Why more European startups are hiring remotely

Last Updated: 14 July 2026

A dog rests its head on laptop with owner's hand holding mobile phone

All of the media chatter around the death of remote working might lead you to think it’s on the wane. Yet as much as leaders of large organisations might want everyone back in the office, the picture is very different for smaller companies. While we may never go back to the completely remote reality of the early 2020s, remote working may actually be growing among European startups.

So why is it that European startups hiring remotely continues to be so popular? As with most choices by small businesses, part of it comes down to costs. But it’s also an increasingly accepted part of the European startup landscape—and a growing demand by a class of younger employees that demands more flexibility and a better work-life balance.

From remote prospect to new normal

The way startups build teams has changed dramatically over the past few years. While the initial surge in remote working was driven by necessity during the pandemic, plenty of business founders have since discovered that more far-flung teams can offer lasting advantages. As a result, European startups hiring remotely has become a growing trend within the continent's startup ecosystem.

Look at the numbers, and you’ll find an interesting story. While fully remote working has declined from its pandemic-era peak, remote and hybrid working remain firmly embedded in the European economy. Recent research found that 41.8% of professionals across several European countries work remotely at least part of the time, while hybrid arrangements have stayed remarkably stable across the EU.

The startup sector reflects this broader shift. Although some European startups have reduced fully remote positions in favour of more hybrid arrangements, remote hiring remains particularly common for specialist technical roles, international sales positions, and hard-to-fill roles that require very specific skillsets. Yet due to freedom of movement within the EU, access to talent isn’t usually an issue. So what’s the main factor driving this demand for remote workers?

The search for talent has gone global

It’s not hard to see why the availability of talent is so important to startups. Many operate in highly specialised sectors, from AI and cybersecurity to fintech and biotechnology. Finding the right people locally for these emerging industries can be difficult, particularly in smaller cities, or countries with limited talent pools.

In some sectors, the shortage of qualified professionals is becoming increasingly severe. The issue is clearest in the UK, where access to EU talent is naturally more limited. A recent report suggests that the UK could face a substantial shortage of AI professionals within the next few years, with demand significantly outpacing domestic supply.

As much as EU startups benefit from freedom of movement, remote working amplifies this. While people can move freely to pursue jobs, not everyone is able to. People might be unable to move due to family reasons, financial reasons, a general unwillingness, or other obligations. Remote hiring allows startups to recruit the best candidate, rather than the closest candidate.

A startup based in Paris can hire a software engineer in Lisbon, a data scientist in Warsaw and a sales specialist in Amsterdam, without requiring anyone to relocate. This flexibility dramatically expands the available talent pool, and can make the difference between scaling successfully and struggling to fill key positions.

The availability of digital collaboration tools like Slack and Google Drive, managed cloud services, and international payroll platforms have also made maintaining a remote workforce far easier than in the past. What would previously have required multiple offices, dealing with immigration processes, and expensive relocations can now often be achieved through remote work arrangements.

Remote hiring helps startups stay lean

Starting a business is always a case of balancing ambition with limited resources. Even if you’re successful in finding investors, you still need to manage your spending carefully, particularly when it comes to large and long-term capital investments. Office space can tick both of those boxes, particularly if you’re located in one of Europe's major startup hubs. Cities like Paris, London, Amsterdam and Berlin are all desirable for a variety of reasons, but the rents required can be infeasible for a small business.

Remote hiring is an obvious solution in this sense. Instead of maintaining a large permanent office, many startups choose to start out with smaller headquarters, working from co-working spaces or utilising hotdesking to ensure that they aren’t renting more space than they need. Remote working teams often meet periodically in person, even if that’s only once every month or two, while conducting most of their day-to-day work remotely.

For early-stage businesses, these savings can be substantial. Money that would otherwise be spent on rent, utilities, office equipment and facilities management can instead be invested in areas like product development, marketing or recruitment. This is more relevant than ever now that funding is becoming harder to come by (at least outside of specific areas like AI).

Employee expectations have changed

If anything, the move from CEOs of larger companies to row back on remote working is proving a boon for startups. The pandemic opened Pandora’s box, and many people who got used to the benefits of working from home no longer want to give them up. Surveys now consistently show that workers value flexibility highly, and many are reluctant to return to fully office-based arrangements.

Some people have moved to more remote locations in the meantime that preclude travelling, while others might have pets or other reasons they need to stay home. Businesses that exclude these people from the workforce are surrendering talented employees to startups and other businesses that support more flexible working.

This is especially important when competing for highly skilled technical talent, where candidates frequently have multiple employment options. In some cases, offering remote work can compensate for the fact that startups might not always be able to match the salaries offered by bigger firms. The cost of commuting alone could bridge the gap between a higher salary in a big city and a lower one that doesn’t require you to travel.

Remote work supports Europe's startup cities

Europe differs from the United States in a lot of ways, many of which have become even more glaringly obvious in recent years. The important one for startups, though, is that innovation is much more widely spread across cities across the continent, rather than concentrated in a handful of hubs.

Silicon Valley is synonymous with startups in America, and California more widely is far and away the most productive part of the United States. Europe's entrepreneurial landscape, by contrast, is far more distributed. Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, London, Stockholm, Barcelona, Lisbon, Tallinn and a host of other cities have all developed thriving startup ecosystems, supporting businesses in a range of industries.

By hiring remotely, startups can take full advantage of this diversity, and the benefits offered by particular cities. Rather than forcing workers to relocate to a single location, companies can build teams that draw expertise from multiple ecosystems, while basing any physical presence they do have in the area that most benefits the business.

This is not only healthy for the European startup ecosystem, but also benefits its businesses. Startups have the opportunity to benefit from talent across the continent, as well as resources local to that talent, such as networking opportunities, funding, and coworking spaces. This allows European startups to tap into a wealth of resources, as well as benefitting from a range of perspectives and experiences.

The other benefits of remote teams

Diversity is frequently cited as a benefit to businesses, and particularly to startups. People from different backgrounds bring different perspectives and ideas, as well as an awareness of unique cultural sensitivities. This can improve your output, and help to avoid faux pas, particularly when expanding to new regions.

As well as being generally desirable for employees, remote working can also improve employee satisfaction. Less time spent commuting and more time at home provides greater flexibility for things like family responsibilities and personal commitments, as well as catering to people with disabilities, which can further widen your hiring pool.

For startups operating internationally, more widely distributed teams can also provide better coverage across different time zones and markets. Remote work can also improve employee retention in some cases. While many people may be happy to relocate for the right job, this can bring unforeseen challenges. Employees who seem happy to move may come to regret it if it impacts their established social networks, family support, or general lifestyle, and end up moving back.

The challenges for founders (and how to address them)

For all its advantages, remote hiring isn’t without a few complications. Company culture is the biggest issue that’s often cited by detractors of remote working, and it’s a legitimate one. It can be more difficult to inculcate employees in your culture and values when they rarely meet face-to-face. The kinds of informal conversations and relationship building you get at work aren’t impossible online, but you have to work harder to engender them through things like regular calls and exercises.

New employees can also take longer to integrate, and require more support than they would otherwise. Where they might be happy to ask questions in person, they might think twice about spamming you with messages or asking for calls online. This means you have to provide the structure and means for them to do this, and ensure they aren’t working blind and spending time doing something incorrectly.

There are practical challenges as well. Employment law, taxation and compliance requirements all vary between countries, and hiring an employee in another European country could create legal obligations that you may not have anticipated. This is something we frequently advise on, as the intricacies of European employment law frequently catch small employers out.

Remote work can also make the already tricky job of managing employees as a small business founder even harder. With less immediate visibility of the work being done, it’s doubly important to measure performance based on outcomes, something that demands strong leadership and clear processes, and the development of new leadership skills.

How to prepare for remote working

The difficulty that businesses had to navigate during the pandemic was suddenly having to adapt to remote working. We’re well past that point now, and most companies have a good understanding of the software and processes they need to support it effectively, even if they no longer use them. For startups, it pays to put a plan in place; not just for which software you intend to use, but how you intend to manage and support remote workers.

An easy option if it works for you is a hybrid approach. By hiring locally but allowing remote working, you can offer employees flexibility while still arranging periodic in-person gatherings. However, this naturally eliminates the benefits of employing people further afield. You may also find that some roles are better suited to remote working than others. Software development, design, marketing, and customer service are all obvious choices.

Finally, you’ll need to ensure that you fully understand your legal, tax, and employment obligations before hiring across borders. This is something that a formation agent like Euro Start can help with when setting up your business in a chosen country, assisting you with the local formation process while also advising on hiring and trading in other jurisdictions.

The future of European startups hiring remotely

There’s no sign that remote working is going anywhere, but the future is unlikely to be fully remote or fully office-based. What’s more likely is the growth of the hybrid model mentioned above. While larger businesses may return more to desk jobs, startups have the opportunity to benefit from the utility, flexibility, and diversity of talent that remote working supports.

The startups that thrive over the coming decade are likely to be those that can successfully combine the flexibility of remote work with the culture, collaboration, and cohesion needed to build enduring businesses. In a period where European unity feels both more valuable and threatened than ever, it could be that startups are at the forefront of building those bridges.