And cultural. It’s non trivial to have a team working cohesively both in India and USA. Even between cities it’s difficult
Operating in other regions also gives access to large markets outside the US with entirely different markets and legal structures.
Current laws in the US actually force existing companies to look outside more. For newly starting startups, this transition to international might sooner in their journey. Maybe they'll start hiring in other countries in Series B instead of waiting for a series C.
You cannot change timezone differences no matter what you do.
There are true, critical cultural differences between the US and say the middle east, or asia. In some cultures it is really bad to ask questions when something is unclear, it is really bad to take any sort of initiatives, it is really bad to push back on unreasonable requirements.
To me this is the true reason massive out-sourcing failed a few decades ago. It just requires a lot of work to adjust for these differences.
Still, some people will be offended by this. Are there exceptions? Absolutely. Is this a common pattern and generalization? Yes.
You get what you pay for, there are companies that charge you more and some that charge you less. There are companies that hire good talent, pay them well, have experienced engineers who have worked with range of people/projects and consequently are generally well travelled and culturally aware. And, there are companies that just hire inexperienced engineers etc. Irrespective of which country, if you want a good team of engineers, you got to be willing to pay more.
And, while working with people from a different country/geography, instead of just expecting the people you work with to be culturally aware, you got to be willing to learn and get culturally aware too. Did you put in any effort? For instance, if you go in with I won't even care about trying to pronounce your name right or a bias that "your culture is just not good for innovation/critical thinking etc" attitude, you wont get anywhere.
I will also add that it's kind of sad that you imply that people who just live according to their culture are "less good", or "cheaper", or "less experienced". Price and cost have nothing to do with it. It is normal for people to live and behave the way they've been taught.
Not sure how you got this from what I wrote. I was responding directly to -
"..The culture is totally different and IMO not conducive to innovation, critical thinking and constructive feedback - it is the opposite..."
I was trying to say don't look down condescendingly on other cultures and expect to develop a great working relationship. Experience with different teams and people gives you cultural awareness, where you learn how to motivate, communicate with different people effectively.
Anyway, all I can say is I have worked with multiple teams from different countries and cultures, and haven't had the challenging experience you mention. So, when you use your personal experience to make a generalized claim, I feel its inaccurate.
So, felt compelled to leave a comment. I am not looking to change your opinion though.