Young foreign specialists in Moscow startups - is it necessary?

Question

Startups

Good evening dear ones.
The opinion on this issue both among project managers and team members is interesting. Do you need it? Interesting? Would you accept a foreigner in your project for six months or more? Do you see any benefits to this, and if so, what are they?
Thank you for your attention.

Answer 1

Okay, I'll put in my 5 cents. What I write is based on my personal experience, without fantasies. Also, I will assume that by "foreign" specialist, you do not mean Russian-speaking people from the CIS.
1. I worked in Moscow in an office with an administrator from Spain for several months. Yes, it happens. The fact that he was a foreigner did not bring much benefit, but there were problems with communication. The Russian language is quite difficult to learn, and the level of English proficiency among domestic developers is ... well, to put it mildly, very average. As a result, the person in the team was not super comfortable.
2. If we take Western Europe, then the approach to working with a foreign workforce may surprise you unpleasantly. For example, the evening “need to stay late” so familiar to our managers can be met with hostility, demand to pay for extra hours, and also want a fully paid sick leave and so on. When people get used to comfort, it is difficult to refuse it. On the other hand, if everything is good, they will try, they will take the initiative. Only the average age of literate workers is always > 30, such is the specificity of education.
3. If we take Indians, from my experience they are ready to jump at any job, but they rarely deliver an acceptable quality product. They may be sloppy, they may not understand what to do and at the same time remain silent, they may not only miss the deadlines, but also hide it. If these are trained and literate Indians, and there are such, then they understand their value and will not go to work anywhere.
Okay, let's say we found a man, motivated him with money and the most beautiful women in the world, and he is ready to come.
You see, you can’t just drag him to Moscow, because no one canceled hemorrhoids with official registration, no one canceled the same visas, this is all extra. expenses.
Moscow, although the capital, is frankly poorly adapted for the life of a foreigner who does not know Russian.
This means that you will have to help with a lot of everyday issues, protect you from problems => again we get costs.
Do not forget about the psychological aspect, if you hire foreigners, then at least a few people - at least they will have someone to talk to for the first time.
Overall, I wouldn't bother, it's really not worth it. A person who comes to a foreign country in any case is more likely to adapt to the existing culture than to bring his own.

Answer 2

I'm not Russian of course, but in my opinion it all depends on the situation. With, for example, exclusively software development, in my opinion, it’s more profitable, on the contrary, to flee from Moscow and rent an office in some kind of “Kukuyevo village”. There, unemployment is higher, and wages are lower, and office rent is even cheaper. There are many great professionals out there. The biggest difficulty is finding them (these specialists), but in Moscow this problem is no less.
If you need contacts in Moscow, you can make a "main office" in it.
Everyone wins. You will pay less wages, it will become easier with unemployment in the “village of Kukuyevo”, and experienced programmers (of those who have not yet left for the hillock or to the same Moscow for family reasons) will be grateful to you.

Answer 3

Here is more about what foreigners will bring with them to a startup: new ideas, a new culture, or is he (a foreign specialist) exactly the same employee for startups as an ordinary Muscovite?

Answer 4

There are vague ideas about Moscow. I can say one thing for sure - the higher the level of a specialist, the less they look at his citizenship, residence permit and other bureaucratic conventions.

Answer 5

Somehow it will definitely affect you. If a normal specialist, then positively, if dull shit - negatively. It all depends on the personal qualities of a specialist and on the team in which he finds himself. In any case, the more diverse the team, the more interesting ideas, the main thing is that everything does not fall into chaos. Another question of choice strongly depends on the geography of a startup, if it is aimed at India, for example, then it is stupid to do it without Indians.

Answer 6

In Germany, for example, often in vacancies there is a requirement -, i.e. practice in another country. And many students specifically undergo such practice, a year or six months. At my work, one colleague had an internship in Norway, another in Canada, a third is planning an internship, looking for a place.
Therefore, I think that an internship in a large Moscow firm would be interesting for foreigners.

Answer 7

If you are talking about people not from the CIS, then IMHO designers will be the best. They can bring something that ours rarely does. Somehow there are a lot of them, so there is plenty to choose from and they may, in spirit, be attracted to work in Russia (we have many authentic places, and our country itself remains quite authentic for many)
Good programmers in the West, my personal opinion is from work experience is rare. And it is unlikely that these literate people will go to Moscow.

Answer 8

Guys, here you put karma - great, thanks. But it would be nice to share your opinions!

Answer 9

We need good professionals. Foreign, or not - do not care.