External DPO vs. full-time hire: how to decide.
A full-time DPO costs 400–700k NIS a year and takes months to recruit. For most companies at Seed through Series B, that is the wrong answer. Here is the short framework we use with founders.
When Amendment 13 landed, many founders assumed they needed to recruit a full-time, in-house DPO. That instinct is understandable, but in most cases it is the wrong answer — and often structurally so.
The three questions we ask: (1) Does your volume and sensitivity of processing justify a full-time role, or can a fractional DPO reach the same compliance outcome at a fraction of the cost? (2) Can you actually attract a qualified DPO — a licensed attorney with regulatory fluency — in the current market? (3) Is the role about compliance leadership, or about absorbing day-to-day operational work that a well-designed retainer can handle?
For most Seed through Series B companies, an embedded DPO service — someone who joins your Slack, attends your product reviews, and owns the RoPA — gives you stronger compliance coverage than a junior full-time hire, without the payroll burden.