[sandGorgon]

I run a boutique outsourcing company in India - we have been working (for some time actually) for 3 venture funded startups in silicon valley.

This has mostly worked because in all of these startups, we engaged through people whom we are linked to through our past professional lives - we dont do odesk or any of that stuff.

What has also helped is that we try to spend a couple of weeks at the client's site, which helps us to understand the culture as much as the technology.

But what was key, as I later learned, was to get the clients to interview and choose from among our employees themselves (or hire new one)

run your outsourcing team just as tightly knit as you would run an offshore development team - talk to developers (not just project managers) directly and you should be fine!