusing navigation. The issue became apparent when they adopted a partial PLG model, and the product struggled to retain users. To recover, they halted feature development for 4 months to revamp their product architecture and fix the usability issues.
Overlooking the user experience
Problem
If the goal of a feature is simply to make it functional, the bar is already set too low. Many companies build products that cater to their internal preferences rather than focusing on the user, which often backfires in the long run.
Example
Company X launched their product on Product Hunt, and it quickly went viral, attracting a large number of users. However, most of them churned due to a confusing UX. This happened because the team relied solely on internal testing, where testers, already familiar with the product, overlooked key usability issues.
Chaotic product process
Problem
Many design features never make it past Figma due to the absence of a clear roadmap and prioritization framework. This wastes valuable design time that could be better spent on user research, testing, refining existing screens, or developing higher-priority features.
Example
Company Y operated on a tight release cycle, with the team constantly busy. However, only 40% of the planned goals were completed for each release. Frequent shifts in priorities, driven by a stakeholder’s uncertainty about what to focus on, derailed progress whenever their thought process changed
Lack of UX maturity
Problem
Significant time and effort were spent designing features based on unvalidated hypotheses, often addressing problems that weren’t critical. This led to thoroughly designed but hypothetical features being released, with a high likelihood of failure.
Example
A customer told Company Z that one of their screens looked too busy. Agreeing on this single piece of feedback, the company completely revamped the screen—restructuring its architecture, rearranging sections, and redesigning components. They implemented these changes without usability testing and deployed them. Post-deployment, there was no noticeable feedback or impact, positive or negative.