Case study
How a US fashion startup built an India based team for e-commerce growth
A US based fashion startup preparing to launch an ethnic wear and imitation jewelry e-commerce store needed two India based employees. The company partnered with Global Squirrels to hire an e-commerce product specialist and digital marketing specialist with knowledge of Indian fashion trends. Global Squirrels supported recruitment, screening, onboarding, payroll, benefits, and EOR services while the founder retained daily management.
Executive summary: Building the team before launch
Launching a new e-commerce business often means making several decisions at once. Products need to be organized, inventory needs to be managed, marketing needs to begin, and someone needs to understand what makes the products relevant to the target customer.
For a US based startup preparing to launch an online store focused on women’s ethnic wear and imitation jewelry, finding the right people was an important part of that preparation.
The company planned to source sarees and other women’s ethnic fashion products from India and sell them to customers in the United States. Because the products were closely connected to Indian fashion and cultural trends, the founder did not simply want generic entry-level employees.
The business needed two India based full-time employees:
- An e-commerce product specialist responsible for product management and inventory support.
- A digital marketing specialist responsible for promoting the store and its products.
Both roles required creativity, an understanding of ethnic fashion trends, and a willingness to learn.
The company also had a strict budget of approximately ₹25,000 per employee per month, making cost transparency important.
Global Squirrels provided a recruitment and Employer of Record model designed to help the startup hire India based employees while handling payroll, benefits, onboarding, and employment administration.
The hiring model gave the startup access to local recruitment support while allowing the founder to retain control over the employees’ responsibilities, priorities, and performance.
About client: US e-commerce startup entering ethnic fashion
The challenge: Finding people who understand the product
The startup was preparing to enter a specialized market rather than selling generic consumer products.
Its focus was women’s ethnic wear and imitation jewelry, with products sourced from India and marketed to customers in the United States.
That created a specific hiring challenge.
The founder needed employees who could understand Indian ethnic fashion, recognize relevant trends, and connect with the products they would be working with.
For the e-commerce role, the employee needed to support product management and inventory activities.
For the marketing role, the employee needed to understand the products well enough to contribute creatively to digital marketing.
Formal fashion technology qualifications were not the priority.
The founder specifically valued practical product knowledge, creativity, cultural familiarity, and willingness to learn.
Budget was another consideration.
The company wanted to keep monthly employment costs around ₹25,000 per employee. Since two full-time positions were required, maintaining predictable costs across both hires was important for a startup preparing to launch.
The business also needed the employees in India. Hiring locally within the US would not necessarily provide the same combination of product familiarity and cost efficiency.
The challenge was therefore not simply finding two employees. It was finding two people who could understand the category while fitting the startup’s early stage budget and launch timeline.
The solution: Two India based specialists with complementary roles
Global Squirrels helped the startup structure two distinct positions instead of treating the requirement as a single generic e-commerce role.
E-commerce product specialist
The first position focused on the operational side of the online store.
Responsibilities included product management and inventory oversight.
The ideal candidate needed to understand ethnic fashion trends and be comfortable learning the company’s product catalog and processes.
Digital marketing specialist
The second position focused on building awareness and demand for the products.
The candidate needed creativity, knowledge of ethnic fashion trends, and the ability to connect marketing activity with the products being sold.
Both roles were designed as full-time positions.
Global Squirrels’ India recruitment team could source and screen candidates locally, while the company provided the employment administration required for the engagement.
The service included recruitment, payroll, benefits, onboarding, and Employer of Record support.
This meant the founder could focus on building the e-commerce business and managing the employees’ daily work without having to independently manage the underlying employment administration in India.
How the hiring process runs: From job request to India based employees
Step 1: Define the roles
The startup provided the responsibilities, location requirement, budget, start date, and preferred candidate characteristics.
The job descriptions emphasized ethnic fashion knowledge and creativity rather than formal fashion degrees.
Step 2: Source and pre-screen candidates
Global Squirrels used its India recruitment resources to identify candidates matching the requested requirements.
The screening process evaluated experience, communication, skills, and overall suitability.
Step 3: Review candidate profiles
Candidates were presented through the client platform with resumes, cover letters, and compensation information.
This gave the founder visibility into the candidate’s background before deciding who should proceed.
Step 4: Conduct interviews
The founder retained control over candidate interviews and final selection.
This was particularly useful for evaluating qualities that are difficult to judge from a resume, such as creativity, product understanding, communication style, and familiarity with Indian fashion.
Step 5: Approve the offer
Once candidates were selected, offer letters were prepared with the relevant employment details, responsibilities, leave provisions, and other terms.
A one month deposit was required after the hiring decision to support initial payroll and employment obligations.
Step 6: Complete onboarding
Global Squirrels coordinated the onboarding process and continued to manage payroll and employment administration.
The employees then became part of the startup’s operating team, with the founder responsible for their daily tasks and performance.
Results: A two person team built around the launch
The biggest outcome was the creation of a dedicated two person India based team aligned with the startup’s immediate operating requirements.
Two full-time positions
The startup could establish dedicated capacity across two critical areas:
Product operations: Product management and inventory oversight.
Digital marketing: Marketing support for women’s ethnic wear and imitation jewelry.
Specialized product knowledge
Rather than hiring generic e-commerce employees, the recruitment criteria prioritized candidates who understood Indian ethnic fashion and could connect with the product category.
India based talent
The startup gained access to employees based in the same country where many of its products originated.
This created a closer connection to the product category and the cultural context behind the merchandise.
Controlled hiring costs
The hiring model was structured around the company’s target budget, with costs discussed transparently before the hiring decision.
For a pre-launch startup, this allowed workforce planning to happen alongside product and marketing planning.
Reduced employment administration
Global Squirrels handled recruitment, onboarding, payroll, benefits, and EOR administration.
The founder could therefore focus on managing the business and employees rather than building an international employment infrastructure independently.
A foundation for launch
With product management and marketing responsibilities assigned to dedicated employees, the startup had a clearer operational structure heading into its planned January 2026 launch.
The two roles also provided flexibility for responsibilities to evolve as the e-commerce business gained customers and developed its product catalog.
Testimonial: Building the team around the product
Why companies choose Global Squirrels
For early stage e-commerce businesses, the first few hires can have an outsized impact on how efficiently the company operates.
A founder may be able to manage product listings, inventory, marketing, customer communication, and operations at the beginning. As launch approaches, however, those responsibilities can quickly become too much for one person.
Global Squirrels helps businesses build dedicated remote teams for e-commerce, product management, digital marketing, administration, customer service, and other recurring functions.
In this case, the hiring strategy was built around the company’s actual product category.
The startup was not looking for generic employees who simply had e-commerce experience. It wanted people who understood the cultural and commercial context behind Indian ethnic fashion.
That distinction shaped the recruitment requirements.
Global Squirrels also provided the infrastructure needed to employ people in India, including recruitment, onboarding, payroll, benefits, and Employer of Record support.
The founder remained responsible for the employee’s daily work, training, priorities, and performance.
This separation gave the business control without requiring the founder to build its own international employment process.
For a US startup preparing to launch an ethnic fashion e-commerce business, the result was a practical staffing model built around two immediate needs: keeping the online store organized and creating marketing capacity.
The broader lesson is that remote hiring works best when the role is defined around the actual business problem.
For this startup, that meant combining e-commerce operations with cultural and product knowledge, then finding India based talent that could grow with the business.
Build your India based e-commerce team
Need India based e-commerce, product management, digital marketing, or administrative talent without building your own international hiring infrastructure? Global Squirrels can help you find, hire, onboard, pay, and manage remote professionals while you stay focused on growing your business.