01The market
The market
US startups face senior-engineer costs of $130k–150k+ base salary and long hiring cycles; China offers deep mid-to-senior engineering supply at structurally lower cost. The gap between the two is an operations problem — legal employment, security, coordination, retention — and operations is what we sell.
02The model
The model
One all-in monthly fee per engineer under management. Revenue scales with engineers under management; the P&L is driven by retention, because every departure costs recruiting spend plus vacancy margin.
03Unit economics
Unit economics
Planning model planning model
| Metric | Planning model |
|---|---|
| Blended price | ~$6,480 per engineer / month (mix of mid-level ~$6,000 and senior ~$7,200) |
| Blended gross margin | ~$1,928 per engineer / month, after salary, ~36% employer burden, employment administration, equipment/security, and amortized recruiting |
| Coordinator ratio | 1 coordinator per 12 engineers |
| Fixed overhead | ~$12,000 / month at scale |
04Path to $1M profit
Path to $1M profit
Targets targets
| Milestone | Target |
|---|---|
| ~43 engineers under management | ≈ $1M annual gross margin |
| 55 engineers + ancillary fees (setup, buyout, paid pilots ≈ $180k) | ≈ $1.06M net profit in the model |
| 55 engineers | Roughly 11–14 clients at 4–5 engineers each |
Year 1 · target
15 engineers
4 clients
Year 2 · target
35 engineers
8 clients
Year 3 · target
55–60 engineers
11–14 clients
Key sensitivity, stated honestlyDiscounting prices ~13% cuts blended margin nearly in half and makes $1M unreachable at realistic scale — pricing discipline is strategy, not greed.
Retention leverMoving average tenure from 8 to 18 months is worth roughly $140k/year at 50 engineers.
05Market sizing
Market sizing
- TAM
US employer spend on software engineering roles addressable by distributed teams.
Planning estimate, based on the assumptions shown.
- SAM
Funded US startups (Seed–Series B) with 5–50 engineers.
Planning estimate, based on the assumptions shown.
- SOM
Bottom-up: Year-3 target of 55–60 engineers under management ≈ $4.3–4.7M annual revenue at blended pricing.
Planning estimate, based on the assumptions shown.
06Competitive landscape
Competitive landscape
Global EOR platforms
employment only, self-serve
Offshore dev agencies
project-based
LatAm nearshore platforms
timezone play
China-side RPO/EOR providers
China-side operations
BRIDGEPOD
US-side, long-term, full operations incl. delivery coordination & retention
07Validation status
Validation status
Current status: pre-launch. The founder currently operates this model inside an existing SaaS company (8-person China team). Customer discovery interviews are in progress. Beachhead: Chinese-founded US startups with informal China teams needing regularization before their next diligence. First paid pilots are in preparation.
08Risks & mitigations
Risks & mitigations
| Risk | Mitigation |
|---|---|
| Geopolitical / customer security review | US production + masked-data architecture; sensitive-sector screening (defense, export-controlled, PHI/gov data excluded) |
| Engineer attrition | Retention is a managed function; tenure economics in the model |
| Price competition | Discount sensitivity modeled; we compete on diligence-readiness and coordination, not price |
09The moat
The moat
- A proven, lived operating playbook (US production / China dev / masked data) rather than a marketplace
- Coordinator know-how across the 12-hour gap
- Retention data and a vetted engineer pipeline in tier-2 cities
- Diligence-ready documentation as a sellable asset
10The ask
The ask
The raise amount and instrument are being finalized in discussion with investors.
Use of funds: coordinator hires ahead of client growth; China-side partner and legal setup; pipeline and content; runway buffer.
Milestones this round buys: first 3 pilot clients; 15 engineers under management; the first coordinator hire. targets
Contact: hao50427126@gmail.com
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