[giantg2]

Many companies have policies or even laws that they have to follow concerning overseas employees. It's possible these are barriers to adoption.

"and are happy to work for an American startup for $100K-120K + equity."

As are many American devs. Companies that are outsourcing are looking for a deal. If you can hire remote workers in the US for under $100k, why hire foreign workers and have to deal with more regulatory hurdles? (Average US dev salary is $110k)

Time to hire is not a big issue for companies. They might tell you it is, but that's BS self-evaluation talking. It's the same way as all the stories you see about companies not finding qualified candidates. Usually it's the company's fault by paying too little, demanding unrealistic qualifications, or just having terrible work environments. Everyone wants senior devs that are 10 year experts on the exact stack the company uses, even if some of that tech has existed for less than 10 years, but companies aren't willing to cultivate that specific talent or set realistic expectations. It shouldn't surprise them if they have trouble finding talent in a system they created and perpetuated by limiting entry and growth for prospective hires. This results in cognitive dissonance and leadership claiming they can't find people rather than adjust pay, working conditions, etc to correct the problem.

[Riphyak]

Thanks for this! Indeed, I may have overestimated the problem and our solution.