From Two Friends to a Full Company: The First Year of RefinedVA
What started as a favor for two friends turned into a business that’s now helping entrepreneurs reclaim their time and scale through virtual assistants. In this special one-year anniversary episode of The Unfiltered Sessions Podcast, Phillip Sessions pulls back the curtain on the messy beginnings, the pivotal hires, the early struggles, and the game-changing lessons learned in building RefinedVA.
You’ll hear the behind-the-scenes story of:
✅ How two friends became the spark for a business
✅ The sloppy first interviews (and what we learned)
✅ Why hiring “ahead of where you are” changes everything
✅ The team members who shaped the company’s future
✅ Why we launched the VA Training Academy (and what’s next)
✅ And why human touch will always beat AI
This isn’t just a story about business growth, it's about starting before you’re ready, learning as you go, and building something bigger than yourself.
If you’ve ever thought about hiring a virtual assistant, scaling beyond yourself, or just wondered what it really looks like to build a business in year one, this episode will give you both the raw truth and the hope that you can do it too.
🌐 Learn more about what I do at: https://www.refinedva.com/
🎙️ Audio Podcast : https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/1964444/dashboard
Let’s stay connected across all platforms:
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/iamphilipsessions/?hl=en
TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@philipsessions
Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-sessions-b2986563/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/therealphilipsessions
Youtube | https://www.youtube.com/user/philipsessions
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.