[JoachimSchipper]

Considering that tptacek, patio11 and many other experienced (ex-)consultants on HN don't have many nice things to say about oDesk (basically, "don't commoditize yourself")... is oDesk a requirement?

If nothing else, HN job threads tend to be full of people looking for remote work.

(I have no experience with oDesk, on either side.)

[kator]

I am a deeply experienced ex-consultant and agree. That said to be clear in other markets some very talented people use oDesk for working with clients in the US etc.

Sometimes smart people just want something to do and getting paid a bit is nice on top of that. That said I imagine most of it's noise and you really have to focus on sorting through the noise.

If you're just looking for "cheap labor" for the goal of having "a cheap startup" then you've already failed.