May 6, 2025 • 24 mins
Ready to transform your entrepreneurial journey? In this episode of the Beyond Fulfillment Podcast, we welcome back Mia Mazal, now co-founder of Talento, who shares powerful, real-world lessons for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and startup founders.
Discover how Mia led the evolution from SWorks to Talento, integrating business intelligence and AI into logistics and supply chain solutions for rapid growth and operational excellence. Get tips on leveraging automation, scaling a company in today’s market, and building unmatched employee retention through “emotional salary.”
Key topics for entrepreneurs and founders:
• Company pivots & startup growth strategies
• How AI & business intelligence revolutionize small business operations and logistics
• Overcoming challenges in nearshoring and the evolving talent market
• Building strong company culture and employee engagement
• Real stories of resilience and leadership in business transformation
Timestamps:
02:39 - AI & BI in business solutions
05:12 - Implementing AI in logistics
08:54 - Overcoming obstacles in scaling
10:34 - Redefining entrepreneurial success
12:30 - Creating culture & emotional salary
14:41 - Gardening, work-life balance, and founder wellbeing
15:49 - Unexpected lessons of leadership
17:48 - Managing time and avoiding founder burnout
19:27 - Biggest wins in Mia’s new journey
If you found value in these actionable entrepreneurial strategies and inspiring stories, don’t forget to subscribe, like, and share for more insider tips!
Connect with Mia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miamazal/
Learn more about Talento: http://talento-io.com/
Learn more about PipeDrive: https://aff.trypipedrive.com/7g6xah07kgpq
#nearshoring #logistics #supplychain #supplychainmanagement #relationships #ai #workplaceculture #logisticsindustry #smallbusinessowner
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Today we sit down with areturning guest, Mia Mazal.
Mia takes us behind the scenesof the inception of Talento.
Born from a pivotal momentfollowing the founders split at S
Works, Mia unveils how Talentoabsorbed a vast majority of S works
operations, transitioning 85%of their customer base and dedicated
(00:22):
employees, allowing them tohit the ground running while preserving
their company culture andunwavering service quality.
We delve into Talento'sevolution, exploring how they're
now weaving cutting edgebusiness intelligence and AI solutions
directly into the fabric oftheir logistics and supply chain
offerings.
(00:42):
Mia details the holisticecosystem based approach, revealing
how they empower clients tooptimize operations through a powerful
blend of automation,intelligent AI tools and and bespoke
solutions.
Prepare for a freshperspective as Mia tackles common
misconceptions about AI,particularly the fear of job displacement,
(01:05):
and illuminates its potentialto actually elevate employee roles
by freeing them up for moreimpactful customer engagement.
We'll also discuss thecomplexities of scaling a business
in today's tech drivenlandscape, the role of emotional
salary in creating employeeloyalty, and Mia's inspiring personal
(01:26):
growth as she steps into herco founder role.
This episode is filled withinsights on navigating change, cultivating
a thriving workplace andfinding balance in the entrepreneurial
whirlwind.
As always, if you found valuefrom this content, please like and
subscribe.
All right, Mia Mazal, welcomeback to Beyond Fulfillment.
(01:49):
Thank you.
I'm super excited to be backfor round two.
Absolutely.
Yeah, we're excited to have you.
Thank you.
Okay, so last time we weretalking all about S Works and you
were one of the key people ingrowing that business from its startup
phase to, to what it evolved into.
And now here we are, you arethe, the co founder of Talento.
(02:13):
And sure enough, Talento ishas a heavy integration with S Works
and some people sure arewondering what happened.
So please tell us, tell us howthis all evolved into Toledo.
I'm sure a lot of people arecurious and maybe have heard different
things, but Talento is a newcompany, is a new entity that really
(02:36):
resulted out of the passing ofS Works, the disappearance of S Works.
So long story short, we hadtwo founders and they just didn't
find that middle ground to beable to trust each other and move
forward from there anymore.
So what they decided that wasbest to do at that point was to split
apart.
And in that split there was anopportunity to still be able to help
(02:59):
out our customers, you know,and our existing employees.
So, you know, I kind of usethe power of relationships and the
power of, you know, buildingthat network and that service and
build, you know, Talentodecided to start on this kind of
new endeavor and bring overthe majority of S works operations
thankfully, because again,again, you know, based off that network
(03:21):
or that relationship, they sawthat the same service, the same quality,
the same everything was goingto remain.
So we were able to resorb theoffice space, the equipment, again,
about 85% of the customer baseand the employees and just kind of
transition over from one dayto the next.
So it's been kind of crazy andit's, you know, it's kind of a marketing
(03:41):
change in some fashion.
But at the same time Talentois a brand new entity just functioning
less as, not as much of astartup as most startups would because
we do have over 70 employees,you know, sitting in our office.
But yeah, it's a little bit ofa whirlwind, but that's, you know,
kind of the birth of Talento.
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Okay, all right, so like yousaid, it is technically a new entity,
but far from a startup withall those employees and so much existing
business that you've developedover the years.
And Talento also has a brandnew twist to it that incorporates
(05:08):
business intelligence and AI.
Yes, tell us about that.
Absolutely.
So we have all been hearingthe buzzwords, right?
AI, bi, what's going on, Automation.
And so we recognize thatthat's something that's coming into
the game and it's here tostay, you know, and it can be used
to help our processes and helpour people focus on what really matters,
(05:31):
right?
The customer facing processesor those things that generate revenue.
So what we've been able to doin this transition as well is really
focus in on providing andhaving a partnership to be able to
offer AI and businessintelligence solutions.
So the idea is looking at aproblem holistically and not just
solving an issue.
With labor.
But maybe it's a combinationof a change of a process or adding
(05:55):
in a new API or a new technology.
So really being able to, youknow, again, look at it holistically,
almost like an ecosystem, andbe able to help our customers in
many of those aspects.
So that's something that a lotof players in the game are already
doing.
So being able to have it aslike a one stop shop or all under
one umbrella and have some premade products, but also some more
(06:17):
personalized tailored to you,that's kind of the idea of the new
partnership we have with ournew team.
Okay, and so you're, you'restill very heavily focused on the
logistics industry, you know,freight brokerages, that aspect.
Is that right?
Yeah.
You know, I would say that inS works we had a focus on the logistics
(06:38):
industry and we also had beentapping into some others.
But I'm a firm believer.
I said it on a podcast withJolly, I think he even said it best,
you know, that you can't begood at everything.
You should be really good atone thing, you know, and so that's
why we've been really focusedin, on logistics and supply chain.
So within that, still workinga lot with brokers, but also being
(06:58):
able to work with some techcompanies like tmss or with some
carriers or even freight forwarders.
So all under that same umbrella.
And again, you know, thatecosystem effect.
But yeah, still working withbrokers primarily.
Okay.
All right.
And so like you said, there's,there's a holistic approach to where,
(07:18):
you know, you, you meet withpeople and then you provide them
with the appropriate solution.
So with, with so many, youknow, so much rapid change specifically
around AI and now really therise of, you know, agentic AI as
they call it, with all theagents and, and all those programs,
I mean, what, what's thebiggest, you know, surprise you're
(07:42):
seeing in terms of all thisbeing implemented out, out into the
market?
Yeah, I think that the biggestsurprise is seeing how fast some
of these can turn around as well.
Where we'll have, you know,those kind of AI for communication
and language processing, whichcan be like a chatbot on your website.
And we've had that for a long time.
But to the extent that they'vemodified that and then in a couple
(08:05):
of weeks now, they've turnedthat into voice AI and being able
not to just de escalatesituations, but also negotiate situations,
that to me has also just beenvery mind blowing.
But I also think thatsometimes the word AI is so large
that people get confused andwhat that could actually look like
(08:26):
because it can be somethingsuper, super simple.
Like let's say that you havean email for your accounting team
and you're receiving emailsfor billings, for collections, for
ap, for ar, all within one email.
And you want to organize thatsomething like an API can come in
and look at that, process allthat and sort the emails out to the
right place.
Where that's a process thatmaybe today is taking you an hour
(08:48):
per person to sift through andfind the right emails, but now it
can take you literally five seconds.
You won't even think about it.
And you have the right emailin your inbox, you know, so that's
a very different level.
It's almost like an unseenlevel versus again a voice agent
where you're literallyspeaking, speaking to this robot,
you know, and it's kind of, Ithink it can be confusing for people,
(09:10):
you know, the implementers toreally capture what AI is just because
of the spectrum that it has.
Yeah, and that's a great point too.
And so many, you know, so manypeople, right, are apprehensive about
AI.
You know, you hear that the,the camp that says, oh, that's, it's,
it's just going to takepeople's jobs and that type of thing.
(09:32):
What do you think is thebiggest misconception that people
have about implementing AIwithin their operation?
I think it's that it replacespeople is exactly the myth to bust.
You know, I know that augmentis also another buzz term that's
going around, but if you thinkabout it, your, your AI, your tech,
(09:52):
your tools is taking overthese processes that are typically
manual and repetitive and nowthey're going to automate those processes.
So the person that you have ina chair, Dave, now, can actually
go and spend more time withhis customers because he doesn't
have to spend as much timecleaning his inbox or sending a follow
up or answering an inquiryfrom somebody that really was trying
(10:12):
to look for McDonald's butactually ended up somehow in your
inbox, you know what I mean?
So it's those little thingsthat are now going to take time and
delegate tasks off my plate,but instead of delegating them off
into another human, I'mdelegating to a tech tool or technology.
So I think it's a huge costsaver and I think that it also helps
make people's jobs easier.
(10:33):
Easier, makes them more happyin their job as well.
You know, if your job's alittle bit easier, you're not doing
those manual, repetitive,monotonous boring tasks, you might
be a little bit happierengaging, you know, with actual humans
or doing things that play abigger role into the impact of the
company.
So I think that it's going tobe a win win for the business and
for the workers, theemployees, for when you use technology
(10:56):
the right way.
Yeah, yeah, 100% agree.
Okay, so now that you've,you've semi pivoted, you're still
doing the near shoring thing,but you've, you've introduced this
AI and this businessintelligent component.
You're clearly competing witha lot of other solutions as well.
(11:16):
You know, given how quick themarket's evolved and so many people
are coming out with, with thistype of stuff.
Like what's, what's thehardest part about, you know, scaling
this company in today's climate?
Yeah, I, I think there's a lotof challenges in nearshoring as a
whole and just talent management.
We have a bunch of competitorsand then our competitors even start
(11:36):
to compete against themselveswith, you know, building out another
company or another segmentthat has AI and technology because
they know that talentmanagement to some extent is going
to take a hit.
And that's just the reality of it.
But for me, I think one of theproblems, and you kind of alluded
to it, is keeping up with howfast the technology is ramping up.
No, we don't have a team of100 developers, which would be incredible
(12:00):
and maybe my neighbor does,but I don't have that.
So one of the differences thatwe try to do is not be the first
to do it and not be thefastest to do it, but look at how
everybody else does well andhow everybody else may not do so
well and learn from them.
So then I can consult mycustomer base and then either do
it myself or guide them to theright person.
Right.
(12:20):
Because if I'm not going to bethe one who, who's going to be the
expert or the best one to doit, then I would rather be honest
and say, hey, I'm not going tobe the one then tell you, hey, I'm
going to do this for you.
And then it's going to take methree years to actually build out
a product that in three yearsfrom now is going to have a 50 other,
you know, multiple versionsand generations of it, if that makes
sense.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
(12:40):
And right.
Everyone has to, you know, behonest about their own capabilities
and where, where they fit inthe market and then obviously be
true to that for sure.
And then how is your given theway the markets change the introduction
of AI and the labor market,how that's evolved, I mean, how is
your definition of success,entrepreneurial success, you know,
(13:04):
evolved from.
From the early days of S Works.
I think it's changed a lot.
I think that even just kind ofmy role as, you know, today being
a co founder and before reallyI had come on as chief of staff.
And so I, you know, keep kindof saying to myself, I was working
and doing everything that Iwas doing today, but doing it for
(13:25):
somebody else.
And now today and day, I'mdoing it for myself.
So a little bit of the driveand a little bit of the, the aspiration
or the value that I get fromit is different.
So success in that sense mightmean a little bit different to me
personally.
You know, I get a lot of valuein seeing that my customers are happy
and that they're able toafford our solution and able to continue
(13:46):
surviving and thriving whileour employees are also getting paid
well and building not aphysical financial salary, but also
an emotional salary and acommunity and a culture of retention.
So that to me is the value inthe little wins versus maybe in the
past it would be bringing on anew customer or new client.
That's obviously still crucialto the success of, you know, entrepreneurship
(14:08):
in a business.
But I'm still starting to see,you know, that return in different
ways because, you know, I'msure that you understand we have
little to no time toourselves, you know, as the world
is so, so fast.
And if you're all day intowork and you're never taking time
to smell the flowers, youknow, then that's really important
to do so.
(14:28):
And I'm all about my flowers.
Yes, yes, we'll get into thatfor sure.
I do want to, you mentionedthere the emotional salary and you
know, I love that term.
And one of the things, ofcourse, S Works was known for was
the company culture and how,you know, the camaraderie.
And you guys were alwaysposting on social media and that
(14:50):
type of thing.
So with Talento being thatyou've retained most of the staff,
I mean, how.
I guess just expand on howimportant that emotional salary is,
you know, given the way thatthe market has evolved.
Yeah, no, I think it's.
It's literally everything.
And you know, I kind ofmentioned in the beginning we were
able to bring a lot ofcustomers from the relationships
(15:11):
we have.
But same with the employees,you know, if it wasn't the customer
saying, mia, what's going on?
How can I continue to workwith you and your team?
It was the Employee callingmyself and either dropping my name
or dropping somebody else'sname that was still on the Talento
team.
So, you know, again, it was.
It wasn't that we were forcedone way or another organically.
People had a relationship withone side or another, and that trust,
(15:35):
you know, that confidence,that rapport, was what was able to
help us continue to buildTalento and start really on this
ground of a strong employee foundation.
And so we've been able to kindof absorb some of USworks culture
in that sense and be able tomake sure that we build a community
of retention, but also justletting them know that they're safe.
You know, the reality is thatwhen these things were going on with
(15:59):
S Works, everyone was scared,like, am I going to have a job tomorrow?
Is my customer, you know,going to be around tomorrow?
Is S Works going to exist?
What's going on?
So for us to be able to say,no matter what's going on, we have
your back.
And they trusted us, and weacted accordingly.
You know, our words went withour actions, and so now they feel
that trust, and we've beenable to continue blossoming with
(16:21):
them.
So I actually think thatalthough, you know, the change in
ethics was never expected, andI would never ask for that, it was
something that I think openedup a new opportunity for us to continue
to strengthen within theculture and really put it to the
test.
You know, we told you guysthat you can trust us and you can
trust us, and now they do, andthey continue to.
(16:42):
And we've been able tocontinue growing from there.
Yeah.
As the saying goes, when onedoor closes, another opens.
Exactly.
So you mentioned earlier, takebeing able to smell the flowers and
you just use the word blossoming.
So if.
If people don't know you're anavid gardener, and that's.
(17:04):
That's a passion of yours.
And, you know, speaking ofdoing other things and taking your
mind off work, can you justtalk about, you know, I guess, your
gardening and what that doesfor you?
For sure.
I love my plants.
That, to me, is my, like,little break.
It's sometimes, I mean, youhave to take care of plants, and
it's not easy.
And I travel too much to haveany pets, so my plants are almost
(17:27):
like my children.
And right now I have a couplewith a gnat infestation.
So a couple are in, like, a.
What I call isolation or likea little treatment center.
So, I don't know.
I spend a lot of time takingcare of my plants because I think
that giving to them gives tome as well, and they show me happiness.
They show me when they'rethirsty, they show me when they're
dry.
You know, they show me whenthey like the sun and when they don't.
(17:49):
And so it's again, thoselittle things, the smelling the flowers,
it's those little moments inlife, you know, showing that little
appreciation of the gratitudethat I think helps me just value
life and value everything thatI do and all the work that I put
in, you know, that's thatlittle reward of just smelling the
flowers.
Okay, all right.
(18:09):
And so as you mentioned, you,you know, you evolved, you know,
from chief of staff basicallyat S Works to now you're a co founder.
I mean, what's been thebiggest difference, I mean, in this
new role that maybe you didn't expect?
Yeah, I think there's a coupleof changes, but one of the big ones
was just the team dynamic andunderstanding, you know, what is
(18:32):
my day to day role and how doI work with everybody else.
I'm a person that tries alwaysmake myself available.
And for example, if I go tothe office in Colombia, I like to
make sure that I speak toevery single person.
And it's not like a hi, howare you?
It's like a genuine, like, howis your grandmother, the mother's
cousins, dogs, uncle doing?
(18:52):
You know, like, it's a genuine conversation.
And I, and I really know mypeople and I hope that they feel
that as well.
So for me, I think that that'sbeen a big problem because I only
have so much time and I can'tbuy more time.
So, you know, even though Iwant to give everybody every second
of my day, I physically, youknow, in no realm can I make that
(19:13):
actually happen while alsosustaining a business because I need
to prioritize my time and mytime, you know, what sustains the
business, building in revenue.
Right.
Generation and making sure mycustomers are happy.
My customers are my actualcustomers and my employees.
So, you know, I have to dividemy time accordingly between those
things.
(19:33):
And as a people pleaser and asa person who likes to talk and never
stops, it can be hard to do that.
So that's been a little bit ofa, I guess a learning lesson and
kind of a balanced to learn,but knock on wood, I think it's going
in the right direction.
Okay.
And, and speaking of that,right, because even prior, you know,
(19:53):
I think we talked on, lasttime you're on the show, your, your
travel schedule was justinsane there something like 18 events
or, or more per year, youknow, and I'm, I'm sure, right.
There's a lot of the samestuff in terms of traveling, going
to Columbia, doing all thelead generation type activities.
What.
How do you manage your time soyou're not only productive with what
(20:17):
the business needs, but youalso, you know, maintain your sanity?
Yeah, great question.
Well, sometimes I lose mysanity, to be honest.
But in the majority of thetimes I do what I call like almost
like a brain break or like a,like you have to take care of everybody
else, you also need to takecare of yourself.
So if it's just 15 minutes,maybe 30 minutes to myself, whether
(20:41):
it's watering my plants,something as simple as that, or like
going to the hair salon and goget a haircut, or sitting outside
and just soaking up the sun,you know, anything like that kind
of helps me restart becauseeven though I spent, you know, 13
hours in that day doing workand doing things that maybe I wouldn't
have chosen to do, now that Ihave 30 minutes of free time, I have
(21:05):
this time to do exactlyanything I want, whether it's watch
a movie, do nothing, doeverything, whatever.
And that really helps me kindof restart the tip.
The tricky part is maintainingthat, especially when you go and
travel to events or things ofthat nature.
But it's being able tocommunicate to others and say, hey,
Look, I need 30 minutes to myself.
I'm going to go step away andgrab a coffee or go step away and
(21:25):
go for a walk, take a brain break.
Anything along those lines,that helps me a lot.
And especially with the sun,since I live in Florida, thank goodness
I'm able to go outside a lot.
So going through a simple 15minute walk can just change everything
100%.
100%.
Okay.
And given that you've had suchdramatic change within your, your
(21:47):
professional life over thelast, you know, several months, and
now you're in this newposition, you're a co founder, you've
got a growing company withsome new service offerings.
What's the best part aboutthis whole transition for you?
That's a great question.
I think for me it's learning.
I love learning and I loveexperimenting and I love that every
(22:08):
day is kind of like an unexpected.
And I don't know what tomorrowbrings or what I'm gonna need to
do tomorrow because theremight be this problem or this, you
know, good opportunity.
You never know if it's apositive or a negative.
But that kind of likeuncertainty keeps you on your toes.
There's potential forexponential growth.
You never know when it can hitthat, like, is invigorating.
(22:29):
For me and being able to see it.
And again, you know, to what Ihad talked about before, now that
I have kind of a differentrole, I'm able to see the actual
margins.
Right.
Of what am I paying my peopleand what am I charging my customers?
And being able to say, this issomething that I respect and I agree
with.
You know, I feel comfortablewith charging this and I feel comfortable
with paying this versusbefore, you know, maybe I didn't
(22:51):
have that visibility, and I,now that I have the visibility, didn't
agree with all those things.
So being able to really feelgood about what I'm actually doing
and see that what I'm sayingis actually what's being lived.
You know, again, thattransparency piece of the words and
the actions align, I thinkthat that's like a.
That's just very fulfillingfor me.
(23:11):
So that's been one of myfavorite parts in the new role.
Okay.
All right.
And, Mia, if people want tolearn more about Talento, what you
offer and how it canpotentially help them, what's the
best way that people can reachout to you?
Yeah, so find me on LinkedInat Mia Mazal or at Talento's page
or at talento-IO.com, that'sour website.
(23:33):
Or you'll just Google us.
Google my name, and you'llfind us somewhere or through Dave's
podcast.
Okay, outstanding.
And we'll link all that in theshow notes for everyone.
All right, well, Mia, thankyou so much for stopping by again,
updating us on all theseexciting changes, and best of luck
in this, this new role andyour journey that lies ahead.
(23:56):
Thanks for having me on, andthanks for all the best luck wishes.
Appreciate it.
All right, and that is all thetime we have for now.
We will see you next time.
Today we sit down with areturning guest, Mia Mazal.
Mia takes us behind the scenesof the inception of Talento.
Born from a pivotal momentfollowing the founders split at S
Works, Mia unveils how Talentoabsorbed a vast majority of S works
operations, transitioning 85%of their customer base and dedicated
(00:22):
employees, allowing them tohit the ground running while preserving
their company culture andunwavering service quality.
We delve into Talento'sevolution, exploring how they're
now weaving cutting edgebusiness intelligence and AI solutions
directly into the fabric oftheir logistics and supply chain
offerings.
(00:42):
Mia details the holisticecosystem based approach, revealing
how they empower clients tooptimize operations through a powerful
blend of automation,intelligent AI tools and and bespoke
solutions.
Prepare for a freshperspective as Mia tackles common
misconceptions about AI,particularly the fear of job displacement,
(01:05):
and illuminates its potentialto actually elevate employee roles
by freeing them up for moreimpactful customer engagement.
We'll also discuss thecomplexities of scaling a business
in today's tech drivenlandscape, the role of emotional
salary in creating employeeloyalty, and Mia's inspiring personal
(01:26):
growth as she steps into herco founder role.
This episode is filled withinsights on navigating change, cultivating
a thriving workplace andfinding balance in the entrepreneurial
whirlwind.
As always, if you found valuefrom this content, please like and
subscribe.
All right, Mia Mazal, welcomeback to Beyond Fulfillment.
(01:49):
Thank you.
I'm super excited to be backfor round two.
Absolutely.
Yeah, we're excited to have you.
Thank you.
Okay, so last time we weretalking all about S Works and you
were one of the key people ingrowing that business from its startup
phase to, to what it evolved into.
And now here we are, you arethe, the co founder of Talento.
(02:13):
And sure enough, Talento ishas a heavy integration with S Works
and some people sure arewondering what happened.
So please tell us, tell us howthis all evolved into Toledo.
I'm sure a lot of people arecurious and maybe have heard different
things, but Talento is a newcompany, is a new entity that really
(02:36):
resulted out of the passing ofS Works, the disappearance of S Works.
So long story short, we hadtwo founders and they just didn't
find that middle ground to beable to trust each other and move
forward from there anymore.
So what they decided that wasbest to do at that point was to split
apart.
And in that split there was anopportunity to still be able to help
(02:59):
out our customers, you know,and our existing employees.
So, you know, I kind of usethe power of relationships and the
power of, you know, buildingthat network and that service and
build, you know, Talentodecided to start on this kind of
new endeavor and bring overthe majority of S works operations
thankfully, because again,again, you know, based off that network
(03:21):
or that relationship, they sawthat the same service, the same quality,
the same everything was goingto remain.
So we were able to resorb theoffice space, the equipment, again,
about 85% of the customer baseand the employees and just kind of
transition over from one dayto the next.
So it's been kind of crazy andit's, you know, it's kind of a marketing
(03:41):
change in some fashion.
But at the same time Talentois a brand new entity just functioning
less as, not as much of astartup as most startups would because
we do have over 70 employees,you know, sitting in our office.
But yeah, it's a little bit ofa whirlwind, but that's, you know,
kind of the birth of Talento.
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Okay, all right, so like yousaid, it is technically a new entity,
but far from a startup withall those employees and so much existing
business that you've developedover the years.
And Talento also has a brandnew twist to it that incorporates
(05:08):
business intelligence and AI.
Yes, tell us about that.
Absolutely.
So we have all been hearingthe buzzwords, right?
AI, bi, what's going on, Automation.
And so we recognize thatthat's something that's coming into
the game and it's here tostay, you know, and it can be used
to help our processes and helpour people focus on what really matters,
(05:31):
right?
The customer facing processesor those things that generate revenue.
So what we've been able to doin this transition as well is really
focus in on providing andhaving a partnership to be able to
offer AI and businessintelligence solutions.
So the idea is looking at aproblem holistically and not just
solving an issue.
With labor.
But maybe it's a combinationof a change of a process or adding
(05:55):
in a new API or a new technology.
So really being able to, youknow, again, look at it holistically,
almost like an ecosystem, andbe able to help our customers in
many of those aspects.
So that's something that a lotof players in the game are already
doing.
So being able to have it aslike a one stop shop or all under
one umbrella and have some premade products, but also some more
(06:17):
personalized tailored to you,that's kind of the idea of the new
partnership we have with ournew team.
Okay, and so you're, you'restill very heavily focused on the
logistics industry, you know,freight brokerages, that aspect.
Is that right?
Yeah.
You know, I would say that inS works we had a focus on the logistics
(06:38):
industry and we also had beentapping into some others.
But I'm a firm believer.
I said it on a podcast withJolly, I think he even said it best,
you know, that you can't begood at everything.
You should be really good atone thing, you know, and so that's
why we've been really focusedin, on logistics and supply chain.
So within that, still workinga lot with brokers, but also being
(06:58):
able to work with some techcompanies like tmss or with some
carriers or even freight forwarders.
So all under that same umbrella.
And again, you know, thatecosystem effect.
But yeah, still working withbrokers primarily.
Okay.
All right.
And so like you said, there's,there's a holistic approach to where,
(07:18):
you know, you, you meet withpeople and then you provide them
with the appropriate solution.
So with, with so many, youknow, so much rapid change specifically
around AI and now really therise of, you know, agentic AI as
they call it, with all theagents and, and all those programs,
I mean, what, what's thebiggest, you know, surprise you're
(07:42):
seeing in terms of all thisbeing implemented out, out into the
market?
Yeah, I think that the biggestsurprise is seeing how fast some
of these can turn around as well.
Where we'll have, you know,those kind of AI for communication
and language processing, whichcan be like a chatbot on your website.
And we've had that for a long time.
But to the extent that they'vemodified that and then in a couple
(08:05):
of weeks now, they've turnedthat into voice AI and being able
not to just de escalatesituations, but also negotiate situations,
that to me has also just beenvery mind blowing.
But I also think thatsometimes the word AI is so large
that people get confused andwhat that could actually look like
(08:26):
because it can be somethingsuper, super simple.
Like let's say that you havean email for your accounting team
and you're receiving emailsfor billings, for collections, for
ap, for ar, all within one email.
And you want to organize thatsomething like an API can come in
and look at that, process allthat and sort the emails out to the
right place.
Where that's a process thatmaybe today is taking you an hour
(08:48):
per person to sift through andfind the right emails, but now it
can take you literally five seconds.
You won't even think about it.
And you have the right emailin your inbox, you know, so that's
a very different level.
It's almost like an unseenlevel versus again a voice agent
where you're literallyspeaking, speaking to this robot,
you know, and it's kind of, Ithink it can be confusing for people,
(09:10):
you know, the implementers toreally capture what AI is just because
of the spectrum that it has.
Yeah, and that's a great point too.
And so many, you know, so manypeople, right, are apprehensive about
AI.
You know, you hear that the,the camp that says, oh, that's, it's,
it's just going to takepeople's jobs and that type of thing.
(09:32):
What do you think is thebiggest misconception that people
have about implementing AIwithin their operation?
I think it's that it replacespeople is exactly the myth to bust.
You know, I know that augmentis also another buzz term that's
going around, but if you thinkabout it, your, your AI, your tech,
(09:52):
your tools is taking overthese processes that are typically
manual and repetitive and nowthey're going to automate those processes.
So the person that you have ina chair, Dave, now, can actually
go and spend more time withhis customers because he doesn't
have to spend as much timecleaning his inbox or sending a follow
up or answering an inquiryfrom somebody that really was trying
(10:12):
to look for McDonald's butactually ended up somehow in your
inbox, you know what I mean?
So it's those little thingsthat are now going to take time and
delegate tasks off my plate,but instead of delegating them off
into another human, I'mdelegating to a tech tool or technology.
So I think it's a huge costsaver and I think that it also helps
make people's jobs easier.
(10:33):
Easier, makes them more happyin their job as well.
You know, if your job's alittle bit easier, you're not doing
those manual, repetitive,monotonous boring tasks, you might
be a little bit happierengaging, you know, with actual humans
or doing things that play abigger role into the impact of the
company.
So I think that it's going tobe a win win for the business and
for the workers, theemployees, for when you use technology
(10:56):
the right way.
Yeah, yeah, 100% agree.
Okay, so now that you've,you've semi pivoted, you're still
doing the near shoring thing,but you've, you've introduced this
AI and this businessintelligent component.
You're clearly competing witha lot of other solutions as well.
(11:16):
You know, given how quick themarket's evolved and so many people
are coming out with, with thistype of stuff.
Like what's, what's thehardest part about, you know, scaling
this company in today's climate?
Yeah, I, I think there's a lotof challenges in nearshoring as a
whole and just talent management.
We have a bunch of competitorsand then our competitors even start
(11:36):
to compete against themselveswith, you know, building out another
company or another segmentthat has AI and technology because
they know that talentmanagement to some extent is going
to take a hit.
And that's just the reality of it.
But for me, I think one of theproblems, and you kind of alluded
to it, is keeping up with howfast the technology is ramping up.
No, we don't have a team of100 developers, which would be incredible
(12:00):
and maybe my neighbor does,but I don't have that.
So one of the differences thatwe try to do is not be the first
to do it and not be thefastest to do it, but look at how
everybody else does well andhow everybody else may not do so
well and learn from them.
So then I can consult mycustomer base and then either do
it myself or guide them to theright person.
Right.
(12:20):
Because if I'm not going to bethe one who, who's going to be the
expert or the best one to doit, then I would rather be honest
and say, hey, I'm not going tobe the one then tell you, hey, I'm
going to do this for you.
And then it's going to take methree years to actually build out
a product that in three yearsfrom now is going to have a 50 other,
you know, multiple versionsand generations of it, if that makes
sense.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
(12:40):
And right.
Everyone has to, you know, behonest about their own capabilities
and where, where they fit inthe market and then obviously be
true to that for sure.
And then how is your given theway the markets change the introduction
of AI and the labor market,how that's evolved, I mean, how is
your definition of success,entrepreneurial success, you know,
(13:04):
evolved from.
From the early days of S Works.
I think it's changed a lot.
I think that even just kind ofmy role as, you know, today being
a co founder and before reallyI had come on as chief of staff.
And so I, you know, keep kindof saying to myself, I was working
and doing everything that Iwas doing today, but doing it for
(13:25):
somebody else.
And now today and day, I'mdoing it for myself.
So a little bit of the driveand a little bit of the, the aspiration
or the value that I get fromit is different.
So success in that sense mightmean a little bit different to me
personally.
You know, I get a lot of valuein seeing that my customers are happy
and that they're able toafford our solution and able to continue
(13:46):
surviving and thriving whileour employees are also getting paid
well and building not aphysical financial salary, but also
an emotional salary and acommunity and a culture of retention.
So that to me is the value inthe little wins versus maybe in the
past it would be bringing on anew customer or new client.
That's obviously still crucialto the success of, you know, entrepreneurship
(14:08):
in a business.
But I'm still starting to see,you know, that return in different
ways because, you know, I'msure that you understand we have
little to no time toourselves, you know, as the world
is so, so fast.
And if you're all day intowork and you're never taking time
to smell the flowers, youknow, then that's really important
to do so.
(14:28):
And I'm all about my flowers.
Yes, yes, we'll get into thatfor sure.
I do want to, you mentionedthere the emotional salary and you
know, I love that term.
And one of the things, ofcourse, S Works was known for was
the company culture and how,you know, the camaraderie.
And you guys were alwaysposting on social media and that
(14:50):
type of thing.
So with Talento being thatyou've retained most of the staff,
I mean, how.
I guess just expand on howimportant that emotional salary is,
you know, given the way thatthe market has evolved.
Yeah, no, I think it's.
It's literally everything.
And you know, I kind ofmentioned in the beginning we were
able to bring a lot ofcustomers from the relationships
(15:11):
we have.
But same with the employees,you know, if it wasn't the customer
saying, mia, what's going on?
How can I continue to workwith you and your team?
It was the Employee callingmyself and either dropping my name
or dropping somebody else'sname that was still on the Talento
team.
So, you know, again, it was.
It wasn't that we were forcedone way or another organically.
People had a relationship withone side or another, and that trust,
(15:35):
you know, that confidence,that rapport, was what was able to
help us continue to buildTalento and start really on this
ground of a strong employee foundation.
And so we've been able to kindof absorb some of USworks culture
in that sense and be able tomake sure that we build a community
of retention, but also justletting them know that they're safe.
You know, the reality is thatwhen these things were going on with
(15:59):
S Works, everyone was scared,like, am I going to have a job tomorrow?
Is my customer, you know,going to be around tomorrow?
Is S Works going to exist?
What's going on?
So for us to be able to say,no matter what's going on, we have
your back.
And they trusted us, and weacted accordingly.
You know, our words went withour actions, and so now they feel
that trust, and we've beenable to continue blossoming with
(16:21):
them.
So I actually think thatalthough, you know, the change in
ethics was never expected, andI would never ask for that, it was
something that I think openedup a new opportunity for us to continue
to strengthen within theculture and really put it to the
test.
You know, we told you guysthat you can trust us and you can
trust us, and now they do, andthey continue to.
(16:42):
And we've been able tocontinue growing from there.
Yeah.
As the saying goes, when onedoor closes, another opens.
Exactly.
So you mentioned earlier, takebeing able to smell the flowers and
you just use the word blossoming.
So if.
If people don't know you're anavid gardener, and that's.
(17:04):
That's a passion of yours.
And, you know, speaking ofdoing other things and taking your
mind off work, can you justtalk about, you know, I guess, your
gardening and what that doesfor you?
For sure.
I love my plants.
That, to me, is my, like,little break.
It's sometimes, I mean, youhave to take care of plants, and
it's not easy.
And I travel too much to haveany pets, so my plants are almost
(17:27):
like my children.
And right now I have a couplewith a gnat infestation.
So a couple are in, like, a.
What I call isolation or likea little treatment center.
So, I don't know.
I spend a lot of time takingcare of my plants because I think
that giving to them gives tome as well, and they show me happiness.
They show me when they'rethirsty, they show me when they're
dry.
You know, they show me whenthey like the sun and when they don't.
(17:49):
And so it's again, thoselittle things, the smelling the flowers,
it's those little moments inlife, you know, showing that little
appreciation of the gratitudethat I think helps me just value
life and value everything thatI do and all the work that I put
in, you know, that's thatlittle reward of just smelling the
flowers.
Okay, all right.
(18:09):
And so as you mentioned, you,you know, you evolved, you know,
from chief of staff basicallyat S Works to now you're a co founder.
I mean, what's been thebiggest difference, I mean, in this
new role that maybe you didn't expect?
Yeah, I think there's a coupleof changes, but one of the big ones
was just the team dynamic andunderstanding, you know, what is
(18:32):
my day to day role and how doI work with everybody else.
I'm a person that tries alwaysmake myself available.
And for example, if I go tothe office in Colombia, I like to
make sure that I speak toevery single person.
And it's not like a hi, howare you?
It's like a genuine, like, howis your grandmother, the mother's
cousins, dogs, uncle doing?
(18:52):
You know, like, it's a genuine conversation.
And I, and I really know mypeople and I hope that they feel
that as well.
So for me, I think that that'sbeen a big problem because I only
have so much time and I can'tbuy more time.
So, you know, even though Iwant to give everybody every second
of my day, I physically, youknow, in no realm can I make that
(19:13):
actually happen while alsosustaining a business because I need
to prioritize my time and mytime, you know, what sustains the
business, building in revenue.
Right.
Generation and making sure mycustomers are happy.
My customers are my actualcustomers and my employees.
So, you know, I have to dividemy time accordingly between those
things.
(19:33):
And as a people pleaser and asa person who likes to talk and never
stops, it can be hard to do that.
So that's been a little bit ofa, I guess a learning lesson and
kind of a balanced to learn,but knock on wood, I think it's going
in the right direction.
Okay.
And, and speaking of that,right, because even prior, you know,
(19:53):
I think we talked on, lasttime you're on the show, your, your
travel schedule was justinsane there something like 18 events
or, or more per year, youknow, and I'm, I'm sure, right.
There's a lot of the samestuff in terms of traveling, going
to Columbia, doing all thelead generation type activities.
What.
How do you manage your time soyou're not only productive with what
(20:17):
the business needs, but youalso, you know, maintain your sanity?
Yeah, great question.
Well, sometimes I lose mysanity, to be honest.
But in the majority of thetimes I do what I call like almost
like a brain break or like a,like you have to take care of everybody
else, you also need to takecare of yourself.
So if it's just 15 minutes,maybe 30 minutes to myself, whether
(20:41):
it's watering my plants,something as simple as that, or like
going to the hair salon and goget a haircut, or sitting outside
and just soaking up the sun,you know, anything like that kind
of helps me restart becauseeven though I spent, you know, 13
hours in that day doing workand doing things that maybe I wouldn't
have chosen to do, now that Ihave 30 minutes of free time, I have
(21:05):
this time to do exactlyanything I want, whether it's watch
a movie, do nothing, doeverything, whatever.
And that really helps me kindof restart the tip.
The tricky part is maintainingthat, especially when you go and
travel to events or things ofthat nature.
But it's being able tocommunicate to others and say, hey,
Look, I need 30 minutes to myself.
I'm going to go step away andgrab a coffee or go step away and
(21:25):
go for a walk, take a brain break.
Anything along those lines,that helps me a lot.
And especially with the sun,since I live in Florida, thank goodness
I'm able to go outside a lot.
So going through a simple 15minute walk can just change everything
100%.
100%.
Okay.
And given that you've had suchdramatic change within your, your
(21:47):
professional life over thelast, you know, several months, and
now you're in this newposition, you're a co founder, you've
got a growing company withsome new service offerings.
What's the best part aboutthis whole transition for you?
That's a great question.
I think for me it's learning.
I love learning and I loveexperimenting and I love that every
(22:08):
day is kind of like an unexpected.
And I don't know what tomorrowbrings or what I'm gonna need to
do tomorrow because theremight be this problem or this, you
know, good opportunity.
You never know if it's apositive or a negative.
But that kind of likeuncertainty keeps you on your toes.
There's potential forexponential growth.
You never know when it can hitthat, like, is invigorating.
(22:29):
For me and being able to see it.
And again, you know, to what Ihad talked about before, now that
I have kind of a differentrole, I'm able to see the actual
margins.
Right.
Of what am I paying my peopleand what am I charging my customers?
And being able to say, this issomething that I respect and I agree
with.
You know, I feel comfortablewith charging this and I feel comfortable
with paying this versusbefore, you know, maybe I didn't
(22:51):
have that visibility, and I,now that I have the visibility, didn't
agree with all those things.
So being able to really feelgood about what I'm actually doing
and see that what I'm sayingis actually what's being lived.
You know, again, thattransparency piece of the words and
the actions align, I thinkthat that's like a.
That's just very fulfillingfor me.
(23:11):
So that's been one of myfavorite parts in the new role.
Okay.
All right.
And, Mia, if people want tolearn more about Talento, what you
offer and how it canpotentially help them, what's the
best way that people can reachout to you?
Yeah, so find me on LinkedInat Mia Mazal or at Talento's page
or at talento-IO.com, that'sour website.
(23:33):
Or you'll just Google us.
Google my name, and you'llfind us somewhere or through Dave's
podcast.
Okay, outstanding.
And we'll link all that in theshow notes for everyone.
All right, well, Mia, thankyou so much for stopping by again,
updating us on all theseexciting changes, and best of luck
in this, this new role andyour journey that lies ahead.
(23:56):
Thanks for having me on, andthanks for all the best luck wishes.
Appreciate it.
All right, and that is all thetime we have for now.
We will see you next time.
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