# Why and How to Outsource and Grow Your Company

> A NachoTuesday interview — the C-Suite Insights series from NachoNacho, the B2B SaaS and AI
> marketplace. In conversation with Roland Polzin, Co-Founder and CMO, Wing Assistant.

- **Page:** https://nachonacho.com/nachotuesday/video/Why-and-How-to-Outsource-and-Grow-Your-Company
- **Guest:** Roland Polzin, Co-Founder and CMO, Wing Assistant
- **Guest on LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/in/rolandpolzin/
- **Recorded:** 2023-04-12
- **Watch:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDU9cIW8eP0

## Summary

In this NachoTuesday Andy Karuza interviews Roland Polzin, Co-Founder and CMO of Wing Assistant. In this interview, they covered the opportunity that exists with global hiring today. They discussed not only the opportunities but also the pitfalls that come with outsourcing talent. They also cover why you shouldn't be afraid to outsource talent, how to successfully outsource, tips for finding success in a global economy, and growth and product launch tips for entrepreneurs. Prepare yourself to navigate the global business environment with this compelling interview.

## Product discussed

- **Name:** Wing Assistant
- **Page:** https://nachonacho.com/product/Wing
- **What it is:** Wing puts a dedicated, AI-trained assistant in a company's tools so recurring work moves without supervision.
- **NachoNacho deal:** 10% CASHBACK All Plans. Forever.
- **Estimated savings:** Save up to $2,039/year

## Full transcript

Good afternoon, everyone. This is Andy Karuza with NachoNacho, a place where you can manage, discover, and save on SaaS. Today, we have a co-founder, Roland Polzin—is that am I saying that correctly? Well, you pronounce it "Paul-seen," but everyone says "Paul-sin." It's fine. I apologize for butchering names. I'll get it correct from now on. So, we have Roland Polzin here from Wing Assistant, a great company for outsourcing personal assistants from across the world. He's here to give us a quick elevator pitch on what his company does, and then we'd love to pick his brain about the world of outsourcing and how it's an opportunity for many companies these days to think globally and grow. Yeah, absolutely. So, if you want me to give a quick elevator pitch, what I can tell you is that we provide typically small and medium-sized businesses, so startups, but also executives and teams of organizations, with remote talent. If they want to outsource or delegate any tasks, typically recurring tasks where they would need either a part-time or full-time team member, Winged Assistant would be exactly the right decision. We can supply them with high-quality talent that's affordable at the same time. They can outsource things like social media management or general data entry tasks, etc. Pretty good elevator pitch. I've been in an elevator before and maybe had two, three, four floors to do it, and I was able to rattle that off. But you know, definitely have been in that situation where you're like, "Okay, do I have 10 seconds or 30 seconds to really get the point across?" So I think it depends on the building, right? How much how far up the elevator is going to go? I live in New York City now, so some of them are pretty tall, so some people don't want to talk that much, so they might get out a couple of floors early. Yep. I've been there. So, I got another great question for you. Why shouldn't companies be afraid of outsourcing today? Why would they be? Yeah, I mean, look, I know there's a bit of a stigma when it comes to outsourcing. Some people feel like it's stealing jobs from their home country, or it has a big stigma around quality, accents, and all these things that people are afraid of. But most of these concerns aren't really valid when you are partnering with the right company. Obviously, we are the right company, but to be honest, there are quite a few companies out there that do a really good job. So, it really depends on what type of work you want to outsource, and why would you be afraid? If you have stuff that needs to be done, and you can do it remotely, then outsourcing is the best way to go because you can find high-quality talent at an affordable price that is highly motivated. You're basically expanding the pool of labor you're tapping into, and that only has advantages. And what are some things that you look out for when trying to outsource and find the right person for your company? What are some key indicators that this might be the right personnel that you would want to bring onto your team? Again, it always depends on the use case and the type of work or tasks that you want to delegate and outsource. It doesn't really matter whether you outsource it to someone in the Philippines, Latin America, India, or someone living in the same city just working remotely. It all Make sure to provide a timeline with a clear deadline when delegating tasks to someone else. This ensures that the person knows exactly what needs to be done and by when. Another helpful tip, which could be considered a work-life hack, is to conduct daily stand-ups with your team. In the morning, have them post a brief update on Discord or any other communication platform, outlining the projects and tasks they will be working on that day. It's beneficial to include a link to the respective task in your task management system, such as ClickUp. This way, everyone is aware of their responsibilities, and you, as a manager or leader, can ensure that everyone is aligned and heading in the right direction. At the end of the day, they can share which tasks they completed, ongoing tasks, any unplanned occurrences, and any obstacles they encountered. Even if you're unable to check in with each team member individually throughout the day, you'll still have a comprehensive understanding of what your team is working on. If necessary, you can always schedule a call for further communication. ClickUp is also a great task management tool that I personally love and have used extensively in the past. Regarding the structure of daily stand-ups, for my team, it's simply a written message at the beginning and end of each day. We also have a weekly team meeting where we follow the same format, but on a broader scale, providing updates, addressing questions, and sharing requests. Now, moving on to the challenges that companies often face when managing outsourced talent. As you mentioned earlier, inadequate communication, unclear job roles, and poor task management are significant issues. Another critical aspect, especially for sales personnel or outbound sales callers, is having well-defined processes and systems in place. These individuals rely on established workflows, access to leads, CRM platforms, and email systems to perform successfully. If these processes are not set up properly, the chances of failure increase significantly. When it comes to embracing the opportunities in a global economy, being globally oriented allows you to tap into a broader pool of talent while keeping costs reasonable. Instead of limiting your hiring to local candidates, you can access skilled professionals from different countries at more affordable rates. When expanding your marketing campaigns globally, it's essential to consider cultural differences, varying laws, and the differences in marketing channels. Even seemingly similar markets, like the US and Canada, have significant distinctions that can affect campaign performance. So it's crucial to be mindful of these factors when targeting international audiences. Now, let me share the story of how our company was founded and some interesting behind-the-scenes details. Initially, we started as a concierge app at UC Irvine, aiming to complete tasks for busy individuals. We offered a one-stop shop experience, handling various errands and requests, such as dry cleaning, grocery shopping, or planning a date. Our app integrated with third-party services like Instacart, Fandango, and OpenTable, utilizing AI to understand and route requests. However, when the lockdown happened in 2020, the demand for our services declined drastically. This prompted us to pivot our business model. Fortunately, we were participating in the UC Berkeley Skydeck accelerator at that time, which provided us with resources and the opportunity to experiment. We realized that our existing technology could be repurposed for a business context, particularly with the shift to remote work. This pivot turned out to be a successful move for us. It's inspiring to see how you can turn challenges into opportunities, as my friend did with their yoga studio. March of 2020. The timing was right, so he had to figure out the whole business model shifting to doing online streaming for his first company. Now, everything's back to normal, but for about a year, he had to figure out how to make ends meet. Many entrepreneurs have a similar story, so it's good to see him come out on the good side of that. Thanks for sharing. So, have you ever had any other experiences as an entrepreneur where you failed, and what did you learn from it? On a weekly basis, I'm honest. You always have things that don't work out, and that's a good thing because it shows that you're trying things and gaining experience. If we think about that period between when COVID hit and when we introduced our current business model, there were a couple of failures. For example, we tried to create a concierge app for Airbnb hosts. We put a lot of effort into it, but there was no response. The hosts weren't ready for it, and that was disheartening. However, we stayed persistent and pivoted to the next thing, which ultimately helped us. So, failure is a part of the journey, and it's important to learn from it and keep moving forward. That's a great tip for other entrepreneurs as well. Sometimes you're ahead of the curve, and the market is not ready for your idea yet. I've been in that situation too, where people didn't believe in influencer marketing over a decade ago. So, what other tips would you give entrepreneurs looking to launch a SaaS product? What should they look out for when starting a company? If you already have a product, it's crucial to ensure that it solves a problem people want. Customer discovery is essential. Go out and interview potential customers, ask for their time, and gather feedback. Understand if your solution addresses their pain points and if there is a market need. This alignment is vital for success. Sometimes entrepreneurs fall in love with their ideas and are afraid to receive critical feedback. But it's important to listen to customers and adapt accordingly. Raising money is not the definition of success. Understanding customers and solving their problems should be the focus. You mentioned changing customer behavior and how it can be challenging to encourage them to try something new. To tackle this, there are two key points. First, target early adopters who are curious and open to trying new things. Finding these individuals can be difficult, but they play a crucial role in validating your product. Second, iterate your product based on their feedback. Make it captivating, convenient, and gamify certain aspects. This process requires collaboration between marketing, engineering, product teams, and the users themselves. If you can achieve this, it will be the key to success. Absolutely. Finding those early innovators can be a game-changer for a company. Sometimes your customers might surprise you, and you might discover an entirely new type of customer or market. It's essential to listen to the early users and adapt accordingly, as they can lead you to new opportunities. On the other hand, sticking too much to your initial assumptions without considering their feedback can lead to failure. Being open and responsive to your customers' needs is crucial for long-term success. Um, where would you look for early adopters? I guess, uh, would you look on Product Hunt? That was a great example. Um, what other areas do you recommend? Yeah, Product Hunt, certain Reddit channels. Um, you could go to Hacker News, from Y Combinator, their blog or their news site. Uh, there are a couple of other forums and platforms out there. Um, probably like a ton that I don't even know about, so yeah, Google will help you find that out. Uh, and another thing, it really depends on your personal, say again, well, like where to find early adopters. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I mean, GPD4 is probably smart enough to give a couple of good answers. Like tap into your network, right? Everyone has a network, and the better, the closer your friends, the more they're inclined to be those early adopters, to really leverage your own network, leverage the network of your co-founders, your family maybe, you're at a university, or you have contacts to a university and have a student population who would be willing to do certain things for you, maybe for a free meal. That always works really well, so be creative about that. That would be my advice. And then, yeah, think about how to incentivize those people and make it an experience for them. Yeah, and for a lot of these people too, you don't even have to monetarily incentivize them. A lot of people just like being a part of something cool or having a first, right? And a lot of business models, like Product Hunt, are built on that kind of experience, same with Indiegogo or Kickstarter. A lot of people try a new product they've never heard of before, risk some cold hard cash upfront just to be a part of something new. Absolutely, and those platforms are good additions. Oh, great! So, what are your favorite books that you're reading right now? I mean, obviously, you read Crossing the Chasm. Well, yeah, I mean, what I really like, I often read online articles, so I would say it doesn't always have to be a book. Um, but yeah, there are a bunch of good online articles out there. Um, I'm currently reading, actually, "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey. Um, I'm not done yet, so I can't give the final review, but, uh, yeah, I'm about halfway through and it's really good. What I like about it is that it's not really like one of those books that tell you, "Hey, this is a to-do list and if you check all of these, you're certainly a better manager." It really goes back to, "Okay, what are the roots? Like, how do you have to change yourself? How do you become a principled leader? And what are the principles that you have to follow?" And that turns out to be a very deep question, right? And to reflect upon yourself, to reflect upon your values and what you really want to go after, sort of a vision. That's all interrelated, even with company culture, right? So, if you ultimately go into building a business and have other people collaborate with you, and there will be a company culture, and that will be especially coined by the co-founders. So, it's super essential that you yourself know about that. So, yeah, that would be the book I'm currently reading, and I think it's a pretty good reading. That's a great point. I love that you brought up the concept of a foundation, right? Thanks for having me in today.

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