Recruitment

How an Australian Startup Built a Tech Hub in Vietnam — Without a Single Entity

In this story

A Sydney-based Series A startup was growing quickly, but rising Australian developer salaries were putting pressure on their runway. The company decided to build part of its developer team in Vietnam to access strong technical talent at a more sustainable cost.

Industry:
SaaS / Technology

Headquarter:
Sydney, Australia

Team Size:
8 Developers

Engineers Hired Timeline:
2 Weeks

RESULTS AT A GLANCE

Engineers onboarded & fully employed

2 wks

From signed brief to first day on the job

70%

Cost saving vs equivalent Australian hires

Legal entities required or set up

ABOUT THE CLIENT

The client is a Series A startup based in Sydney, Australia, building software for remote and distributed teams. As the company grew and customer demand increased, the leadership team needed to scale its developer team quickly to keep up with product delivery.

The problem was cost. Hiring experienced developers in Australia had become increasingly expensive, especially in Sydney’s highly competitive tech market. Senior backend developer salaries were already above AUD 150,000 per year, making local hiring difficult for a startup carefully managing its runway.

Vietnam quickly became the leading option. The CTO had previous experience working with remote Vietnamese developers and was confident in the quality of technical talent available in the market. Vietnam also offered strong time zone alignment with Australia, making daily collaboration much easier compared to other offshore locations.

After comparing several markets across Southeast Asia, the company decided to build its developer team in Vietnam.

THE CHALLENGE

Three Blockers The Firm Faced

Without a local entity or in-house Vietnam expertise, the company faced three critical hurdles before a single developer could be hired.

Challenge 01

No Legal Entity in Vietnam

The company had no registered entity in Vietnam or anywhere else in Asia. Setting up one would have taken months and required significant legal and admin costs — time and budget the company preferred to invest in product growth instead.

Challenge 02

Limited Understanding of Vietnam Labour Law

Vietnam's employment system involves strict requirements around labour contracts, probation periods, payroll, and mandatory social insurance contributions. Without local expertise, the company had no clear way to build a compliant hiring structure on its own.

Challenge 03

Concerns Around Contractor Misclassification

Leadership was aware of the risks foreign companies face when treating full-time offshore developers as independent contractors. The company wanted every developer properly employed from day one rather than fixing compliance issues after the team had already scaled.

THE SOLUTION

Talent JDI Managed the Hiring Complexity So the Client Could Focus on Product Growth

We handled the legal employment, payroll, compliance, and onboarding process in Vietnam, allowing the client to scale its developer team quickly without setting up local operations.

Step 01 · Legal Structure

Talent JDI Became the Legal Employer in Vietnam

Instead of opening a Vietnam entity, the client used Talent JDI's Employer of Record (EOR) service. Talent JDI became the legal employer for all eight Vietnamese developers, managing the full employment structure while the client focused on day-to-day team management and product delivery.

Step 02 · Compliance

Payroll, Tax, and Compliance Fully Managed

Talent JDI handled employment contracts, monthly payroll, personal income tax (PIT), and all required social insurance contributions under Vietnam labour law.

Step 03 · Hiring

Eight Vietnam Developers Hired Within Two Weeks

Talent JDI managed candidate sourcing, technical screening, culture-fit evaluation, employment contracts, and onboarding from start to finish.

Step 04 · Onboarding

Remote-First Onboarding Process

Developers joined with clear expectations, the right collaboration tools, and aligned working processes from day one.

THE RESULTS

From Zero to a Fully Operational Vietnam Developer Team in Just 14 Days

Days

Eight Developers Hired and Onboarded in Two Weeks

From the moment the client signed, Talent JDI had all eight Vietnam developers hired, onboarded, and ready to work within 14 days.

~70%

Cost Saved

Around 70% Lower Developer Costs

Eight Vietnamese senior developers cost roughly the same as two or three equivalent hires in Sydney.

100%

Compliant

Full Compliance from Day One

Payroll, PIT, social insurance, and IP protection fully managed from day one.

Day 1

Integrated

Smooth Integration Into the Existing Remote Team

Strong communication, culture fit, and fast ramp-up from day one.

COST COMPARISON

For the client, the decision was not just about lowering costs. Vietnam gave them access to experienced developers at a sustainable scale without the long hiring timelines and salary pressure of the Australian market.

Even after factoring in salaries, benefits, statutory contributions, and Talent JDI’s EOR service fees, the cost difference remained significant.

Hiring in Australia

AUD 150,000+

per developer / year

Hiring locally in Sydney meant competing in a highly saturated talent market with high salary expectations, slower hiring cycles, and strong competition for experienced developers. Total employment costs increased further once superannuation, leave entitlements, and benefits were added.

Hiring via Talent JDI

AUD 45,000+

per developer / year

Through Talent JDI's Vietnam EOR solution, the client gained access to experienced developers at a significantly lower total cost. The figure already includes local salary, statutory contributions, benefits, payroll management, and Talent JDI's EOR service fee, fully compliant from day one.

That's a saving of ~70% per developer per year — equivalent senior engineering talent, fully employed and compliant from day one.

WHY TALENT JDI

Why Enterprise Clients Choose Talent JDI Over Others

	Talent JDI	Glints TalentHub	Deel	AYP Group
Vietnam-only specialist	✓	✗	✗	✗
Recruitment + EOR bundled	✓	✓	✗	✗
Pre-vetted tech talent pool	30,000+ devs	10M+ (generic)	—	—
Ministry licensed & compliant	✓	Partial	✓	✓
Dedicated account manager	✓	✗	✗	✓
Time to first hire	< 2 weeks	3–4 weeks	No recruitment	No recruitment
EOR monthly cost	Market-competitive	$299+/mo + 18%	$599/mo	Flat fee

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What Australian Companies Ask Before Hiring in Vietnam

Yes. Companies can legally hire developers in Vietnam through an Employer of Record (EOR) service like Talent JDI. Talent JDI becomes the legal employer in Vietnam and manages employment contracts, payroll, tax, insurance, and labour law compliance. Your company still manages the developers' daily work and performance as normal.

Many foreign companies try to hire offshore developers as independent contractors to avoid setting up a local entity. However, if those developers work like full-time employees, it can create legal and compliance risks under Vietnam labour law. Using an EOR removes that risk. Every developer is hired under a proper employment structure from day one, with payroll, insurance, and compliance fully managed.

With Talent JDI, companies can usually hire and onboard a Vietnam developer team within two weeks. Talent JDI manages the full process, including sourcing, screening, employment contracts, payroll setup, and onboarding.

Yes. Talent JDI handles the legal employment and HR administration, but the developers work as part of your team. Your company manages the developers' projects, sprint planning, priorities, and day-to-day communication exactly as you would with any internal team.