International technology blog TechCrunch, which has over 12 million unique readers a month, recently published a guest article by Romanian entrepreneur Maria Constantinescu, founder of SlickFlick photo story app, who wrote about Romania's coding talent as alternative in the quest for talent.

She writes about what Romania has to offer in an era when tech entrepreneurs battle over talented people and when startups cannot compete with the likes of Facebook and Twitter in the hiring frenzy. For Romanians, the playing field is levelled. No longer Soviet-era engineers, young Romanians are most likely to be coders, she writes. She presents the lowdown on what's to be expected of Romania's programmers.

“The best Romanian coding talent was noticed by Microsoft in its hay day. It’s now gradually becoming democratised, spread out across more platforms, initially through outsourcing and now through the influx of Western start-ups in search of affordable skills. So what exactly should you expect to find in Romania? What are the pros and cons?,” Maria Constantinescu writes for the TechCrunch.

She mentions the low rates compared to Berlin, London or Sillicon Valley. “You would expect to pay EUR 2,000 (net) for a great developer in Bucharest. The rest of Romania is even cheaper, by about 30%. But beware of the confusing tax systems and bureaucracy.” She highlights the culture, the skills and talent Romania has to offer.

To read the full story, go here.

SlickFlick is a new platform for making, reading and sharing photographic storyboards on the go. Maria Constantinescu is a media lawyer and entrepreneur. She has been listed among the top young entrepreneurs to watch in UK in 2012.

editor@romania-insider.com