Great Talent Is Everywhere. Finding It Is the Challenge.
How a 15-Person Marketing Agency Built Its First International Team Without Compromising Quality or Culture
Two Paid Media Specialists, one Copywriter and one Web Developer.
Approximate savings compared to hiring the same roles in the US.
New team members hired from Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela.
An ongoing partnership supporting Intuitive Digital as its international team continues to grow.
Intuitive Digital faced a challenge shared by many growing marketing agencies: they needed experienced professionals, but the talent they were finding in the US was either outside their budget or simply not the right fit. They knew there were highly skilled professionals across Latin America, but they had never hired internationally before and didn't know how to find them, assess them or bring them into the team the right way. More than two years and four successful hires later, Intuitive has built its first international team across Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela.
Like lots of agencies, we were facing a familiar challenge. We needed skilled digital marketers, and we needed to grow in a way that made financial sense. The talent we were finding was either out of our budget or just not the right fit. We knew there were fantastic, highly skilled marketers across Latin America, but we had no idea how to find them or bring them on board the right way.
Our partner
Intuitive Digital is a digital marketing agency based in Portland, Oregon. As a certified B Corp, doing right by its people and community is built into how the company operates. Its work and culture are shaped by strong values, collaboration and a commitment to growing responsibly. With a team of around 15 people, every new hire has a direct impact on the business, its clients and the wider team. When Intuitive began exploring talent in Latin America, the goal wasn't simply to reduce costs. They wanted to find experienced professionals who could deliver high-quality work, communicate clearly with US-based clients and become a real part of the company culture.
We had a strong culture at Intuitive, and we didn't want remote team members to feel like outsiders.
The challenge
Like many marketing agencies, Intuitive needed skilled digital marketers and wanted to grow in a way that made financial sense. The professionals they were finding domestically were often outside their budget or not the right fit for what the team needed. Latin America offered access to a much broader talent market, but international hiring was completely new territory for them. Their main concerns were clear:
Legal and compliance
They had never managed international contractor relationships and needed guidance to understand how the process worked.
English communication
As a client-facing agency, clear communication was essential. The team needed professionals who could confidently collaborate with colleagues and communicate with clients in English.
Culture fit
Intuitive had built a strong culture and didn't want international team members to feel separate or like outsiders.
I'll be honest, we had real concerns. The big three for us were legal and compliance, since international contractor relationships were completely new territory for us. Then English communication, because in a client-facing agency, clear communication is everything. And finally, culture fit. We had a strong culture at Intuitive, and we didn't want remote team members to feel like outsiders.
The solution
Our role went beyond finding candidates. We helped Intuitive understand a new talent market through salary insights, hiring recommendations and ongoing guidance throughout the process. For each role, we focused on finding professionals who combined strong technical experience with the communication skills, independence and cultural alignment needed to succeed in a small, remote team. Communication became one of the most important parts of the partnership. After each interview, we listened closely to the team's feedback and adjusted the search based on what they had learned. Instead of continuing to present similar profiles, we used every conversation to improve the next shortlist. Over more than two years, we supported Intuitive across four different searches:
Each search helped the team gain more confidence hiring internationally and better understand what great global hiring could look like for their company.
If you're an agency or small business that needs skilled talent and wants to grow sustainably, Kala makes that whole thing feel easy.
Results
What started as Intuitive's first experience hiring internationally became a long-term partnership. The company successfully hired four professionals across three Latin American countries:
By expanding its talent market, Intuitive reduced hiring costs by approximately 40% compared to hiring the same roles in the US, while maintaining the experience, communication and quality the team required. Most importantly, the new hires became part of the team rather than operating separately from it. All four continue to thrive in their roles, bringing strong energy, commitment and work ethic to the company.
Great talent is everywhere. You just need the right partner to find it. All four of our hires are thriving. They're thrilled to be doing this work, and their energy and work ethic have raised the bar for our whole team.
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