The partner: Earnest

Earnest offers student loan refinancing and private student loans. The company is reinventing how people manage their student loan debt, allowing applicants to try different payments, rates, and term combinations to see which works best. CNBC has recognized Earnest as one of the World's Top Fintech Companies.

The problem: A fragmented team

When Chief Technology Officer Meetesh Karia joined Earnest in early 2023, he inherited a problem: a team of engineers in the US combined with a disconnected development team. The offshore team comprised a fragmented network of Latin American contractors, freelancers, and developers managed by third-party software agencies.

"Our engineers were talented," Karia says. "The problem was structural: Our devs were managed by different sources. Their compensation varied widely. They were equipped with different kinds of tech. We had to manage each person's work schedule and on-call availability individually with different legal and country restrictions. One Engineering Manager had 3 developers from 3 different agencies!"

Earnest needed a team that could take ownership, move work forward, and feel like an extension of Earnest.

"I'm a big believer in the power of a team over individuals," Karia says. "A shared mission is what makes a team powerful."

Growing Pains: Partnering with a staffing agency

Earnest decided to invest in a single Latin American engineering office and needed a way to handle payroll and compliance for their new Guadalajara-based workers. The company had previously partnered with the self-service international payroll and compliance service Deel. Deel was great at getting employees paid. The problem was the platform didn't help manage, grow, or retain them, according to Karia.

"Deel handled contracts," Karia says. "It didn't offer local market guidance on compensation or support for onboarding, managing, or structuring meaningful benefits. Importantly, Deel also didn't solve our biggest challenge: Sourcing qualified local candidates."

At first, the agency model seemed to check all the boxes that Deel didn't, providing local infrastructure, management, and support. However, it quickly became apparent that agencies weren't a long-term solution either.

"Working with agencies, we lacked direct control over the talent," Karia says. "The company couldn't provide developers raises or promote people without negotiating with middlemen. This prevented us from supporting our engineers' development and left the engineers with conflicting feedback and direction."

"I realized that relying heavily on third parties to manage key team members created too much risk," Karia says. "Without control over career development, company culture, and incentives like salaries or bonuses, we risked losing essential contributors and disrupting critical initiatives.

The solution: Earnest graduates

Roughly a year into his tenure at Earnest, Karia met Howdy's CTO Frank Licea at a tech leadership event in Austin. The encounter led to a discussion about how Howdy could help Earnest in ways Deel and staffing agencies couldn't.

"It was the lightbulb moment," Karia remembers. "Howdy helped us realize we needed a purpose-built solution with our own building, processes, and team in Guadalajara."

The endeavor got a thumbs-up from the company executives. Critically, the transition also received overwhelming support from the Deel- and agency-sourced developers.

"We're building a real extension of our team in Latin America," Karia says. "With Howdy's infrastructure, we can grow the team even further with top-tier talent."

Why Guadalajara

Earnest evaluated locations across Latin America, prioritizing collaboration, proximity, and access to strong technical talent. Guadalajara stood out for time zone overlap, ease of travel, and a deep talent base.

"We wanted overlap, particularly with Pacific Time," Karia says. "We also wanted a place we could reach easily, so it wasn't just a team we saw on Zoom."

That proximity supported a stronger team dynamic. Earnest leaders visited the office, and the Guadalajara team built in-person routines that helped collaboration and culture take hold.

The outcome: A sustainable foundation for team growth

With Howdy's expert local guidance, Earnest aligned compensation, reducing overall costs by 15 to 20%. Thanks to this shift, the company could also increase take-home pay for many teammates by 20 to 30%. Workers previously managed through Deel and external vendors saw meaningful raises while gaining access to local benefits, equipment, and support.

In roughly five to six months, Earnest brought on around 20 teammates in Guadalajara, with a target of reaching around 30 by the end of the year, according to Meetesh.

The result? A stronger, more engaged team with higher retention, better productivity, and a compensation strategy that works for everyone, says Karia. With Howdy on board, Earnest is free to focus on its product and growth.

"Hiring remote talent is a solved problem," Karia adds. "The real challenge is building a team you can rely on: One that takes ownership, sticks around, and feels like a true part of your organization. That's what Howdy solves."