Outsource to Profits Podcast

Why Recurring Revenue Starts with Real Pain

Episode 84
Recurring Value, Not Just Revenue: How to Build Products People Actually Need
 
About the Host: 
Jamie Shanks, Founder and CEO of Get Levrg and Pipeline Signals, is a leader in offshoring, sales enablement, and business growth. He founded Sales for Life, training 250,000+ professionals globally for companies like Microsoft and Oracle. Jamie specializes in scaling profit growth through strategic offshoring and account-based intelligence. A sought-after thought leader, he empowers businesses with actionable insights to streamline operations and drive sustainable success in competitive markets.
 
About the Guest:
Nilufer Erdebil is the CEO of Spring2 Innovation, a strategic consulting firm helping organizations drive innovation with clarity and purpose. With a background in software development and over a decade of experience across public and private sectors, she bridges the gap between technology and human behavior. Nilufer champions the people side of digital transformation and guides teams through her proprietary Deeper Clarity Method—a framework to align leadership, empathize with customers, and build solutions that deliver real, lasting value.
 
Guest Info: 
Name: Nilufer Erdebil 
Designation: CEO 
Organization: Spring2 Innovation 
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/erdebil
 
Episode Summary: 
In this impactful episode of Outsource to Profits, Jamie Shanks speaks with Nilufer Erdebil, CEO of Spring2 Innovation, to explore the essential difference between building features and delivering true, recurring value. Drawing on her background in R&D, software, and human-centered design, Nilufer explains why many teams unknowingly build “vitamin” products—nice-to-haves—when they should be focused on “painkillers” that solve urgent, monetizable problems. Through real-world stories, client pivots, and her proprietary Deeper Clarity Method, Nilufer shares how to uncover what customers truly need—even when they don’t say it directly. For founders and product leaders struggling with misaligned offerings or stalled growth, this episode is a clear path back to what matters: value, relevance, and scalable innovation.
Key Takeaways:
Recurring revenue only thrives when you're delivering recurring, meaningful value.
Painkiller products solve urgent problems—vitamin products usually don't sell.
Empathy and deep customer insight are the foundation of innovation.
Founders must prioritize customer needs over personal preferences.
Understanding your customer’s customer reveals hidden risks and opportunities.
Innovation is not about features—it’s about solving real pain.
Product-market fit requires continuous validation, not assumptions.
Scalable success comes from mindset shifts, not just better tools.
Future-proof products blend technology with human behavior.
The Deeper Clarity Method helps teams align, empathize, and build what truly matters.
#ProductMarketFit #InnovationStrategy #CustomerCentric #RecurringRevenue #BusinessGrowth #DigitalTransformation #LeadershipAlignment

How Founders Waste Capital and Time

Episode 82
Built to Last: Escaping the Capital Trap with Julie Richt
 
About the Host: 
Jamie Shanks, Founder and CEO of Get Levrg and Pipeline Signals, is a leader in offshoring, sales enablement, and business growth. He founded Sales for Life, training 250,000+ professionals globally for companies like Microsoft and Oracle. Jamie specializes in scaling profit growth through strategic offshoring and account-based intelligence. A sought-after thought leader, he empowers businesses with actionable insights to streamline operations and drive sustainable success in competitive markets.
 
About the Guest:
Julie Richt is the President and Founder of Lucid Insurance Group, a specialty commercial lines wholesaler and managing general agency. With years of experience in scaling ventures and navigating both equity and debt landscapes, Julie brings a deeply strategic perspective to entrepreneurship. She believes in building enduring companies through smart financial decisions, disciplined growth, and a strong operational foundation—prioritizing long-term EBITDA over short-term fundraising headlines.
 
Guest Info: 
Name: Julie Richt 
Designation: President and Founder 
Organization: Lucid Insurance 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jricht13/
 
Episode Summary: 
In this compelling episode of Outsource to Profits, Julie Richt, founder of Lucid Insurance Group, joins Jamie Shanks to challenge the modern startup mindset that glorifies capital raising as the pinnacle of success. Julie dives deep into her personal journey of bootstrapping and fundraising, explaining why chasing funding year after year can derail real profitability and operational health. She shares the financial models and mindset shifts founders need to adopt—emphasizing the importance of strategic capitalization, recurring revenue, and disciplined reinvestment. Whether you're navigating between debt and equity or struggling with short-term vs. long-term decisions, Julie’s framework offers a refreshing, grounded lens for sustainable business building. Tune in to learn why eating what you kill—and feeding the business first—might be the most underrated strategy in the entrepreneurial playbook.
 
Key Takeaways:
Raising capital isn't the goal—building a profitable business is.
Founders should plan 3–6 years ahead, not raise yearly out of necessity.
Use capital to grow strategically, not to cover poor operations.
Choose debt or equity based on long-term control and revenue visibility.
Recurring revenue provides stability that project-based models lack.
Reinvest early profits into growth, not personal payout.
Take care of your team to boost productivity and retention.
Understand how cuttable your service is from clients’ budgets.
Financial literacy is essential for smart founder decisions.
Vision, patience, and grit outperform hype and fast funding.
 
#StartupStrategy #FoundersJourney #Bootstrapping #CapitalRaising #ProfitFirst #RecurringRevenue #EquityVsDebt #SustainableGrowth #EntrepreneurMindset #FounderFinance #BusinessPodcast #StartupMistakes #BuildToLast #FinancialDiscipline #SmartScaling

Why Founders Must Understand Finance

Episode 81
“Profit Is the Point: Renée Warren’s Blueprint for Doing Less, Earning More, and Scaling Smart”
About the Host: 
Jamie Shanks, Founder and CEO of Get Levrg and Pipeline Signals, is a leader in offshoring, sales enablement, and business growth. He founded Sales for Life, training 250,000+ professionals globally for companies like Microsoft and Oracle. Jamie specializes in scaling profit growth through strategic offshoring and account-based intelligence. A sought-after thought leader, he empowers businesses with actionable insights to streamline operations and drive sustainable success in competitive markets.
About the Guest:
Renée Warren is the Founder of The Pink Skirt Project and a seasoned PR coach for female entrepreneurs. Formerly the founder of a successful PR agency that served funded tech startups across North America, Renée grew her business to over $1M in revenue with high-margin profitability—all while operating from a small town in Canada and raising two children. Today, she channels her expertise into podcasting, empowering women through events, and helping founders reclaim time, profit, and purpose in their businesses.
Guest Info: 
Name: Renée Warren 
Designation: Founder & PR Coach 
Organization: The Pink Skirt Project 
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/warrenrenee
 
Episode Summary: 
In this power-packed episode of Outsource to Profits, host Jamie Shanks sits down with Renée Warren, a former PR agency founder who rebuilt her business model from the ground up. Renée opens up about the realities behind agency burnout, bloated service offerings, and the myth that more work means more growth. She shares how a deeper understanding of the Labor Efficiency Ratio and disciplined time tracking and cost analysis helped her cut low-ROI services and double down on what truly moved the needle. The result? Leaner operations, happier teams, and a radically more profitable business. This episode is a must-listen for any founder or agency owner looking to scale with clarity, reduce overwhelm, and build a business that runs on purpose, not pressure.
Key Takeaways:
Labor Efficiency Ratio reveals how profitably your team works.
Time tracking uncovers hidden costs and inefficiencies.
Niching down leads to higher margins and better client outcomes.
More work doesn’t mean more profit—simplify to scale.
Cutting low-ROI services boosts operational focus.
Overworked teams drain both morale and profit.
Profitability starts with clear, intentional service design.
Founders must understand key financial metrics to grow sustainably.
#LaborEfficiency #ProfitFirst #ScaleSmart #AgencyLife #FounderJourney #TimeTracking #OperationalEfficiency #ServiceBusiness #EntrepreneurPodcast #FemaleFounders #AgencyGrowth #BusinessOptimization #LeanOperations #NicheDown #SmartScaling #CreativeEntrepreneurs #AgencyStrategy #FinancialClarity #SustainableGrowth #EfficiencyMatters

Building Culture-Aligned Offshore Teams

Episode 80
From Cost-Cutting to Culture: The New Age of Global Team Building
 
About the Host: 
Jamie Shanks, Founder and CEO of Get Levrg and Pipeline Signals, is a leader in offshoring, sales enablement, and business growth. He founded Sales for Life, training 250,000+ professionals globally for companies like Microsoft and Oracle. Jamie specializes in scaling profit growth through strategic offshoring and account-based intelligence. A sought-after thought leader, he empowers businesses with actionable insights to streamline operations and drive sustainable success in competitive markets.
 
About the Guest:
Gregory Butler is the founder of ZuCasa, a company pioneering B2B video social engagement through proprietary compression technology. With decades of experience managing global teams across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, Gregory combines tech innovation with deep operational insight. His leadership philosophy centers around cultural empathy, quality-first hiring, and delivering excellence through globally distributed teams.
 
Guest Info: 
Name: Gregory Butler 
Designation: Founder 
Organization: ZuCasa 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorycbutler?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
 
Episode Summary: 
In this episode of Outsource to Profits, host Jamie Shanks sits down with Gregory Butler to unpack the real power behind building and managing globally distributed teams. Gregory shares how his company achieves 24/7 productivity—not by stretching people thin, but by embracing strategic outsourcing and aligning work across time zones. He discusses the importance of cultural awareness, not leading with cost, and creating scalable systems where quality never takes a back seat. From his personal lessons in leadership ego to the pitfalls of ignoring cultural nuance, Gregory offers a masterclass in scaling services globally — the right way. Whether you're a startup founder or scaling a remote team, this episode will help you think beyond borders and operate with empathy, clarity, and consistency.
 
Key Takeaways:
Hire by Time Zone: Scale operations without burning out your team.
Quality Over Cost: Don’t sacrifice excellence for savings.
Culture Matters: Understand communication and values across regions.
Radical Transparency Wins: Honest feedback builds trust and speed.
Ditch the Ego: Lead with empathy, not defensiveness.
Support While You Sleep: 24/7 delivery is a strategic edge.
Smart Scaling Is Orchestration: Match the right roles to the right region.
Yes Doesn’t Always Mean Yes: Clarify expectations in cross-cultural teams.
#RemoteWork #Outsourcing #GlobalTeams #Leadership #ScaleWithoutBurnout #TimeZoneLeadership #CulturalIntelligence #RadicalTransparency #QualityOverCost #OffshoreExcellence #RemoteTeamCulture #SmartHiring #GlobalDeliveryModel #FounderLessons

Fixing the Cold Email Problem Forever

Episode 79
Outreach Reimagined: How Warm Relationships Drive Scalable Growth
 
About the Host: 
Jamie Shanks, Founder and CEO of Get Levrg and Pipeline Signals, is a leader in offshoring, sales enablement, and business growth. He founded Sales for Life, training 250,000+ professionals globally for companies like Microsoft and Oracle. Jamie specializes in scaling profit growth through strategic offshoring and account-based intelligence. A sought-after thought leader, he empowers businesses with actionable insights to streamline operations and drive sustainable success in competitive markets.
About the Guest:
Dave Sifry is a nine-time serial entrepreneur and the CEO of WarmStart.ai, where he’s reengineering how businesses build pipeline—one trusted relationship at a time. A born builder and relational thinker, Dave created WarmStart to help founders scale outreach through warm, meaningful connections hidden inside their inboxes and networks. With a background in engineering and a deep love for startup chaos, Dave’s story is proof that trust still closes more deals than tactics ever will.
 
Guest Info: 
Name: Dave Sifry 
Designation: CEO 
Organization: Warmstart.ai 
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dsifry
Episode Summary: 
Forget cold emails, scraped lists, and robotic BDR campaigns. They’re noisy, impersonal, and slowly dying. In this episode of Outsourced Profits, Jamie Shanks welcomes Dave Sifry, the mind behind WarmStart.ai—a game-changing platform built for founders who believe relationships, not reach, win deals. Dave shares how he turned old email threads into warm, qualified leads—and then built a tool that does it at scale. They dive deep into the “sphere of influence” model, AI-enhanced personal outreach, and why social proximity should be every seller’s secret weapon. Whether you’re building your first agency or scaling your next SaaS, this conversation will reshape how you approach growth. Because — the best prospects? They already know your name.
 
Key Takeaways:
Cold outreach burns resources with low return.
Warm leads convert faster and trust more.
Your network holds untapped sales potential.
Referrals scale through the 'sphere of influence' model.
Your inbox is a hidden goldmine of leads.
AI can personalize and scale warm outreach.
Personalized messages cut through the noise.
Sales success starts with relationships, not lists.
 
#WarmOutreach #RelationshipSelling #DemandGeneration #SalesStrategy #FounderLedSales #SalesInnovation #B2BSales #StartupGrowth #OutboundMarketing #ReferralMarketing #WarmStartAI #PipelineGrowth #NoMoreColdEmails #SocialSelling #TrustEconomy #ProspectSmarter #SalesAutomation #AIForSales #StartupFounders #SaaSGrowth

How Founders Rethink Growth with Offshore Execution

Episode 78
Built to Scale: Founders on the Future of Offshore Growth
 
About the Host: 
Jamie Shanks, Founder and CEO of Get Levrg and Pipeline Signals, is a leader in offshoring, sales enablement, and business growth. He founded Sales for Life, training 250,000+ professionals globally for companies like Microsoft and Oracle. Jamie specializes in scaling profit growth through strategic offshoring and account-based intelligence. A sought-after thought leader, he empowers businesses with actionable insights to streamline operations and drive sustainable success in competitive markets.
 
About the Guest:
Dom Colasante is the CEO of 2X, the largest B2B marketing execution firm in the world, with over 1,000 team members delivering revenue results for global enterprises. As a former CMO turned operator, Dom knows firsthand what it takes to scale — and what holds most companies back. His belief? Execution is the bottleneck, and offshore talent is the unlock. 
Guest Info:
Name: Dom Colasante
Organization: 2X
Designation: CEO
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/domeniccolasante?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Episode Summary: 
In this episode, Jamie Shanks, CEO of Get Levrg, sits down with Dom Colasante, CEO of 2X, to tell the raw and honest story of how their companies came together — not from hype but from hard-earned lessons. Jamie opens up about what it felt like to build a multi-million-dollar team that looked good from the outside — and nearly collapsed the business from within. Dom shares his parallel path: scaling a B2B marketing engine while realizing traditional hiring models were burning budget without delivering scale. What follows is a story of alignment — not just in values but in vision. Get Levrg was built for founder-led businesses. 2X was built for enterprise execution. Together, they're not just solving the same problem — they're building a new category for revenue leaders who are tired of doing more with less.
Tune in to hear:
The financial mistakes that changed how these founders build
Why offshore execution is more than cost savings — it’s capacity
What the grape vs. watermelon analogy really means
How you can stop bottlenecking growth and start scaling smart
 
Key Takeaways:
Execution is the real growth limiter, not strategy or vision.
Offshore talent unlocks capacity, not just cost savings.
2X and Get Levrg serve different markets—enterprise vs. founder-led—but solve the same problem.
Both companies were born from financial pain and a need for smarter operations.
Offshore execution enables financial discipline and operational leverage.
This partnership creates a new category in GTM execution services.
Founders must rethink local hiring bias to scale efficiently.
The 'grape vs. watermelon' mindset shows the power of strategic collaboration.

Designing Freedom Into Your Business Model

Episode 77
Escaping the Prison of Your Own Business: Reclaiming Vision and Freedom
 
About the Host: 
Jamie Shanks, Founder and CEO of Get Levrg and Pipeline Signals, is a leader in offshoring, sales enablement, and business growth. He founded Sales for Life, training 250,000+ professionals globally for companies like Microsoft and Oracle. Jamie specializes in scaling profit growth through strategic offshoring and account-based intelligence. A sought-after thought leader, he empowers businesses with actionable insights to streamline operations and drive sustainable success in competitive markets.
About the Guest:
Josselyne Herman-Saccio is a transformational coach, speaker, and founder of United Global Shift, a nonprofit driving impact across 20+ countries. With over 30 years of experience, she has coached 200,000+ individuals—from CEOs and entrepreneurs to artists and activists—helping them break through limitations and lead with vision. Creator of the Be Unmessable With method, Josselyne specializes in empowering founders to escape burnout, reclaim time, and build intentional businesses. 
Guest Info: 
Name: Josselyne Herman-Saccio 
Designation: Founder  
Organization: United Global Shift 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josselyne-herman-saccio-9b9752a
 
Episode Summary: 
In this episode of Outsource to Profits, host Jamie Shanks is joined by transformational coach Josselyne Herman-Saccio to talk about a common founder dilemma—when the business you built starts to feel like a burden instead of a breakthrough. Josselyne breaks down why so many entrepreneurs shift from being visionary creators to overwhelmed managers. She shares why founders often get stuck doing everything themselves, how the myth of the “lifestyle business” creates pressure, and what to do when success starts to feel like a trap. You’ll learn how to audit your time, identify energy-draining tasks, and refocus on high-value work that aligns with your vision. This episode also covers mindset shifts, delegation strategies, and how to design a business that supports your life—not swallows it. If you're feeling stuck, spread too thin, or constantly in reaction mode, this conversation offers real, practical insights to help you reset and lead with clarity.
Key Takeaways:
Founders often become prisoners of the businesses they create by holding onto too many responsibilities.
Vision is the foundation of leadership—losing sight of it leads to burnout and disengagement.
The term “lifestyle business” is unfairly stigmatized, though it often reflects a sustainable, intentional model.
The management mode drains energy and disconnects leaders from creativity and strategic focus.
Founders must transition from doing everything to building systems and empowering others.
Time audits are critical—track tasks, energy levels, and outcomes to eliminate low-value activities.
Focus on $500/hour value creation, not $5/hour tasks like admin or manual follow-ups.
Set non-negotiable boundaries to protect your energy, vision, and time.
Leadership is not just about output—it's about creating space for long-term impact.
Build your business from the start with freedom and scale in mind, even before hiring.
 
#FounderMindset #EntrepreneurshipJourney #VisionaryLeadership #BurnoutRecovery #BuildToScale #FounderFreedom #StartupLeadership #UnmessableWith #TimeManagementTips #OutsourceToProfits #BusinessCoaching #DelegationStrategy #LifestyleBusiness #ScaleWithSystems #EntrepreneurPodcast

Fixing Broken Talent Acquisition Models

Episode 76
Culture, Compatibility & Clarity: The Real ROI of Smart Executive Hiring
 
About the Host: 
Jamie Shanks, Founder and CEO of Get Levrg and Pipeline Signals, is a leader in offshoring, sales enablement, and business growth. He founded Sales for Life, training 250,000+ professionals globally for companies like Microsoft and Oracle. Jamie specializes in scaling profit growth through strategic offshoring and account-based intelligence. A sought-after thought leader, he empowers businesses with actionable insights to streamline operations and drive sustainable success in competitive markets.
 
About the Guest:
Andy Roads is the Co-founder and CEO of High Altitude Recruiting, one of the fastest-growing executive search firms in the food & beverage industry. With over 14 years of corporate and agency recruiting experience, he helps brands secure senior talent that fuels growth and scales with the business. Known for his 96% fill rate and no-nonsense approach, Andy is the go-to recruiter for companies seeking cultural alignment and long-term leadership fit. 
 
Guest Info: 
Name: Andy Roads 
Designation: Co-founder & CEO 
Organization: High Altitude Recruiting 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewroads
 
Episode Summary: 
 
Hiring the right talent isn’t just about ticking boxes on a resume—it’s about aligning values, vision, and growth. In this eye-opening episode, Andy Roads, CEO of High Altitude Recruiting, joined Jamie Shanks to reveal the hidden costs of misaligned hires and the power of intentional executive recruitment. From the “beer test” to deep intake sessions, Andy shares how to spot candidates who will survive in your company and scale with it. Learn how C-level involvement, cultural fit, and strategic foresight can transform your hiring process and set your business up for long-term success. Whether you're a founder aiming for your next growth milestone or a hiring leader tired of bad fits, this conversation delivers actionable insights you won't want to miss.
 
Key Takeaways:
Hiring for culture and future growth is more impactful than hiring for skills alone.
Executive searches require active involvement from C-level leaders to avoid misalignment and churn.
Cultural fit can’t be measured on paper—real interactions reveal true compatibility.
Long-term success comes from hiring leaders who can scale with the company, not just solve today’s problems.
Retained search partnerships deliver higher-quality results than transactional recruiting models.
#ExecutiveRecruiting #FoodAndBeverageIndustry #TalentAcquisition #LeadershipHiring #CPGRecruitment #HighAltitudeRecruiting #CulturalFit #FutureProofHiring #FandBLeadership #GrowthHiring #StartupScaling #RetainedSearch #RecruitmentStrategy #TeamBuilding #FoundersAndCEOs