Remote work did not kill time zones.
It made them more valuable.
In this episode of Localization Fireside Chat, I sat down with Brian Samson to unpack what is actually happening in global hiring right now, beyond the buzzwords of outsourcing, offshoring, and nearshoring.
Brian has spent over two decades in staffing and talent strategy. He started in traditional agencies, moved in house to build teams for tech startups in San Francisco, then spent the last ten years building in the nearshoring world across Latin America.
His perspective is grounded in real execution: hiring, onboarding, building teams, handling logistics, and making it work inside companies where speed matters.
Nearshoring vs offshoring vs outsourcing
Outsourcing is about who employs the talent. Another company does the work.
Offshoring is about geography and time zones, often an ocean away.
Nearshoring is similar, but on a compatible time zone, typically Latin America for US and Canada.
The key difference is not cost. It is collaboration.
During the pandemic, work went fully remote. Then companies realized the hidden cost of delayed collaboration. When your team is asleep while your customers are awake, speed dies. That drove companies back toward time zone aligned teams.
Why Latin America is not just cheaper labor
Brian’s strongest point is cultural and behavioral, not financial.
Many Latin American countries deal with volatility, inflation, political instability, and uncertainty. That environment produces people who are adaptable, calm under pressure, and strong problem solvers.
Those traits matter in modern business because execution is messy and the work is ambiguous.
The shift from far from core to close to core
Nearshoring used to be for low consequence work. Maintenance, back office, non customer facing tasks.
That has changed. As local tech ecosystems matured, talent stopped doing only support work and started solving hard problems inside their own companies. That experience now transfers directly into US and Canadian teams, closer to the core than ever.
Brian’s advice is practical. Do not start a company with your first hires in another country. But companies no longer need to wait until employee 50 to nearshore. They can do it early and still move fast.
Who this works for
Small companies benefit because every hire matters. Nearshore talent can solve ambiguous problems without needing step by step scripting.
Mid market companies benefit because they want teams, not one offs. Brian’s model supports building pods with leads and specialized roles, matched by country based on budget and goals.
Control, capital, and founder reality
Brian has raised money before and learned how quickly control disappears when investors enter, even when the equity percentage looks small. Today, he prefers self funding because it preserves autonomy, protects timelines, and makes it easier to say no when a client fit is wrong.
Logistics and language reality
Brian’s team handles the operational complexity most companies avoid: contracts, payroll, hardware shipment, customs, and monthly invoicing through a US entity.
On language, advanced English fluency often drives compensation more than technical skill because it enables direct collaboration. Their model focuses on senior talent where both domain expertise and communication skills are already proven.
This conversation is a reminder that nearshoring is not a trend. It is an operating advantage.
When time zones align, speed returns.
When talent has grit, execution improves.
When systems remove friction, teams scale.
Watch the full conversation
Localization Fireside Chat
Unscripted. Unbiased. Unfiltered.
https://www.l10nfiresidechat.com
Robin Ayoub 
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