Insights into hiring, legal setup, and cultural alignment when expanding abroad

This guide gives you a step-by-step playbook for setting up and scaling your first international office. It includes pre-hiring checklists, local leadership strategies, employer branding tips, and key compliance insights. This guide is perfect for founders, COOs, and HR leads preparing to expand into new markets without costly trial-and-error.

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Pre-hiring foundations

  • Most startups underestimate how long legal and operational setup takes.
  • Without the right entity, contracts, or tools, you may be unable to hire legally or run payroll.
  • This guide outlines what to prepare, including tax registrations, internal tools, and contracts, before your first hire.

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Hiring for growth

  • Your hiring strategy should reflect how fast and ambitiously you plan to grow.
  • Senior hires help you gain traction quickly. Value-aligned doers help you scale sustainably.
  • Get clear on who to hire first and why it matters more than ever in new markets.

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Cultural fit & local leadership

  • First hires are not just executors, they shape your culture and reputation from day one.
  • This guide shows you how to find people who take ownership, thrive in ambiguity, and lead locally.
  • Learn how to balance HQ control with local autonomy and team alignment.

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Compliance, brand, and compensation

  • Expansion requires more than ambition. It takes a clear understanding of local legal, salary, and branding requirements.
  • You’ll learn how to:
    • Work with local legal and HR partners
    • Build employer brand presence from scratch
    • Offer competitive compensation using local benchmarks (like our Baltic Salary Report)

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Common pitfalls

  • Many companies:
    • Hire too junior or too senior for their stage
    • Skip early compliance steps
    • Assume their HQ culture will translate abroad
  • This guide outlines what to watch for and how to adjust quickly after launch.

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