FreshBooks
Building FreshBooks' Egyptian Engineering Hub for Global Expansion
Octopus built and staffed FreshBooks' first African engineering hub — delivering a resilient, remote-first team that drove global expansion despite challenging economic conditions.
The Challenge
FreshBooks needed to expand globally and establish its first African engineering hub. The challenge was identifying and hiring highly qualified candidates who could operate in a fully remote environment, align with FreshBooks' rigorous standards, and integrate across cultures — all while navigating real economic pressures in Egypt.
The Solution
Octopus ran a rigorous three-stage hiring process to identify only the strongest engineers from Egypt's talent pool. Cultural sensitivity was built into the process: respecting the Egyptian calendar, local holidays, and working norms to ensure genuine integration rather than surface-level compliance. Remote-first practices were embedded from day one, enabling seamless collaboration with FreshBooks' global teams.
