Build-Operate-Transfer in India.
BOT is how you end up with your own India development centre without the slow, expensive standing start. A partner builds and employs your dedicated team, operates the payroll and compliance while it ships, and transfers the whole thing to your entity when the headcount finally justifies owning one. You get a working team now and the captive centre later, in that order.
How Build-Operate-Transfer actually runs.
Build
Your dedicated team is sourced, vetted, and hired to your brief, then employed in India through the partner. You approve every hire and run the work from day one. Nothing about the day-to-day waits on an entity.
Operate
The partner runs payroll, statutory compliance, benefits, equipment, and HR while the team ships. You get the output and the working relationship; the employment machinery stays someone else's problem for as long as you want it to.
Transfer
If and when the team is large enough to justify it, the people, contracts, and operations move to your own Indian entity. You keep the team you already built rather than rehiring from scratch, and the handover is planned, not a scramble.
BOT is the right model when...
You intend to own an India entity eventually
BOT makes sense when a captive centre is the destination, not a maybe. If you are fairly sure you will cross 15–20+ heads and stay for years, building through a partner first de-risks the ramp.
You want to prove the market before committing capital
Standing up an entity costs money and months before a single line of code ships. BOT lets you validate that India hiring works for you, with a real team, before you sink that cost.
You cannot afford a slow start
Entity-first means hiring stalls until incorporation, banking, and registrations are done. BOT starts the team immediately and sorts the entity in parallel or later.
You want the option, not the obligation
A good BOT arrangement lets you keep operating through the partner indefinitely if the transfer never makes sense. You are buying a path to a captive centre, not a forced march to one.
BOT vs EOR vs your own entity.
The three models are not competitors so much as three points on one path. EOR and BOT both start fast; the difference is whether an owned entity is the destination. Here is the honest side-by-side.
| Factor | EOR | BOT | Own entity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team starts | Days | Days | After 12–18 months |
| Own entity at the end | No | Yes, if you transfer | Yes, from day one |
| Upfront cost | None | None | $50k–$100k + ongoing |
| Compliance risk early on | Partner holds it | Partner holds it | You hold it |
| Best when | 1–15 hires, or testing | Heading to a captive centre | Already committed, 15–20+ |
| Exit if plans change | Month-to-month | Keep operating via partner | Entity wind-down cost |
Pressure-test the crossover point with the EOR vs entity calculator.
Build-Operate-Transfer — common questions.
What is the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model?+
Build-Operate-Transfer is a way to set up an offshore team in three stages. A partner builds the team and employs it for you, operates the payroll, compliance, and HR while the team works, and later transfers the people and operations to your own local entity once you are ready to own it. It lets you start immediately and commit to an entity only when the headcount justifies it.
How is BOT different from an Employer of Record?+
An EOR employs your team indefinitely with no expectation that you ever set up your own entity. BOT uses the same fast, no-entity start, but with a planned path to eventually transfer the team into an entity you own. If you never want your own India entity, EOR is simpler; if a captive centre is the goal, BOT gets you there without a slow, expensive standing start.
When does BOT make more sense than setting up an entity directly?+
When you want the team working now rather than in 12–18 months, when you want to validate the market before committing entity capital, and when you still intend to own an entity eventually. Entity-first only wins if you are already fully committed and want the captive structure from day one.
Do I control hiring during the Build phase?+
Yes. The partner sources and screens candidates against your brief, but you interview and approve every hire, and you direct the work from the first day. The team is yours operationally throughout, regardless of who the legal employer is at each stage.
What actually transfers in the Transfer phase?+
The people, their employment contracts, and the operating setup move to your Indian entity. The point of BOT is that you keep the team you already built and trust, rather than rehiring into a new entity from scratch.
What if we decide not to transfer?+
A well-structured BOT arrangement lets you keep operating through the partner for as long as you like. The transfer is an option you hold, not an obligation, so a change of plans does not strand you.
Does Remvix offer a full BOT arrangement?+
Remvix delivers the Build and Operate stages as its core model — sourcing, employing, and running a dedicated India team under its Employer of Record. Where a client's goal is an eventual captive entity, the transfer stage is planned into the engagement. The right structure depends on your headcount and timeline, which is worth mapping out directly.
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