Common mistakes of startups when first entering Vietnam
Many startups think that they have to establish a company right away to hire people, leading to spending 2-4 months and thousands of dollars in legal and accounting costs before having the first employee — while at this stage startups need speed more than anything else.
Lean approach: EOR for the first 1-5 employees
Hiring staff in Vietnam through EOR allows startups to have people working for 1-2 weeks, with costs that only include service fees per person/month — no need for legal capital, no need for a registered office, no need for a separate accountant.
Startup positions are often hired first
- Operations personnel understand the local market.
- Product development engineer if taking advantage of competitive technology human resource costs in Vietnam.
- Local marketing/sales personnel to test the market.
Expansion roadmap after the first phase
When the team increases to 15-30 people and the business model has been confirmed, the startup can consider switching to establishing its own legal entity to optimize long-term costs and be more proactive about taxes and invoices - at this time, the EOR provider supports handing over all personnel records.
Notes on budget for startups
You should ask for a transparent fee schedule, no hidden costs, and prioritize the EOR provider that allows flexibility to increase or decrease the number of employees with each capital call round - avoid long-term commitments when the business model is still being tested.
Startup newly established abroad, no revenue yet, can it hire personnel in Vietnam? Yes, EOR does not require conditions on revenue or parent company size, just need to pay service fees as agreed.
Is it possible to hire part-time or project-based personnel through EOR? Some EOR providers support part-time or project-based work, depending on the specific agreement - you should clearly discuss this need from the beginning to get advice on the appropriate model.