GE 213: How FreeeUp Founder Nathan Hirsch Built a $5M/Year in Revenue Business and Manages 500 Freelancers Remotely (podcast)

Hey everyone, today I share the mic with Nathan Hirsch, CEO and founder of FreeeUp, a platform that connects businesses of all shapes and sizes with top freelancers across the world. He also founded Ecombalance.com, a monthly bookkeeping service for e-commerce sellers/agencies, and OutsourceSchool.com where he teaches his hiring processes.

Tune in to hear Nathan share how a frustration with the hiring process forced him to come up with the idea for FreeeUp, how he acquired their first 500 customers, the process that will get them to $5M in revenue this year and allows him to manage 500 freelancers remotely, and the success of their referral program.

Download podcast transcript [PDF] here: How FreeeUp Founder Nathan Hirsch Built a $5M:Year Business & Manages 500 Freelancers Remotely TRANSCRIPT

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:48 – Leave a review and rating and subscribe to the Growth Everywhere podcast
• 01:24 – Nathan is a 28-year old serial entrepreneur, he started his first business by buying and selling text books, before moving on and finding his niche in baby products, home goods and outdoor stuff
  • 02:04 – Nathan got the idea for FreeeUp because he got frustrated that he was spending too much time on the hiring process and wanted to get a way to access the top talent
  • 02:35 – Nathan still does his e-commerce business and it makes him 5 to 7 million dollars a year—he runs it through Amazon’s drop shipping
• 03:42 – FreeeUp is different from other marketplaces as it is not a job order, when customers submit a work request, FreeeUp does the vetting and handpicks a freelancer just for you
  • 04:12 – They also offer a “no turn-over guarantee” – if the worker quits for any reason, FreeeUp covers all training and placement costs associated with finding a new worker right away
• 04:34 – Nathan hired a lot of people for his own business and started the pool of freelancers for FreeeUp from there, he then did Facebook ads and looked for more recruits
  • 05:01 – Nathan then did a referral program for clients and workers
• 05:24 – They have a client rate and worker rate and get their income from the difference of the hourly rate
  • 05:52 – About 15% of the workers at FreeeUp are from other marketplaces like Upwork and they are paid through there
• 06:47 – FreeeUp is about to hit its goal of 7,000 billing hours in a week
  • 07:02 – In terms of revenue, they are looking at hitting 4 to 5 million this year but this depends on busy season
  • 07:31 –FreeeUp secure its first 500 customers through cold emails
• 08:18 – Nathan built his own tools because the outside models do not fit his own business model
• 09:47 – In terms of acquiring clients, the referral program is working well for the company, they contacted a lot of influencers and give good kickbacks
• 11:03 – Nathan manages 500 workers remotely – he has 20 people working directly under him for FreeeUp, he has 10 people for his Amazon team and the marketplace of 500+ freelancers
  • 11:34 – The freelancers have big group chats that include everybody and Nathan and his partner interact with them on a daily basis
  • 12:02 – Nathan uses Skype for communicating with his teams
• 12:21 – Tell us one big struggle you’ve faced while growing either of these businesses – When Nathan was just starting his Amazon business, he had this vendor that he was selling a lot of products from
  • 12:39 – It was so good that Nathan did not look at other vendors and he was able to build the business to a good point
  • 12:59 – Nathan had a vacation and on the first day, his manager said the supplier did not want to work with them anymore
  • 13:07 – An hour later, Nathan’s accountant called saying someone filled a tax return in his name and stole $60,000 from the government
  • 13:23 – Nathan learned never to rely on just one supplier or revenue stream
• 14:26 – What’s one big thing that’s really impacted your life dramatically? – Two to three years ago, Nathan’s house was broken into and the thieves stole his girlfriend’s car, his laptops, and everything valuable—they ended up living at his girlfriend’s parent’s house for 6 months
  • 15:22 – It was busy season and Nathan had to work on orders while trying to get his life back together
• 15:33 – What’s one big change you’ve made in the last year that has impacted you or your business? – Working out, joining a gym and adopting a puppy
  • 16:34 – Nathan got the dog from the pound and says the dog is really well-behaved
• 17:03 – Nathan opened an office in year 5 after being remote and realized it was not a good business decision so he went back to remote
• 18:22 – Nathan’s partner worked on building the company culture for their remote team
• 19:10 – Nathan says the way you get the most out of your workers is by having a great culture
  • 19:30 – During hiring, they were already looking for a specific kind of person – someone who enjoys working and is passionate about what they do
  • 20:10 – It’s about creating an environment where honesty and feedback is appreciated
  • 20:22 – It’s about treating people well and giving recognition
• 20:46 – What’s one tool you’ve added in the last year, like Dropbox? – JIRA
• 21:17 – What’s one must read book you’d recommend to everyone? – Zappos’ The Pursuit of Happiness
• 21:54 – What’s one blog or podcast that you tune into all the time? – Tracy Hazzard
• 22:23 – CEO Space is a community of business owners that come together for networking and workshops
• 23:12 – Go to FreeeUp.com to book an appointment with Nathan and if you sign up and mention this podcast, you get a dollar off your first worker forever, check out the blog and Nathan’s book

3 Key Points:

1. Do not rely on just one source of anything—income, supplier, whatever. Diversify and work with multiple sources to ensure the sustainability and the growth of your business.
2. Managing a remote team successfully means having a good, top-down company culture.
3. Honesty in feedback is important to creating a winning company.

Resources From This Interview:

• FreeeUp
• FreeeUp Marketplace on Facebook
• Free Up Your Business: 50 Secrets to Bootstrap Million Dollar Companies by Connor Gillivan and Nathan Hirsch
• JIRA
• Must-read book: Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh
• Tracy Hazzard

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