Latest / Beyond Fulfillment Podcast / The Power of Relationships: Talento’s Transition Story with Mia Mazal

Transcript

The Power of Relationships: Talento’s Transition Story with Mia Mazal · Beyond Fulfillment Podcast

• 0:00
  Today we sit down with a returning guest, Mia Mazal.
• 0:04
  Mia takes us behind the scenes of the inception of Talento.
• 0:08
  Born from a pivotal moment following the founders split at S Works, Mia unveils how Talento absorbed a vast majority of S works operations, transitioning 85% of their customer base and dedicated employees, allowing them to hit the ground running
• 0:25
  while preserving their company culture and unwavering service quality.
• 0:29
  We delve into Talento's evolution, exploring how they're now weaving cutting edge business intelligence and AI solutions directly into the fabric of their logistics and supply chain offerings.
• 0:42
  Mia details the holistic ecosystem based approach, revealing how they empower clients to optimize operations through a powerful blend of automation, intelligent AI tools and and bespoke solutions.
• 0:57
  Prepare for a fresh perspective as Mia tackles common misconceptions about AI, particularly the fear of job displacement, and illuminates its potential to actually elevate employee roles by freeing them up for more impactful customer engagement.
• 1:13
  We'll also discuss the complexities of scaling a business in today's tech driven landscape, the role of emotional salary in creating employee loyalty, and Mia's inspiring personal growth as she steps into her co founder role.
• 1:29
  This episode is filled with insights on navigating change, cultivating a thriving workplace and finding balance in the entrepreneurial whirlwind.
• 1:39
  As always, if you found value from this content, please like and subscribe.
• 1:45
  All right, Mia Mazal, welcome back to Beyond Fulfillment.
• 1:49
  Thank you.
• 1:49
  I'm super excited to be back for round two.
• 1:52
  Absolutely.
• 1:53
  Yeah, we're excited to have you.
• 1:54
  Thank you.
• 1:55
  Okay, so last time we were talking all about S Works and you were one of the key people in growing that business from its startup phase to, to what it evolved into.
• 2:07
  And now here we are, you are the, the co founder of Talento.
• 2:13
  And sure enough, Talento is has a heavy integration with S Works and some people sure are wondering what happened.
• 2:23
  So please tell us, tell us how this all evolved into Toledo.
• 2:28
  I'm sure a lot of people are curious and maybe have heard different things, but Talento is a new company, is a new entity that really resulted out of the passing of S Works, the disappearance of S Works.
• 2:43
  So long story short, we had two founders and they just didn't find that middle ground to be able to trust each other and move forward from there anymore.
• 2:51
  So what they decided that was best to do at that point was to split apart.
• 2:55
  And in that split there was an opportunity to still be able to help out our customers, you know, and our existing employees.
• 3:02
  So, you know, I kind of use the power of relationships and the power of, you know, building that network and that service and build, you know, Talento decided to start on this kind of new endeavor and bring over
• 3:16
  the majority of S works operations thankfully, because again, again, you know, based off that network or that relationship, they saw that the same service, the same quality, the same everything was going to remain.
• 3:26
  So we were able to resorb the office space, the equipment, again, about 85% of the customer base and the employees and just kind of transition over from one day to the next.
• 3:37
  So it's been kind of crazy and it's, you know, it's kind of a marketing change in some fashion.
• 3:42
  But at the same time Talento is a brand new entity just functioning less as, not as much of a startup as most startups would because we do have over 70 employees, you know, sitting in our office.
• 3:55
  But yeah, it's a little bit of a whirlwind, but that's, you know, kind of the birth of Talento.
• 3:58
  Today.
• 4:01
  Winning deals is as simple as the sales tools that you use.
• 4:06
  Pipedrive's easy and effective CRM lets you track your sales pipeline, manage deals and automate the whole process so you can focus on one thing.
• 4:16
  Selling.
• 4:17
  Join over 100,000 users worldwide, driving business growth with Pipedrive.
• 4:23
  Customize your pipeline to match your unique sales process.
• 4:26
  Sharpen your strategy with real time performance insights and centralized Data from over 500 sales tools that you know and love.
• 4:34
  Make smarter, faster decisions with pipedrive's AI sales assistant and win up to three times more deals with smart automations.
• 4:43
  Getting started takes minutes.
• 4:45
  Try pipedrive today for free and unlock real results from day one.
• 4:50
  Okay, all right, so like you said, it is technically a new entity, but far from a startup with all those employees and so much existing business that you've developed over the years.
• 5:02
  And Talento also has a brand new twist to it that incorporates business intelligence and AI.
• 5:11
  Yes, tell us about that.
• 5:13
  Absolutely.
• 5:14
  So we have all been hearing the buzzwords, right?
• 5:17
  AI, bi, what's going on, Automation.
• 5:20
  And so we recognize that that's something that's coming into the game and it's here to stay, you know, and it can be used to help our processes and help our people focus on what really matters, right?
• 5:32
  The customer facing processes or those things that generate revenue.
• 5:36
  So what we've been able to do in this transition as well is really focus in on providing and having a partnership to be able to offer AI and business intelligence solutions.
• 5:46
  So the idea is looking at a problem holistically and not just solving an issue.
• 5:50
  With labor.
• 5:51
  But maybe it's a combination of a change of a process or adding in a new API or a new technology.
• 5:58
  So really being able to, you know, again, look at it holistically, almost like an ecosystem, and be able to help our customers in many of those aspects.
• 6:05
  So that's something that a lot of players in the game are already doing.
• 6:09
  So being able to have it as like a one stop shop or all under one umbrella and have some pre made products, but also some more personalized tailored to you, that's kind of the idea of the new partnership
• 6:21
  we have with our new team.
• 6:23
  Okay, and so you're, you're still very heavily focused on the logistics industry, you know, freight brokerages, that aspect.
• 6:32
  Is that right?
• 6:33
  Yeah.
• 6:34
  You know, I would say that in S works we had a focus on the logistics industry and we also had been tapping into some others.
• 6:41
  But I'm a firm believer.
• 6:42
  I said it on a podcast with Jolly, I think he even said it best, you know, that you can't be good at everything.
• 6:48
  You should be really good at one thing, you know, and so that's why we've been really focused in, on logistics and supply chain.
• 6:55
  So within that, still working a lot with brokers, but also being able to work with some tech companies like tmss or with some carriers or even freight forwarders.
• 7:04
  So all under that same umbrella.
• 7:06
  And again, you know, that ecosystem effect.
• 7:09
  But yeah, still working with brokers primarily.
• 7:12
  Okay.
• 7:13
  All right.
• 7:14
  And so like you said, there's, there's a holistic approach to where, you know, you, you meet with people and then you provide them with the appropriate solution.
• 7:24
  So with, with so many, you know, so much rapid change specifically around AI and now really the rise of, you know, agentic AI as they call it, with all the agents and, and all those programs, I mean, what,
• 7:38
  what's the biggest, you know, surprise you're seeing in terms of all this being implemented out, out into the market?
• 7:46
  Yeah, I think that the biggest surprise is seeing how fast some of these can turn around as well.
• 7:52
  Where we'll have, you know, those kind of AI for communication and language processing, which can be like a chatbot on your website.
• 8:00
  And we've had that for a long time.
• 8:02
  But to the extent that they've modified that and then in a couple of weeks now, they've turned that into voice AI and being able not to just de escalate situations, but also negotiate situations, that to me has also
• 8:15
  just been very mind blowing.
• 8:18
  But I also think that sometimes the word AI is so large that people get confused and what that could actually look like because it can be something super, super simple.
• 8:29
  Like let's say that you have an email for your accounting team and you're receiving emails for billings, for collections, for ap, for ar, all within one email.
• 8:38
  And you want to organize that something like an API can come in and look at that, process all that and sort the emails out to the right place.
• 8:46
  Where that's a process that maybe today is taking you an hour per person to sift through and find the right emails, but now it can take you literally five seconds.
• 8:53
  You won't even think about it.
• 8:55
  And you have the right email in your inbox, you know, so that's a very different level.
• 8:59
  It's almost like an unseen level versus again a voice agent where you're literally speaking, speaking to this robot, you know, and it's kind of, I think it can be confusing for people, you know, the implementers to really capture
• 9:12
  what AI is just because of the spectrum that it has.
• 9:16
  Yeah, and that's a great point too.
• 9:18
  And so many, you know, so many people, right, are apprehensive about AI.
• 9:25
  You know, you hear that the, the camp that says, oh, that's, it's, it's just going to take people's jobs and that type of thing.
• 9:32
  What do you think is the biggest misconception that people have about implementing AI within their operation?
• 9:39
  I think it's that it replaces people is exactly the myth to bust.
• 9:43
  You know, I know that augment is also another buzz term that's going around, but if you think about it, your, your AI, your tech, your tools is taking over these processes that are typically manual and repetitive and now
• 9:57
  they're going to automate those processes.
• 9:59
  So the person that you have in a chair, Dave, now, can actually go and spend more time with his customers because he doesn't have to spend as much time cleaning his inbox or sending a follow up or answering
• 10:10
  an inquiry from somebody that really was trying to look for McDonald's but actually ended up somehow in your inbox, you know what I mean?
• 10:16
  So it's those little things that are now going to take time and delegate tasks off my plate, but instead of delegating them off into another human, I'm delegating to a tech tool or technology.
• 10:28
  So I think it's a huge cost saver and I think that it also helps make people's jobs easier.
• 10:33
  Easier, makes them more happy in their job as well.
• 10:36
  You know, if your job's a little bit easier, you're not doing those manual, repetitive, monotonous boring tasks, you might be a little bit happier engaging, you know, with actual humans or doing things that play a bigger role into
• 10:48
  the impact of the company.
• 10:49
  So I think that it's going to be a win win for the business and for the workers, the employees, for when you use technology the right way.
• 10:58
  Yeah, yeah, 100% agree.
• 11:00
  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 business intelligent component.
• 11:11
  You're clearly competing with a lot of other solutions as well.
• 11:16
  You know, given how quick the market's evolved and so many people are coming out with, with this type of stuff.
• 11:21
  Like what's, what's the hardest part about, you know, scaling this company in today's climate?
• 11:28
  Yeah, I, I think there's a lot of challenges in nearshoring as a whole and just talent management.
• 11:33
  We have a bunch of competitors and then our competitors even start to compete against themselves with, you know, building out another company or another segment that has AI and technology because they know that talent management to some extent
• 11:46
  is going to take a hit.
• 11:47
  And that's just the reality of it.
• 11:49
  But for me, I think one of the problems, and you kind of alluded to it, is keeping up with how fast the technology is ramping up.
• 11:56
  No, we don't have a team of 100 developers, which would be incredible and maybe my neighbor does, but I don't have that.
• 12:03
  So one of the differences that we try to do is not be the first to do it and not be the fastest to do it, but look at how everybody else does well and how everybody else may not
• 12:12
  do so well and learn from them.
• 12:14
  So then I can consult my customer base and then either do it myself or guide them to the right person.
• 12:20
  Right.
• 12:20
  Because if I'm not going to be the one who, who's going to be the expert or the best one to do it, then I would rather be honest and say, hey, I'm not going to be the one then
• 12:27
  tell you, hey, I'm going to do this for you.
• 12:29
  And then it's going to take me three years to actually build out a product that in three years from now is going to have a 50 other, you know, multiple versions and generations of it, if that makes sense.
• 12:39
  Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
• 12:40
  And right.
• 12:41
  Everyone has to, you know, be honest about their own capabilities and where, where they fit in the market and then obviously be true to that for sure.
• 12:51
  And then how is your given the way 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, evolved from.
• 13:06
  From the early days of S Works.
• 13:08
  I think it's changed a lot.
• 13:10
  I think that even just kind of my role as, you know, today being a co founder and before really I had come on as chief of staff.
• 13:18
  And so I, you know, keep kind of saying to myself, I was working and doing everything that I was doing today, but doing it for somebody else.
• 13:26
  And now today and day, I'm doing it for myself.
• 13:28
  So a little bit of the drive and a little bit of the, the aspiration or the value that I get from it is different.
• 13:34
  So success in that sense might mean a little bit different to me personally.
• 13:38
  You know, I get a lot of value in seeing that my customers are happy and that they're able to afford our solution and able to continue surviving and thriving while our employees are also getting paid well and building
• 13:51
  not a physical financial salary, but also an emotional salary and a community and a culture of retention.
• 13:57
  So that to me is the value in the little wins versus maybe in the past it would be bringing on a new customer or new client.
• 14:04
  That's obviously still crucial to the success of, you know, entrepreneurship in a business.
• 14:09
  But I'm still starting to see, you know, that return in different ways because, you know, I'm sure that you understand we have little to no time to ourselves, you know, as the world is so, so fast.
• 14:20
  And if you're all day into work and you're never taking time to smell the flowers, you know, then that's really important to do so.
• 14:28
  And I'm all about my flowers.
• 14:30
  Yes, yes, we'll get into that for sure.
• 14:34
  I do want to, you mentioned there the emotional salary and you know, I love that term.
• 14:40
  And one of the things, of course, S Works was known for was the company culture and how, you know, the camaraderie.
• 14:46
  And you guys were always posting on social media and that type of thing.
• 14:51
  So with Talento being that you've retained most of the staff, I mean, how.
• 14:57
  I guess just expand on how important that emotional salary is, you know, given the way that the market has evolved.
• 15:04
  Yeah, no, I think it's.
• 15:05
  It's literally everything.
• 15:06
  And you know, I kind of mentioned in the beginning we were able to bring a lot of customers from the relationships we have.
• 15:12
  But same with the employees, you know, if it wasn't the customer saying, mia, what's going on?
• 15:17
  How can I continue to work with you and your team?
• 15:19
  It was the Employee calling myself and either dropping my name or dropping somebody else's name that was still on the Talento team.
• 15:26
  So, you know, again, it was.
• 15:27
  It wasn't that we were forced one way or another organically.
• 15:31
  People had a relationship with one side or another, and that trust, you know, that confidence, that rapport, was what was able to help us continue to build Talento and start really on this ground of a strong employee foundation.
• 15:45
  And so we've been able to kind of absorb some of USworks culture in that sense and be able to make sure that we build a community of retention, but also just letting them know that they're safe.
• 15:55
  You know, the reality is that when these things were going on with S Works, everyone was scared, like, am I going to have a job tomorrow?
• 16:03
  Is my customer, you know, going to be around tomorrow?
• 16:05
  Is S Works going to exist?
• 16:06
  What's going on?
• 16:08
  So for us to be able to say, no matter what's going on, we have your back.
• 16:12
  And they trusted us, and we acted accordingly.
• 16:15
  You know, our words went with our actions, and so now they feel that trust, and we've been able to continue blossoming with them.
• 16:21
  So I actually think that although, you know, the change in ethics was never expected, and I would never ask for that, it was something that I think opened up a new opportunity for us to continue to strengthen within
• 16:33
  the culture and really put it to the test.
• 16:35
  You know, we told you guys that you can trust us and you can trust us, and now they do, and they continue to.
• 16:42
  And we've been able to continue growing from there.
• 16:44
  Yeah.
• 16:45
  As the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens.
• 16:48
  Exactly.
• 16:52
  So you mentioned earlier, take being able to smell the flowers and you just use the word blossoming.
• 16:59
  So if.
• 17:00
  If people don't know you're an avid gardener, and that's.
• 17:04
  That's a passion of yours.
• 17:06
  And, you know, speaking of doing other things and taking your mind off work, can you just talk about, you know, I guess, your gardening and what that does for you?
• 17:15
  For sure.
• 17:16
  I love my plants.
• 17:17
  That, to me, is my, like, little break.
• 17:20
  It's sometimes, I mean, you have to take care of plants, and it's not easy.
• 17:24
  And I travel too much to have any pets, so my plants are almost like my children.
• 17:28
  And right now I have a couple with a gnat infestation.
• 17:31
  So a couple are in, like, a.
• 17:33
  What I call isolation or like a little treatment center.
• 17:36
  So, I don't know.
• 17:37
  I spend a lot of time taking care of my plants because I think that giving to them gives to me as well, and they show me happiness.
• 17:43
  They show me when they're thirsty, they show me when they're dry.
• 17:46
  You know, they show me when they like the sun and when they don't.
• 17:49
  And so it's again, those little things, the smelling the flowers, it's those little moments in life, you know, showing that little appreciation of the gratitude that I think helps me just value life and value everything that I do
• 18:01
  and all the work that I put in, you know, that's that little reward of just smelling the flowers.
• 18:07
  Okay, all right.
• 18:09
  And so as you mentioned, you, you know, you evolved, you know, from chief of staff basically at S Works to now you're a co founder.
• 18:15
  I mean, what's been the biggest difference, I mean, in this new role that maybe you didn't expect?
• 18:23
  Yeah, I think there's a couple of changes, but one of the big ones was just the team dynamic and understanding, you know, what is my day to day role and how do I work with everybody else.
• 18:36
  I'm a person that tries always make myself available.
• 18:39
  And for example, if I go to the office in Colombia, I like to make sure that I speak to every single person.
• 18:45
  And it's not like a hi, how are you?
• 18:46
  It's like a genuine, like, how is your grandmother, the mother's cousins, dogs, uncle doing?
• 18:52
  You know, like, it's a genuine conversation.
• 18:55
  And I, and I really know my people and I hope that they feel that as well.
• 18:59
  So for me, I think that that's been a big problem because I only have so much time and I can't buy more time.
• 19:05
  So, you know, even though I want to give everybody every second of my day, I physically, you know, in no realm can I make that actually happen while also sustaining a business because I need to prioritize my time
• 19:18
  and my time, you know, what sustains the business, building in revenue.
• 19:23
  Right.
• 19:23
  Generation and making sure my customers are happy.
• 19:26
  My customers are my actual customers and my employees.
• 19:30
  So, you know, I have to divide my time accordingly between those things.
• 19:33
  And as a people pleaser and as a person who likes to talk and never stops, it can be hard to do that.
• 19:39
  So that's been a little bit of a, 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.
• 19:49
  Okay.
• 19:50
  And, and speaking of that, right, because even prior, you know, I think we talked on, last time you're on the show, your, your travel schedule was just insane there something like 18 events or, or more per year, you
• 20:03
  know, and I'm, I'm sure, right.
• 20:04
  There's a lot of the same stuff in terms of traveling, going to Columbia, doing all the lead generation type activities.
• 20:12
  What.
• 20:13
  How do you manage your time so you're not only productive with what the business needs, but you also, you know, maintain your sanity?
• 20:22
  Yeah, great question.
• 20:24
  Well, sometimes I lose my sanity, to be honest.
• 20:27
  But in the majority of the times 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 take care of yourself.
• 20:37
  So if it's just 15 minutes, maybe 30 minutes to myself, whether it's watering my plants, something as simple as that, or like going to the hair salon and go get a haircut, or sitting outside and just soaking up
• 20:51
  the sun, you know, anything like that kind of helps me restart because even though I spent, you know, 13 hours in that day doing work and doing things that maybe I wouldn't have chosen to do, now that I
• 21:03
  have 30 minutes of free time, I have this time to do exactly anything I want, whether it's watch a movie, do nothing, do everything, whatever.
• 21:10
  And that really helps me kind of restart the tip.
• 21:13
  The tricky part is maintaining that, especially when you go and travel to events or things of that nature.
• 21:18
  But it's being able to communicate to others and say, hey, Look, I need 30 minutes to myself.
• 21:22
  I'm going to go step away and grab a coffee or go step away and go for a walk, take a brain break.
• 21:28
  Anything along those lines, that helps me a lot.
• 21:30
  And especially with the sun, since I live in Florida, thank goodness I'm able to go outside a lot.
• 21:36
  So going through a simple 15 minute walk can just change everything 100%.
• 21:42
  100%.
• 21:43
  Okay.
• 21:43
  And given that you've had such dramatic change within your, your professional life over the last, you know, several months, and now you're in this new position, you're a co founder, you've got a growing company with some new service
• 21:56
  offerings.
• 21:57
  What's the best part about this whole transition for you?
• 22:01
  That's a great question.
• 22:02
  I think for me it's learning.
• 22:04
  I love learning and I love experimenting and I love that every day is kind of like an unexpected.
• 22:10
  And I don't know what tomorrow brings or what I'm gonna need to do tomorrow because there might be this problem or this, you know, good opportunity.
• 22:18
  You never know if it's a positive or a negative.
• 22:20
  But that kind of like uncertainty keeps you on your toes.
• 22:24
  There's potential for exponential growth.
• 22:26
  You never know when it can hit that, like, is invigorating.
• 22:29
  For me and being able to see it.
• 22:31
  And again, you know, to what I had talked about before, now that I have kind of a different role, I'm able to see the actual margins.
• 22:38
  Right.
• 22:39
  Of what am I paying my people and what am I charging my customers?
• 22:42
  And being able to say, this is something that I respect and I agree with.
• 22:45
  You know, I feel comfortable with charging this and I feel comfortable with paying this versus before, you know, maybe I didn't have that visibility, and I, now that I have the visibility, didn't agree with all those things.
• 22:56
  So being able to really feel good about what I'm actually doing and see that what I'm saying is actually what's being lived.
• 23:04
  You know, again, that transparency piece of the words and the actions align, I think that that's like a.
• 23:09
  That's just very fulfilling for me.
• 23:11
  So that's been one of my favorite parts in the new role.
• 23:14
  Okay.
• 23:15
  All right.
• 23:16
  And, Mia, if people want to learn more about Talento, what you offer and how it can potentially help them, what's the best way that people can reach out to you?
• 23:25
  Yeah, so find me on LinkedIn at Mia Mazal or at Talento's page or at talento-IO.com, that's our website.
• 23:33
  Or you'll just Google us.
• 23:35
  Google my name, and you'll find us somewhere or through Dave's podcast.
• 23:40
  Okay, outstanding.
• 23:41
  And we'll link all that in the show notes for everyone.
• 23:44
  All right, well, Mia, thank you so much for stopping by again, updating us on all these exciting changes, and best of luck in this, this new role and your journey that lies ahead.
• 23:56
  Thanks for having me on, and thanks for all the best luck wishes.
• 23:59
  Appreciate it.
• 24:00
  All right, and that is all the time we have for now.
• 24:02
  We will see you next time.