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For startups scaling India headcount between funding rounds.

Somewhere after the seed round the India question changes: not whether to hire there, but how to go from two people to twenty without lighting runway on a subsidiary. Our answer is headcount-linked infrastructure. Recruiting at 12% of CTC when you need it, employment at $149 a head when you use it, and zero fixed cost sitting on your burn when you pause.

Go from two India heads to twenty without a subsidiary. Costs scale with headcount, never with paperwork, and pause when you pause.

Speak to sales EOR vs entity, in detail

G2 4.8 / 5 on G2, from companies employing teams in India through us.

Teams building in India. First hire to full team.

A subsidiary's burn curve versus headcount-linked cost.

An entity charges you whether you hire or not. This model only charges for people who exist.

Own subsidiary now

Versatile EOR while scaling

Cost when hiring pauses
Entity upkeep burns on regardless
Falls to the heads you actually have
Time to first new hire
After months of incorporation
Nine days to a shortlist, now
Finance workload
Two ledgers, audits, transfer pricing
One consolidated monthly invoice
Runway sensitivity
Fixed costs eat quiet months
Spend tracks the hiring plan exactly
Board reporting
A subsidiary line nobody can parse
Per-head economics on one slide
Down-round resilience
Winding up an entity is slow and loud
Scale down by simple attrition

Own subsidiary now
Cost when hiring pauses Entity upkeep burns on regardless
Time to first new hire After months of incorporation
Finance workload Two ledgers, audits, transfer pricing
Runway sensitivity Fixed costs eat quiet months
Board reporting A subsidiary line nobody can parse
Down-round resilience Winding up an entity is slow and loud

Versatile EOR while scaling
Cost when hiring pauses Falls to the heads you actually have
Time to first new hire Nine days to a shortlist, now
Finance workload One consolidated monthly invoice
Runway sensitivity Spend tracks the hiring plan exactly
Board reporting Per-head economics on one slide
Down-round resilience Scale down by simple attrition
Week 1
Hiring plan mapped to roles and quarters
Week 2
First three searches open in parallel
Week 3
Shortlists in; interview loops running
Month 2
First cohort employed and shipping
Month 4
Next cohort staggered against milestones
Month 12
Fifteen to twenty heads, entity decision on data

What an early subsidiary quietly does to runway.

Incorporation, secretarial retainers, statutory audits, a local director arrangement and accounting stack up to a five-figure annual fixed cost before employee one, and the burn continues through every hiring freeze.

Headcount-linked infrastructure inverts that. At five heads you pay for five; when a freeze hits, the platform cost falls with the team instead of mocking it.

Speak to sales
Illustrative fixed entity burn across a scaling year Cumulative subsidiary running costs, independent of hiring
$14,000 Quarter 1
$26,000 Quarter 2
$40,000 Quarter 3
$54,000 Quarter 4
Illustration of typical annual subsidiary running costs including secretarial, audit and accounting support. Actual figures vary by provider and structure.
How each structure treats a hiring freeze
Subsidiary during a freeze Fixed costs keep burning
EOR during a freeze Cost drops with headcount

The right time for a subsidiary is when headcount and permanence justify it. Until that line crosses, fixed infrastructure is just burn with extra steps. Find your own crossover point with the EOR versus entity calculator using your real hiring plan.

Who runs what while you scale.

Your managers run the growing team. Our entity runs the growing pile of Indian employment obligations underneath it.

You run

  • The hiring plan and its sequencing
  • Team structure as it grows
  • Reviews, raises and promotions

We handle

  • Parallel searches across open roles
  • Employment for every new joiner
  • Payroll scaling cycle by cycle
  • Statutory filings at any headcount

You run
  • Sequence the plan
  • Shape the org
  • Run the reviews
  • Award the raises

We handle
  • Fill the roles
  • Employ each joiner
  • Scale the payroll
  • Keep filings clean
  • Extend insurance
  • Process leavers

When something happens in India, it is ours.
The org chart and its growth Yours to draw
Employer of the India team Foo Falcon Technologies
Code, data and product built Yours by contract

A named compliance manager owns your account. Not a queue, not a chatbot, one person who already knows your headcount and your last filing.

Account managerMedian first reply 4 to 6 hours
Recruitment coordinatorBrief to shortlist 9 days
Finance associateFilings on time 8 / 8

Parallel searches, one pipeline

Scaling startups rarely hire one role at a time. We run engineering, data and support searches simultaneously against a shared benchmark file, so cohorts land together and onboard together.

Costs that read like SaaS

Per-head, monthly, cancellable. Your CFO models India the way they model any usage-based line, and the board sees a number that moves with the plan instead of a subsidiary black box.

The entity option stays open

Nothing about scaling on EOR forecloses a subsidiary later. When headcount, tax posture or investor preference tips the maths, the team transfers onto your new entity with tenure intact.

Freeze-friendly by design

Hiring freezes happen to good companies. When one hits, searches pause without penalty and the monthly cost simply tracks the smaller team until the plan restarts.

Parallel searches, one pipeline

Scaling startups rarely hire one role at a time. We run engineering, data and support searches simultaneously against a shared benchmark file, so cohorts land together and onboard together.

Momentum in hiring is a compounding asset.

Costs that read like SaaS

Per-head, monthly, cancellable. Your CFO models India the way they model any usage-based line, and the board sees a number that moves with the plan instead of a subsidiary black box.

Legibility is worth as much as the discount.

The entity option stays open

Nothing about scaling on EOR forecloses a subsidiary later. When headcount, tax posture or investor preference tips the maths, the team transfers onto your new entity with tenure intact.

Defer the irreversible; keep the reversible cheap.

Moving someone across

Graduating to your own entity, when the data says so.

Startups that cross the crossover point migrate the whole team in one cycle. Employment history, gratuity accrual and leave move with each person.

Cohorts, managers, structure Kept
CTC and benefit levels Kept
Statutory compliance in transit Continuous
Sprint interruption 0 days

The migration is a finance event, not a team event.

Supporting evidence

Diligence us the way your investors would.

The employing entity is Foo Falcon Technologies Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru, on the MCA register since 2022, with public filings your counsel can pull independently. We hand over statutory proof as a standard part of onboarding.

  • Incorporation
  • GST
  • EPFO code
  • ESIC
  • Shops and Establishments
  • PAN and TAN
  • Udyam MSME
What we verify
  • Incorporation Ministry of Corporate Affairs
  • GST Goods and Services Tax
  • EPFO code Employees Provident Fund Organisation
  • ESIC Ministry of Labour and Employment
  • Shops and Establishments Government of Karnataka
  • PAN and TAN Income Tax Department
  • Udyam MSME Government of India

Filings and challans in the data room before you commit.

200

employees taken over in the largest single migration we have run

33

distinct company payrolls our Bengaluru team closes each month

5 days

for each accepted candidate to become a working employee

G2 4.8 / 5 on G2, from companies employing teams in India through us.

G2 4.8 / 5 on G2, from companies employing through us.

Startups that scaled India on this rail.

Teams that grew through rounds and freezes without ever standing up a subsidiary before the data justified it.

Video
Bharath Rasoi KS Rajeshwari Founder, Bharath Rasoi
Video
Open Theatre Anand Raj Founder, Open Theatre
Abid Hassan Verified client
Sensibull
“They moved fast and took the whole compliance side off my plate. For a founder making an early India hire, that is exactly what you want.”
Abid Hassan Founder and CEO, Sensibull
Via G2
Moonshot
“Every option was either 'set up your own entity' or a platform that quotes a great price then hits you with add-ons. Versatile was the one that actually made it simple. First payroll ran on time. No scramble.”
Angad S. Co-Founder, Moonshot
Via G2
Digital Marketing Agency
“Contracts, PF, ESI, TDS and payroll all in one place. Invoicing in USD meant zero exchange rate surprises. The compliance rigour is genuinely reassuring.”
Vedant T. Founder, Digital Marketing Agency
Via G2
Design Studio
“Setting up in a new country can get messy fast, but their India EOR made onboarding feel easy. The team is responsive, clear, and great to work with.”
Setu C. Studio Owner, Design Studio
Via G2
US Startup
“We used Versatile to hire our first employee in India after months of putting it off because the compliance side seemed like a mess. They walked us through it and now we don't think about it.”
Verified US Founder First-time Founder, US Startup
Via G2
Mid-Market Tech Co.
“Versatile consistently delivered work that was both strategically sharp and execution-ready. Their turnaround times are impressive, and they think about problems the way an in-house team would.”
Shivani K. Senior Manager, Tech TA
Via G2
Growth-stage Startup
“Their team was highly responsive, professional, and easy to work with. They made a complex process feel simple.”
Mukul S. Core Team, Growth-stage Startup

Case studies.

Largest food delivery app in India, decacorn View case study The world's largest professional network, part of Microsoft View case study Legacy US software company, publishing platforms View case study

Pricing that tracks your hiring plan.

Recruitment when you search, a flat monthly fee while people are employed. Nothing fixed, nothing idle.

Recruitment

We staff the scaling plan
12% of annual CTC

Junior and mid searches at 12%, senior at 15%, leadership priced per mandate. The invoice waits until the hire passes 90 days.

Map the plan
  • Quarterly hiring plan mapping
  • Multiple searches in parallel
  • Benchmarks refreshed per cohort
  • Structured interview loops
  • Offers timed to start dates
  • 90-day invoicing deferral
  • Free replacement searches
  • Cohort-based 5-day onboarding
  • Quarterly hiring plan mapping
  • Multiple searches in parallel
  • Benchmarks refreshed per cohort
  • Structured interview loops
Plus four more inclusions
  • Offers timed to start dates
  • 90-day invoicing deferral
  • Free replacement searches
  • Cohort-based 5-day onboarding

Candidates from your own network carry no fee at all.

Employer of Record

We employ the growing team
$149 /employee/mo

The rate becomes $129 per head from employee twenty-one. Salaries and statutory items pass through at cost on an itemised invoice.

Model the cost
  • Employment contracts per joiner
  • Consolidated monthly payroll
  • PF, ESIC, PT and TDS managed
  • Health cover for the team
  • Gratuity tracked per person
  • Leave and holiday calendars
  • Exit processing when needed
  • Entity migration path open
  • Employment contracts per joiner
  • Consolidated monthly payroll
  • PF, ESIC, PT and TDS managed
  • Health cover for the team
Plus four more inclusions
  • Gratuity tracked per person
  • Leave and holiday calendars
  • Exit processing when needed
  • Entity migration path open

Infrastructure that expands and contracts with the plan.

From employee twenty-one

$149 $129 /employee/mo

Scaling teams hit this tier fast. The discount applies automatically; recruitment percentages hold steady throughout.

Inside the monthly fee

  • Full payroll operations
  • Statutory return filing
  • Insurance administration
  • HR documentation
  • Leave management
  • Reimbursement runs
  • Compliance monitoring
  • Dedicated account manager

Volume pricing

$149 $129 /employee/mo

Cross twenty heads and the rate becomes $129.

Inside the monthly fee

  • Full payroll operations
  • Statutory return filing
  • Insurance administration
  • HR documentation
  • Leave management
  • Reimbursement runs
  • Compliance monitoring
  • Dedicated account manager

Employer statutory contributions of about 13% to 17% ride on salary at actuals. Stress-test the whole plan against an entity in the EOR versus entity calculator before your next board meeting.

Scaling-stage questions, answered.

What operators at seed through Series B ask when India goes from experiment to plan.

When does an entity beat EOR on pure cost?

Usually somewhere past twenty to thirty stable heads, once the per-head fees exceed a subsidiary's fixed running costs. The honest answer depends on your salaries and risk tolerance, which is why the calculator on this page exists and why we will tell you when you have crossed the line.

Can you keep up if we open six roles at once?

Yes. Searches run in parallel with a shared compensation benchmark, and shortlists land on the same nine-day rhythm. Cohort hiring is easier on our side than drip hiring, and easier on your onboarding too.

What happens to costs during a hiring freeze?

Open searches pause without penalty and nothing new is billed for them. The monthly employment fee continues only for people actually employed, so a freeze shows up in your books as a plateau rather than a fixed-cost hangover.

How does this look to investors in diligence?

Clean. A single services agreement, real employment contracts with IP assignment, statutory filings in order and one invoice trail. Diligence teams routinely close the India workstream in a day because there is nothing improvised to explain.

Can we mix EOR employees with existing contractors?

You can, but we will push you to converge. Mixed models accumulate misclassification risk on the contractor side, and converting contractors onto proper employment through our entity is quick and usually welcomed by the people themselves.

What if we get acquired mid-scale?

The team transfers cleanly. An acquirer can keep the EOR arrangement running, migrate people onto their own Indian entity, or wind positions down lawfully. All three paths are documented and none of them disturb the closing timeline.

Longer reading: Your first India hires as a founder · EOR or your own entity in India · The cost of hiring in India

Tell us where you are on the decision.

A role you want to hire, a team you want moved, or just the two routes to compare. A named person replies in 4 to 6 hours.

A named person replies in 4 to 6 hours, not an autoresponder.

We use these details to respond to your enquiry.

A named person replies in 4 to 6 hours, not an autoresponder. We use these details to respond to your enquiry.

What the first call covers

30 minutes

A cost comparison for your headcount, on your numbers, both routes.

  • A written cost breakdown
  • Entity documents before the call
  • PF, ESI, TDS, termination law
  • No follow-up sequence
Book a call →

You pick the time, we send a Meet link. Any timezone.

See pricing Speak to sales