Build, operate and transfer a team in India
Build operate transfer is for the company that knows it will want its own team in India in the end, and wants that team built, proven and running before it takes on the entity. We build the team, run it as the employer of record, and hand it across to you on agreed terms when you are ready. You own the work from day one, and you own the team when it is time.
The three phases, and what each one carries
Build. We define the roles, the stack and the seniority, then source and assess against that brief. Every candidate arrives with a written assessment and you make the final call on who joins. We put the team on our payroll in India, in a secure workspace, with the access and equipment to be productive from the first weeks. This phase usually runs a few months, and most teams start small and grow.
Operate. The team works to your roadmap and reports into you, day to day. We carry payroll, HR, retention, security, compliance and the ongoing work of keeping the team whole, as the employer of record. This is the phase that proves the team: you see the delivery, the retention and the fit before you commit to owning it. It commonly runs from about eighteen months to three years, but the length is a decision you make, not a fixed term we impose.
Transfer. When you are ready, and your own entity is ready to receive it, we transfer the team across on agreed terms. The people move with their consent, the working knowledge moves with them, and we support the handover of employment, tooling and process. Because your intellectual property and work product were assigned to you from day one, nothing about the code or the product changes hands here. What transfers is the team and the operation around it.
When BOT is the right shape, and when it is not
The transfer is the point of BOT. If you are not sure you want to own the team, you do not need it yet.
BOT fits when
You are building a larger, long-term technology function and intend to own it outright once it is proven. You want the speed and low risk of an outside team now, and the control and continuity of your own entity later. You would rather prove the team before you register a company and hire a country's worth of overhead.
BOT is not needed when
You want a dedicated team but have no plan to own it: then run it as a standing team and skip the transfer. You need a handful of people for a defined stretch: that is closer to staff augmentation. You want your own entity from day one and are ready for the overhead: then build a captive directly. We will tell you which of these you actually are.
The commercials, and the crossover with an entity
During build and operate, you pay one transparent monthly fee per seat. It covers the engineer's fully loaded cost and our fee for employing, hosting and running the team, with no recruitment commission on top and no margin buried in an hourly rate. You scale by starting small and adding roles as the work grows, and you can adjust with notice, without the fixed cost of your own entity.
The reason to transfer, rather than run a dedicated team forever, is scale. Below a modest team size, running through an employer of record is almost always simpler and cheaper than standing up and carrying your own entity. Above a larger team, with a long commitment, owning the entity can win on cost per head, and it gives you outright control. BOT lets you sit on the cheaper, lower-risk side while the team is small and unproven, and move to ownership once the size and the certainty justify it. We put the numbers for both in front of you so the transfer is a business decision, not a leap.
Common questions
What is the build operate transfer (BOT) model?
Build operate transfer is a three-phase model. A partner builds a dedicated team, operates it for you as the employer for an agreed period, then transfers the team, and where relevant the operation around it, into your own company on agreed terms. You keep control of the work throughout, and end up owning the team.
When does BOT make sense over a dedicated team you never transfer?
BOT makes sense when you know you will eventually want the team inside your own entity, usually because you are building a larger, long-term function and want to own it outright once it is proven. If you are unsure, you can start as a dedicated team and decide on transfer later. Nothing about the build and operate phases forces the transfer.
How long does a BOT engagement take?
The build phase is usually a few months, and the operate phase commonly runs from about eighteen months to three years before transfer, depending on how large the team is and how ready your own entity is to receive it. We agree the transfer trigger and terms up front, so the timeline is a decision, not a surprise.
What exactly transfers at the end?
The people, with their consent and on agreed terms, and the working knowledge they hold. Intellectual property and work product are assigned to you throughout, so nothing about the code changes hands at transfer; it was always yours. We support the handover of employment, tooling and process into your entity.