Outsourcing Myself to India

The leaves are falling in Seattle, and for the third year in a row, I’ll be taking off in a couple weeks for warmer climates below the equator. The difference this year, is that I’m going primarily for work purposes, and I’ll be traveling around India instead of to Brazil, as I did the last two years.

This trip marks a big step in my entrepreneurial journey. Over the past two years, I’ve dabbled in a number of projects, including founding a magazine, twisting balloons, numerous web 2.0 site ideas and speaking professionally on Memory Improvement. It’s been a wild ride, and interspersed with many good times, a lot of traveling, and a lot of pushing my boundaries. This trip is a big deal because I’m finally putting my eggs in one basket, and have gone forward with creating an Outsourcing Partnership called dos Santos and Partners.

The premise is that there are plenty of medium size vendor companies (in numerous industries, including IT, Healthcare, Financial and Publishing) in India that need help with offering their services to US clients. In the US, the other side of the equation is that medium size companies don’t have dedicated people to find appropriate vendor companies abroad. I’m aiming to service both of these sides, by acting as a US front for the Indian companies, and a international liaison for my US clients.

I’ll be leaving November 15th, spending a month in Bombay and Pune (possibly some time in Delhi) meeting with companies. Then I’ll take a break, spend the holidays with my family in Mahableshwar and Goa. My good friends Trevin, Shaheen, Fil, Chaitanya and Suraj will be joining me for the holidays, and after the New Year we plan on traveling south. I’ll then spend the 2nd and 3rd week of Jan in Bangalore and Chennai, meeting with more vendor companies, before returning to the US in late January. I’m currently working with my Indian contacts, as well as a research firm to find the appropriate companies. I’ve also incorporated as an LLC, and have begun working out the legal contracting details.

I’m both excited and nervous at taking this step. I believe I’m moving in the right direction and am confident of the potential of my business. I’ve been doing my own research on outsourcing, and have been happy to learn that the South American market is growing as a place to outsource, so it’s entirely possible that I’ll be back in Brazil again soon, and for both business and pleasure.

I’ll be updating from the road.