BELAY

How I Went From First Hire To CEO Of A $138M/Year Company

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Tricia Sciortino

Founder, BELAY

Founders

847

Employees

BELAY

belaysolutions.com

from Atlanta, GA, USA

started

Founders

847

Employees

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I’m Tricia Sciortino, the CEO of BELAY, a modern staffing company leading the remote revolution for 11 years – long before it was ‘cool’ – while winning awards for culture.

My success is the direct result of harnessing my grit and trusting my gut – which is exactly what took me from BELAY’s first employee as a Virtual Assistant to CEO of our Inc. 5000 ‘Fastest-Growing Private Companies’ for eight consecutive years.

BELAY intentionally pairs clients with the right U.S.-based Virtual Assistants, Financial Specialists, Social Media Managers, and Website Specialists to help them delegate their weaknesses – tasks like emails, payroll, scheduling, project follow-up, social media, website maintenance, and travel management – so they can get back to their strengths: growing their organization.

Our mission is to equip our clients with the confidence to climb higher by providing them the support they need to accomplish more and juggle less, and this mission has earned us countless awards and recognition from Inc. and Entrepreneur Magazine, FlexJobs, SHRM, the Atlanta Business Chronicle and more.

A colleague and his wife had an idea – they wanted to start their own business and asked if I wanted to join them. Everything said ‘Don’t do this.’ But my gut? My gut said, ‘Go for it!’

What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?

More than 15 years ago, I was the No. 1 District Manager at PacSun, and for those 12 years, I was traveling and working 80-hour weeks, including weekends and holidays.

Then, a pivotal life moment: I had my first daughter. And I – like many other parents – found myself struggling to balance my high-profile career with my new role as a mother. And after a year of trying desperately to juggle both – being as present a parent as I could be while leaving nearly everything I had on the road week in and week out, I had had enough.

I walked in and gave notice, much to their surprise.

I had no idea where I’d go and what I’d do next. All I did know, however, was that wasn’t it.

Three months later, we moved from New York to North Carolina, knowing no one and with no idea what I’d do – but it would have to be something because I was going bonkers staying home.

But then a colleague and his wife had an idea – they wanted to start their own business and asked if I wanted to join them. I was going through a divorce and the economy was tanking.

I should’ve said no. Everything in my life was in an upheaval and something safe and stable would’ve seemed like the right choice. Or rather the safe choice.

Everything said ‘Don’t do this.’ But my gut? My gut said, ‘Go for it!’

So off I went, into the great unknown, with faith in myself to forge my path, follow my passion and build a career around my purpose.

We knew that there was something to this virtual assistant thing and we knew that there were leaders out there who needed support and help, even if it was in a part-time, fractional way.

And we also knew that you didn't have to be in the same office or in the same spot at the time since he was in Atlanta, Georgia, and I was in Charlotte, North Carolina, and still, we worked effectively together in a remote capacity.

At the time, the focus was on supporting the church. There were church pastors out there who were buried in administrative work and needed help so that they could focus on only what they could do.

And from there, what would later be known as BELAY – was born.

Take us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product.

I was the first employee hired by the founders, started in November 2010 – and off we went! The goal was to serve the church with virtual assistant services.

Shortly thereafter, we also knew that we could offer bookkeeping services to our church clients, too.

Then, in 2011, something critical happened – Michael Hyatt went on Twitter and said he was looking for a virtual assistant and did anybody knew where he should go. Michael is a key influencer in the small business market with a large following.

One of our awesome pastor clients tweeted him back and told him to talk to us.

So in 2011, Michael Hyatt became a client. That was a very pivotal time in our business because Michael Hyatt didn’t work for the church – so we decided to branch out.

We wouldn't only serve the church; we would serve the for-profit sector as well. We started serving Michael Hyatt – who spoke very highly of us – and through his influence and his platform, we accelerated our growth and momentum.

It was an amazing time...

In 2014, we became two new companies: EA Help, which was our VA services brand, and MAG Bookkeeping, which was our bookkeeping services brand. It was also the time we first landed on the INC 5000 list as one of the fastest-growing companies

In February 2015, we added a new company, Render, which was our website management and security services brand. And in November 2015, we added Ellipsis, our virtual writing company as well.

By the end of 2015, we had five companies. Five websites. Five sets of financials. Five leaders running five different companies.

So on January 1, 2017, all five companies were rolled into one organization, BELAY.

And in January 2020, I had the privilege of becoming its new CEO.

The owners (husband and wife team, Bryan and Shannon) quit their jobs and leveraged their 401K to start BELAY. I was hired as their founding employee for start-up creation. We started Dec 2010. It was all hands on deck (3 sets of hands) with shared responsibility for the first year. Bryan was selling, while Shannon & I were running operations and recruiting talent (our first VAs). We were building processes as Bryan sold and we onboarded our first clients.

Every challenge and obstacle that has tried to stand in my way has only forged me into a stronger leader with each that I overcome.

Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?

From day one today, the one thing that has always differentiated us in the market is our people – both our corporate employees and our contractors.

We are a motley crew of impossibly talented, endlessly passionate, and uncomfortably generous eclectic souls, all united by one common denominator: We live to serve. We don’t mean that in lip service, shake-hands-and-kiss-babies kind of way; we mean that we all share a servant’s heart.

And by design, remote organizations like ours aren’t limited by geography which, in turn, grants access to a virtually – get it? – limitless talent pool.

We’re talking about a talent pool that traverses the city, county, state, and even country lines.

This nearly endless hiring potential then means that organizations can be even more diverse and inclusive of people with various backgrounds, cultures, and life experiences.

And while geographic independence opens up the workforce to those who’d simply prefer a more flexible, adaptive arrangement, it also boasts opportunities for those who may otherwise lack access, whether they are unable to commute, live in a rural area, or have disabilities.

So when we’re asked – and it’s often – how we find and hire our world-class contractors, we’re happy to share because finding contractors is surprisingly easy.

But we’re not satisfied with ‘easy.’ Nor are we satisfied with quantity. We are in the business of quality. After all, our acceptance rate for our contractors is lower than Harvard’s – 4.5 percent for anyone wondering – with our contractor acceptance rate at 3.93 percent.

That means more than 96 percent of our applicants don’t make the grade.

But those that do? Oh, they’re special. We’re talking creme-de-la-creme, knock-your-socks-off special.

Now, for our Secret Sauce. Our Client Success Consultants confer with our Placement Team to discuss, vet and select 2-3 top candidates from our 2,000 U.S.-based specialists.

Then, our Client Success Consultants will interview and select the best candidate for our clients based on their discovery call.

Every step in our process – from hiring to pairing clients and contractors – is a high-touch, intentional experience.

How are you doing today and what does the future look like?

Today looks great. We have reached hyper-growth, making the Inc 5000 fastest growing companies for the last 8 years running. I am honored to be CEO of this amazing team and effort to support leaders with relief.

Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?

We are a 100% remote company and have been since day one. We set our mission and values very early on, which has proven critical to our success. Defining who we are and what we stand for matters and is a filter we run all decisions through today. “Being a great place to work” was a high priority for us.

What platform/tools do you use for your business?

What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?

Having an Executive Coach. I have had a few over the years and their knowledge has helped my professional growth, which supports organizational growth as well.

Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?

To accomplish anything great or worthwhile, it’s imperative to harness your grit and trust your gut – exactly what took me from BELAY’s first employee as a Virtual Assistant to the CEO of an Inc. 5000 organization.

So if opportunity doesn’t come knocking for you, build yourself a door.

Then there is my advice to female leaders specifically.

Only 5% of CEOs are female.

It’s abysmal. It’s inexcusable. And it’s maddening.

So our leadership – and that of countless women before me and all those that come after me – starts in a room full of men. So I, like many others, have had to make peace with and find comfort in being the lone woman in that room. At that table.

Because look. You try wearing pork chop panties in a lion’s den and tell me how far back you can throw your shoulders and puff out your chest and I’ll show you a liar.

Put simply: It isn’t for the faint of heart. There’s a lot of faking it ‘til you make it, a lot of mastering your tells, a lot of never letting them see you sweat.

It’s a lot of perseverance. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

So while it hasn’t necessarily been overtly advantageous to be a female leader, every challenge and obstacle that has tried to stand in my way has only forged me into a stronger leader with each that I overcome – and that’s an opportunity that’s not as commonly afforded to my male counterparts.

I’m made of tougher stuff because I had to be. And I wear that as a badge of honor. I’ve earned and owned every bit of my success, my path, and my story.

Once I had my seat at those male-dominated tables, I knew that I had to secure a seat for the next female leader. I would consider that one of the greatest honors of being a successful female leader.

As a young leader, I promoted many other women over the years by investing in their talents and showing them the path that I had cleared which had been cleared for me by those who had gone before.

Think of it like hiking in a dense forest: Any leader can plot out the trek, easily mapping the starting point and finish line; a great leader comes with a machete to clear the path, and enough water and rations to reach the summit.

And that summit, ladies? It’s ours for the taking – and I’ll save you a seat.

Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?

What do Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, and FlexJobs all have in common?

Answer: They’ve all recognized BELAY as one the best places to work – not that we needed awards and fanfare to know that.

We love where we work, and now, you can, too!

Contractor Positions

Whether you’re a Virtual Assistant, Financial Specialist, Social Media Manager, or Website Specialist, we have clients right now that need your expertise and insight. Click below to learn more about our 1099 positions. We are currently accepting applications for residents of all states except California, Montana, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Learn more here.

Corporate Positions

We are a motley crew of impossibly talented, endlessly passionate, and uncomfortably generous eclectic souls, all united by one common denominator: We live to serve. Click below to learn about our full-time, (W2) corporate positions. We can’t wait to have you on our team! Corporate team members must reside in the Metro Atlanta area unless the position states otherwise. Learn more here.