Offshore vs Nearshore

A guide for non-technical founders

Offshore Development relative to the US generally means countries in Eastern Europe and Asia.

Nearshore Development means countries in Central and Latin America.

Offshore development is generally more challenging for non-technical founders. The time difference and cultural differences can create huge issues such as scope creep and misaligned incentives. However it is usually cheaper per hour. Software can be costly and time consuming to build. It also requires near constant communication with teams.

Nearshore development is at a huge advantage here. Latin America is set to profit over the next few years from more and more North American companies trying to maximize continuity and cohesiveness in high performing teams.

We would recommend going with nearshore if you can afford it. Offshore is possible but works best if the core of the Engineering team is in the US.