How we partnered with Deel to help founders save upto $1,500 on global hiring
When I started SaaSOffers, I had a simple idea.
There are thousands of software tools for startups, and almost every company advertises discounts or promotions. The problem is that founders often spend hours searching for them, comparing offers, or realizing they missed a better deal after they've already signed up.
I wanted to build a platform that brings those opportunities together and, whenever possible, works directly with SaaS companies to create something more valuable than a standard affiliate offer.
Over the past few months, I've been speaking with founders from different industries, and one topic kept coming up:
Hiring globally is becoming easier but it's still expensive.
Whether you're hiring your first contractor, building a remote engineering team, or expanding into new markets, the operational costs can add up quickly. Payroll, compliance, contracts, and international employment are things that many founders don't think about until they need them.
That's what led me to reach out to the team at Deel.
After several conversations, we were able to launch a collaboration through SaaSOffers that gives eligible startups access to up to $1,500 in Deel credits, which can be applied toward eligible Deel paid plans.
For me, this wasn't just about adding another offer to the website.
It was about proving that a startup-focused platform can work directly with SaaS companies to negotiate benefits that genuinely help founders reduce costs.
One thing I learned throughout this process is that many software companies are surprisingly open to partnering with startup communities. These collaborations don't happen overnight, but if you can demonstrate value and bring the right audience, they're often willing to build something that benefits everyone involved.
This experience also made me think differently about startup ecosystems.
Sometimes, saving money is just as valuable as raising money.
If a founder can reduce operating expenses by a few thousand dollars during the first year, that's budget they can invest elsewhere whether it's product development, marketing, or hiring another team member.
This is exactly the kind of value I want SaaSOffers to provide: practical opportunities that help founders stretch their budgets a little further.
I'm curious to hear from other founders here:
Are you currently hiring internationally?
Which platform are you using for payroll or Employer of Record services?
What's been the biggest challenge you've faced when building a remote team?
If you could negotiate one exclusive startup perk with any SaaS company, which company would it be?
I'd love to hear your experiences and learn what tools have worked well for your businesses.
P.S. If you're interested in the Deel collaboration or want to know whether your startup is eligible for the credits, feel free to ask in the comments. I'm happy to share more details.
The direct-partnership point below is right, but the thing that decides whether Deel renews this isn't the negotiation, it's attribution. If the credits run through a plain 'mention SaaSOffers' or a shared code, Deel can't cleanly see how many paying customers you actually sent, and partnerships quietly die at renewal when the partner can't measure ROI. Before you pitch the next SaaS company, I'd pin down exactly how each side counts a conversion: unique codes, a tracked signup link, or a shared dashboard. The pitch that lands isn't 'we have an audience', it's 'here's the revenue we drove you last quarter, want more?'. How are you tracking the Deel conversions right now?
is it realy easy to build a sass product i always want to become a developer and generate money like this.
The "saving money equals raising money" framing is something I wish I had heard earlier. Spent months chasing investors when cutting costs would have bought the same runway without giving up equity.Also interesting that you approached Deel directly rather than just plugging into their affiliate program. How many people said no before someone actually engaged with the partnership conversation?
Direct partnerships are much more valuable than a page full of affiliate links. If founders know the offers are negotiated, there's a better reason to come back.
"saving money is just as valuable as raising money" is a good line, and honestly underrated by most early founders.
the part i didn't expect: SaaS companies being that open to partnering with small communities. i always assumed you needed size first, good to know the value/audience angle works earlier than that.
nice to see a deal post that's actually a story and not just a coupon drop.
Love this. The strongest part for me is that SaaSOffers turns a boring but painful founder problem into distribution: everyone needs tools, everyone hates overpaying, and good deals create a natural reason to come back.
Also curious: when partnering with Deel, was the main leverage your existing startup audience, the quality of the deal page, or the founder-to-founder angle?
For founders who want to benefit from this offer you can use this link : https://saasoffers.tech/offers/deel
the "small but specific audience beats big generic one" point is real. I'm not even doing partnerships yet but already noticing the same thing with directories, some list barely sends traffic but the users are your exact people, versus stuff with way more reach but nobody who actually cares. easier to negotiate anything, funding or partnerships, when you can say "these are the 200 people who all have this exact problem" instead of "we have a big audience"
Exactly, and "these are the 200 people who all have this exact problem" is a stronger pitch than any reach number. Directories taught me the same thing: the ones that barely send traffic often convert best because everyone who clicks actually cares. Qualified beats big every time, whether you're negotiating funding or a partnership.
One thing I've noticed is that partnerships like this usually come from having a specific audience, not just a large one. A small community of the right founders is often more valuable to SaaS companies than a much bigger but generic audience.
Exactly right. A tight community of the right founders beats a huge generic list every time. Deel didn't care about raw reach, they cared that the audience was actual startup founders who hire globally. Specific and qualified wins over big and vague, every single time.
nice
Congrats on getting the Deel partnership over the line, that's not a small thing to negotiate as a smaller platform. To your question about the biggest challenge building a remote team: from what I see on the hiring side, sourcing is rarely where teams get stuck. It's everything that happens after someone says yes, contracts, compliance, getting them actually paid on time in their local currency. Founders spend so much energy on finding the right person that the "how do we legally employ them" part becomes an afterthought until it's urgent. That's honestly what makes this Deel angle interesting to me, it's solving the part of hiring that doesn't get talked about until it's already a fire. Would be curious whether the founders you talked to brought up onboarding speed as a pain point too, or if cost was really the main driver for most of them.
Thanks! And you nailed it, sourcing was rarely the pain point. Most founders I talked to could find the person, they just froze on the "how do we legally employ them" part, exactly like you said. Cost mattered, but it was usually second to the fear of getting compliance wrong in a country they've never operated in.
Onboarding speed came up too, but more as a symptom, the anxiety was less "this is slow" and more "am I about to do something illegal." That's why the Deel angle clicked, it takes the whole scary part off the table.
If global hiring is on your radar, the credits are live: get.deel.com/1500
That's such a sharp distinction, "am I doing something illegal" is a very different fear than "this is slow." Makes total sense the partnership landed the way it did, you're removing fear, not just friction.
This is a solid write-up. I really liked your point that saving money can be just as valuable as raising it especially for early-stage startups where every dollar extends the runway.
One thing I'm curious about: when you first approached Deel, did you lead with data about your audience, or was it more about building the relationship over time?
I'm building a startup myself, so I'm always interested in how founders land their first meaningful partnerships with larger companies.
Thanks! Bit of both, but data opened the door. I led with the audience numbers, Reddit traction and founder count, because that's what gets a reply. The relationship built from there over a few rounds of conversation. My take: lead with proof the audience is real and engaged, then let trust develop once they see you're serious.
That's a great way to think about it. Appreciate you sharing the process. One follow up: what kind of proof mattered most in those early conversations? Was it monthly active users, newsletter subscribers, website traffic, or simply having an engaged niche audience? I'm trying to understand what larger companies value most when deciding whether to partner with an early stage startup.
this is actually pretty smart. i feel like everyone obsesses over raising money but barely talks about how much you can save by negotiating better software deals. how did you get deel to actually agree to the partnership
Thanks! Honestly it came down to showing them the audience was real. I didn't pitch, I just shared the Reddit traction and founder numbers and let that do the talking. Once a partner sees you can bring people who'll actually use the product, the conversation gets easy.
If global hiring is on your radar, the Deel credits are live: get.deel.com/1500
Your line about software companies being surprisingly open to partnerships matches 20 years I spent in the Microsoft channel: vendors will trade real money for a qualified audience because credits are cheaper than their blended CAC. That is also your negotiating lever with the next partner, show them conversion data from the Deel deal, not signup counts. The partner list compounds once you can prove one deal converted.
This is gold, thank you. Conversion data over signup counts is exactly right, "this deal converted X paying customers" is undeniable in a way signup numbers never are. Building that tracking into every partnership now so I walk into the next one with proof, not promises.
Nice work. I like that you talked to the company first instead of only using affiliate links. One idea that could make this even more useful is adding a short guide with every deal. Explain who should use it, who should skip it, and the real cost after the credits end. A few founder stories would help too. That makes it easier for people to decide if the offer fits their stage instead of signing up just because there is a discount.
Really solid idea, and it's going on the roadmap. The "who should skip it" part especially, that's the kind of honesty that builds trust and it's rare in a deals platform. Founder stories are the harder lift but probably the most convincing, so I'll start collecting those. Appreciate you taking the time to think it through.
The point about saving money being as valuable as raising money is underrated. Most early stage founders are so focused on the funding conversation they ignore the fact that cutting $1,500 in costs has the same effect on the runway as raising $1,500. The Deel partnership model is interesting too. Direct partnerships with SaaS companies rather than standard affiliate deals is a much better value prop for your audience. Curious how long the initial outreach to Deel took before they were willing to have a real conversation about it.
Agreed, cutting $1,500 and raising $1,500 do the same thing to your runway, but only one costs you equity.
Outreach to a real conversation took about 4 weeks
If global hiring is on your radar, the Deel credits from that partnership are live: get.deel.com/1500
I agree with this statement: "Sometimes, saving money is just as valuable as raising money." SaasOffers seems like a great tool, and I think I’ll likely use it. I see that you used Reddit, and since the AI is advising me to use it too, thanks for confirming what the AI told me.
That's exactly why I lean on Reddit and community posts over paid ads. Show up in real conversations and the answer engines start surfacing you naturally.
Nameless_Eternal here that was something good