Time to market: Why speed matters — and how to increase yours

It’s a basic truth of business that, whether you’re launching in a new market to capture early demand, or hiring critical talent overseas, your time to market directly affects your bottom line.

The faster you move, the faster you learn, iterate, and grow. But here’s the catch: traditional entity setup slows you down — often by months and, in some cases, even longer. In those instances where speed is critical, that just won’t do.

In this article, we’ll unpack why speed to market matters, what’s holding many companies back, and how the right solution can help you leave slow-moving competitors in the dust. So let’s jump straight in.

Why does speed to market matter?

The idea of "if you're not first, you're last" might be a bit dramatic, but in global expansion, there’s some truth to this sentiment. Getting into a market early helps you build brand recognition before competitors arrive, and also enables you to realize revenue faster.

Just as important, though, is talent access. The best people don’t wait around, and if you delay hiring, you lose out.

But to hire in a different labor market, you first need to have an entity in place. And that takes money, resources — and time.

How do you accelerate time to market?

Setting up your own entity is not necessarily the “wrong” option, depending on your company’s hiring strategy, budget, and business goals. But there’s no denying that it is often a lengthy and complex process, without even mentioning the cost.

This journey typically involves:

• Managing legal paperwork in a foreign language

• Setting up local bank accounts and tax registrations

• Complying with labor laws you’ve never heard of

• Hiring multiple local experts, lawyers, and payroll providers

• Engaging in months of back-and-forth, approvals, and costs

With an average setup time of between three and six months (even longer, in some countries), and costs upwards of $100,000 per year in maintenance and local overheads, it’s not always the cleanest or easiest path.

So what’s the alternative?

By far the quickest and most cost-effective approach is to use an employer of record (EOR) service, like the one offered by Remote.

An EOR is a legal partner that hires international talent on your behalf, so you can hire, pay, and manage talent almost anywhere without setting up a local entity.

Note that, with an EOR, you still manage the team member day-to-day as you would any other hire. The EOR provider focuses on ensuring that everything is compliant, and delivers all core HR functions, such as payroll, leave, and benefits.

Employer of Record & PEO —

20 min

What is an EOR? Meaning, purpose, and benefits

Find out the meaning of an EOR and how you can partner with one for fast, reliable international business expansion.

One of the biggest benefits of using an EOR is speed. Because you hire through the EOR provider’s entity — which is already set up — you can onboard a new hire in a new country in days, rather than months.

How does it work?

Let’s say that you are a US-based company and you have identified a perfect candidate in Germany, which is a key growth market for your business.

Traditionally, you would first need to set up an entity in Germany, which could take anywhere between three and six months (potentially even longer). You’d need to find and hire multiple partners and vendors to manage HR functions, and provide ongoing maintenance and legal support. You’d need to try and budget for this without any clear expectations or prior know-how. And, on top of all this, you’d need to somehow convince your hire to keep waiting for you.

Not ideal, right?

With an EOR, though, you simply extend an offer straight away, and your hire can be onboarded in a matter of days.

You don’t need to worry about complying with German labor and payroll tax laws at any stage; the EOR handles everything.

Employer of Record & PEO —

15 min

When should you use an employer of record, and which one should you choose?

If your company wants to hire workers in another country, you probably need an employer of record. But how do you choose the right one? And what does an employer of record actually do? This guide provides all the answers you need.

With Remote’s EOR service, we also:

• Provide localized, in-house guidance and advice throughout the entire hiring process and beyond, including guidance on local compensation expectations.

• Enable you to tailor highly attractive benefits packages for each team member, including equity incentives.

• Save you time, resources, and money at every stage of the employee lifecycle.

• Manage everything in-house, with no reliance on third parties and no hidden fees.

And if you do decide to set up your own entity at some point, we can handle that for you as well, removing all the administrative headaches.

While your competitors are mired in endless administrative back-and-forths, you’re already set up and good to go — with all bases covered.

"The best people want very, very fast recruitment processes. You don't want to make the selection and then say, 'Ok, we want you. Now just wait while we discover how to employ you.' If you do that, somebody else could get away with your talent. Working with Remote takes that stress away and speeds everything up."

Bas Moeyaert, Manager of People and Culture at Loop Earplugs

Learn more about how Loop Earplugs move quickly to secure the best talent

A faster time to market with Remote

In terms of growing your business across the globe, time to market is more than a metric — it’s your unfair advantage. When you work with an EOR partner, you don’t just move faster; you move smarter.

To learn more about how Remote can save you time and secure your global growth, speak to one of our friendly experts today.