Philippines for Broad Roles

Shaan Puri and Nick Huber believe that task-based testing before interviews is a superior hiring method, and that global talent—including executive-level positions—can be hired at significantly lower costs without sacrificing quality. They've learned through experience that focus on one channel and avoiding premature diversification is critical for business success.

Key Points on Hiring:

• Task-Based Tests Over Interviews:

  • Give candidates a 60-90 minute paid task that simulates actual work
  • This provides clarity on what you're actually looking for in a hire
  • Creates objective comparison between candidates based on production, not likability
  • Saves money and time by avoiding false hires from "nice chat" interviews
  • Pay candidates for their time—it's worth the investment

• Global Executive Talent is Underutilized:

  • Most people assume C-suite roles need expensive local/American hires with big pedigrees
  • You can find executive-level talent globally with MBAs, perfect English, and 12+ years of international company experience
  • This is an even bigger hack than hiring junior/mid-level talent globally
  • These executives are hungry, low maintenance, and hardworking

• Geographic Hotspots for Specific Roles:

  • Egypt (Cairo): Cheapest city globally, magic with Excel and Power BI for finance/data analyst roles
  • Colombia and Brazil: Unbelievable for operations, same time zone as US
  • South America generally: Amazing for any role that doesn't require perfect English or isn't sales-focused
  • South Africa: Hub for sales and finance—30,000 South Africans work for Big Four consulting firms annually, then return home where you can hire them as controllers for $30k/month
  • Sri Lanka: Great for almost all roles
  • Philippines: 30 million Filipinos currently work for American companies—deeply ingrained in their culture

Key Points on Business Focus:

• The Power of Single-Channel Mastery:

  • Shaan's mentor told him: "Don't say the word 'influencers' until you're at $300k/month just off Facebook"
  • Started at $100k/month revenue, wanted to add influencers and Google
  • The question: "Is there any reason Facebook can't get you to $300k?" Answer: No
  • Kept scaling: $300k → $500k → $1M per month, all from Facebook ads
  • Five years later, still doesn't do influencer marketing—didn't need it
  • Successful ecom brands should be spending $1M+ per month in Facebook ads alone

• Focus Means Saying No:

  • Steve Jobs quote: "Focus is not about what you say yes to, it's about saying no to otherwise great ideas"
  • Most useful advice wasn't new strategies or hacks—it was constraint and discipline
  • Don't distract yourself with what sounds like a good idea

• Profitability Reality Check:

  • Nick's company was spending $150k/month on paid ads
  • ROAS was barely breaking even
  • When calculated down to actual profit: only making $15-20k/month
  • Sometimes you need to cut what looks successful on the surface

Key Points on Portfolio Management:

• The Humbling of Diversification:

  • Nick started 11 companies from 2016 onward (SEO, storage, marketing, sales consulting, business brokerage, etc.)
  • Thought: "I got the hot hand, my audience is super powerful, let's scale up"
  • Reality: Shut down 4 companies, 2 are treading water
  • The bottom 6 companies were doing ~$500k/month total revenue at peak
  • Now has a "three-headed monster" of companies that actually work—group cash flow is higher despite fewer companies
  • Classic power law: a few winners matter, the rest don't

• New Owner Syndrome:

  • In sports, new owners immediately start changing everything thinking they know how to fix it
  • Same thing happens in business acquisitions
  • Nick experienced this firsthand—made immediate changes that didn't work out

• The Importance of Transparency:

  • 99% of people talking about buying/running businesses: failures shut up, successes get loud
  • Nick is willing to say "I was wrong" and share what went wrong
  • Being bold, saying what you mean, not afraid to be wrong—this is rare and valuable
  • Selection bias makes the business acquisition world seem easier than it is

Key Points on Market Conditions:

• The Algorithm Changed Everything:
  • With a strong personal brand, people thought you could start any agency and "go to the moon"
  • Then algorithms changed, business got harder, people watched spending more carefully
  • Nick knows many people making less money now than three years ago
  • It's genuinely harder now than it was