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How to build an A+ team to drive 700% growth

How Verblio recruited its first 10 writers and built a 40-person team on a small budget by hiring for traits and values

Steve Benson · Verblio

Published September 1, 2022
About this resource

Hiring is one of the hardest parts of running a SaaS company.

Steve Pockross, CEO at Verblio has it down to a science. Lucky for us, he shared his framework for hiring A+ talent on a D- budget.

In just 20 minutes, he covers:

- Keys to recruiting our first 10 writers (3k today)

- How we scaled an A+ team of 40 FTE with a low budget

- The CEO’s key role in every phase of the process

Explore the lesson. Sign in to access the slide download.

What you’ll learn

Steve Pockross explains how Verblio built a strong team through funnel thinking, deliberate values, transparent compensation, and customer success.

Read the source passages

Key moments

Find the ideas you need and go straight to the source.

Use funnel thinking

“of 3 000 freelance writers and what they do is create the power to basically how do you explain floor and exploit the new competitive Advantage for the marketing channel of inbound traffic and so we create that content for the web this is our I don't know why it says 2019 but these are our stats through 2000 through year to date we're basically on track for over a hundred thousand pieces of unique content created we are trying to create unique content at scale with high quality and that combination is a very”
Watch at 01:53

Target the right people

“that uh that I think really set us apart so one is every member of this leadership team that I've hired over the last six years we have had zero percent turnover that gives an incredible competitive Advantage they are also built for growing a much larger organization than I currently have so we don't spend time on turnover um we don't spend time on having to recruit every year they get to do everything we have we've lost one person on who we didn't want to lose over the last year we at lose an average of two people per”
Watch at 06:15

Discover company values

“the values come up when the right time to find your values is after you created them and you try to figure out what you've just created as opposed to the Whiteboard strategy of putting them out there ours are about passion quirkiness and scrappiness inclusiveness and really cheering on bringing energy to the rest of the team the thing that I interview for at the end and why it's so important I thought that Todd's comment was really interesting of like what value does the CEO bring is this just a control freak situation to me I'm going in with a”
Watch at 10:35

Be transparent on pay

“one is they want agency they want control they want to be able to make a difference so I meet with every member of my company it used to be every month I think Todd was talking about this as well I deeply believe in the one-on-one not just Not Just for information gathering which is the way I think most people think of it but it's also to empower those employees you want people who are going to make a change you want them to see something and want to make a difference as opposed to whatever systems you've built up in place like scar tissue in your company that is going to prevent”
Watch at 14:56

Extend sales through success

“is it kind of an example of what uh of what we're doing here of kind of the main point of the story so I took over in 2017 I have another graph that I included in the safter presentation which is um I hired an amazing um so I met this woman Zoe um treason when I was she was an intern at my previous startup and I thought she was a top talent she was a film major and she was going to business school because she thought it would be interesting she'd never manage one human in her life but she was all of the traits that I just talked about flexible”
Watch at 19:18

Verblio Revenue Growth

“Verblio Revenue Growth”
Read slide 2

Bootstrapped A+ Talent

“Focus on values for quick culture fit”
Read slide 6

Promote Brand and Culture

“Promote Brand and Culture”
Read slide 10

Be Transparent

“Embrace details with a 1500-word job description”
Read slide 13

Keys to recruiting our first 10 writers

“Keys to recruiting our first 10 writers (3k today)”
Read slide 16

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Resource files

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  • How to build an A+ team to drive 700% growth - Slide Deck

About the speaker
Steve Benson

Steve Benson

Founder and CEO · Verblio

LinkedIn

Steve Benson is the CEO and founder of Badger Maps, the #1 app for route planning and scheduling to help outside sales reps save up to 10 hours every week. Steve is also tthe CEO of Badger Sales University and the president of the Sales Hall of Fame. After receiving his MBA from Stanford, Steve joined Google. There, he became Google enterprise's top sales executive globally in 2009.

Company revenue
$14M
Team size
50

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Slide by slide

Each slide with a short explanation of what it shows. Open the slide text for its exact wording.

17 passages

Verblio talent strategy

  1. Slide 1Open deck
    Slide text

    Steve Pockross CEO of Verblio Founder500, September 2022 How We Win Over A+ Talent On a D- Budget The bootstrapped strategy that got us 700% growth ($12m+ today)

  2. Slide 2Open deck

    Revenue rose each year

    Verblio's revenue chart climbs from $1.5m in 2015 to $14m in 2022, with a larger increase in each successive year. The plotted labels are $2.1m in 2016, $2.3m in 2017, $3.1m in 2018, $4.5m in 2019, $6m in 2020, and $8.9m in 2021.

    Slide text

    Verblio Revenue Growth

Scale and talent context

  1. Slide 3Open deck

    2022 output through July

    The metrics card pairs marketplace activity with revenue and writer payments: 53,670 pieces of content, 1,383 customers, 991 writers, $6.3m in total revenue, and $2.1m paid to writers. These figures are labeled year to date through July 2022.

    Slide text

    Verblio Revenue Growth $2.1m Paid to writers 53,670 1,383 $6.3m 991 Customers Total revenue Writers produced content Pieces of content produced Key Metrics 2022 YTD Through July

  2. Slide 4Open deck

    Talk roadmap: talent and growth

    The agenda connects early customer and writer acquisition with the later work of recruiting contractors, scaling a team, and operating a marketplace plus SaaS business. It also previews the CEO's role and how writers earn through the platform.

    Slide text

    Over the next 20 minutes Keys to recruiting our first 10 writers (3k today) I’m going to show you $0 TO $1M TALENT SaaS+ Growth channel first 10 customers (7 pay > $20k/mo today) 50k pieces of content YTD, the system we used How we recruited 12 high talent, low pay contractors How we scaled an A+ team of 40 FTE with a low budget The CEO’s key role in every phase of the process Bonus round if time: How we make money in marketplace + SaaS How 3k writers make a living on our platform Our next move

  3. Slide 5Open deck

    A team organized across functions

    The organization chart places the CEO above sales, marketing, finance, operations, and people leadership, with specialist teams underneath. Yellow-highlighted boxes distinguish contractor roles among the broader team.

Traits and values

  1. Slide 6Open deck

    Hire for traits over experience

    The slide argues that experience can be expensive, so a bootstrapped team can prioritize values, curiosity, and flexibility instead. It favors people who ask better questions, grow with the business, adapt priorities, and commit to the mission.

    Slide text

    Bootstrapped A+ Talent Experience is expensive Look for key traits instead Focus on values for quick culture fit Look for different people than your competition TRAITS BRAINS FLEXIBILITY Operators are a dime a dozen Smarter people who ask better questions They want to grow with your business They want to figure it out as they go They shift priorities quickly Committed to team and your mission, not $$

Interviewing for traits

  1. Slide 7Open deck

    Use values to guide interviews

    Rather than relying on artificial scorecards, the process gives interviewers distinct roles and uses company values as the shared evaluation standard. Interviewers then reach consensus, while the CEO checks whether the conversation leaves them energized.

    Slide text

    Interview for Traits No artificial scorecards Each interviewer has a specific role Use your values as the scorecard Get consensus CEO interview: Did the candidate leave me with more energy than when the interview started?

Recruiting as marketing

  1. Slide 8Open deck

    Treat recruiting like marketing

    Recruiting works like a funnel: find a selective audience, tailor the message, and explain what makes the company different. The slide assigns job writing to strong writers and presents lived culture as both a recruiting advantage and a source of referrals.

    Slide text

    Recruiting is Marketing Treat recruiting the way you would treat your sales funnel Find a selective niche audience Look for different things than typical recruiters Why does HR write job reqs when they aren’t writers? WORK IT LIKE A FUNNEL USE YOUR BEST WRITERS BRAND AND CULTURE Top copywriter looks at every job req, not HR Use right messaging strat for niche audience Tell candidates why you’re different Culture is a competitive advantage Ongoing values, lived 1000x/day A+ players recruit other A+ players

  2. Slide 9Open deck

    Make the employer brand visible

    A careers graphic presents Verblio as a lively place for content marketing enthusiasts and pairs the message with workplace-recognition badges. The visual turns employer brand into a recruiting asset candidates can notice.

  3. Slide 10Open deck

    Show culture through everyday benefits

    The examples pair equity, health coverage, flexible time off, and a monthly Friday off with casual team rituals such as snacks and shared chat channels. The mix makes the employee experience tangible through both formal benefits and daily culture.

    Slide text

    Promote Brand and Culture Create interesting benefits

Transparent job messaging and onboarding

  1. Slide 11Open deck

    Help the right candidates say yes

    The hiring message combines visible culture and distinctive benefits with a detailed job description. Role-specific humor can make the pitch memorable, while empathy and honest expectations help candidates assess whether the role fits.

    Slide text

    Land A+ Players Promote brand and culture Unique interesting benefits Show them you are different Close the deal with a killer job req HELP THEM FIND YOU BE CATCHY BE TRANSPARENT Use role-specific jokes Make them laugh Empathize. Show them you know this is hard. More detail about the role than you think you need Be honest about what you’re looking for Long job req is a good thing

  2. Slide 12Open deck

    Use humor in job descriptions

    The examples use playful, role-specific lines to show how a job description can sound human and memorable. Humor sits alongside a clear signal about the kind of teammate and work environment candidates can expect.

    Slide text

    Be Catchy Make them laugh 3x

  3. Slide 13Open deck

    Be transparent with job details

    A 1,500-word job description gives candidates context on the company, its content marketing work, benefits, team, and channels. The level of detail is meant to help people understand the role and the environment before applying.

    Slide text

    Be Transparent Embrace details with a 1500-word job description

  4. Slide 14Open deck

    Retention starts at acceptance

    The onboarding plan begins before day one with a welcome gift, a buddy, and messages from the whole team. A laptop screenshot adds recurring one-on-ones, agendas, follow-ups, project updates, and feedback as practices for keeping new hires connected.

    Slide text

    Stick the Landing Retention starts on day 1 - especially in this day and age of high turnover Send swag and DoorDash gift when offer signed Onboarding buddy program Whole team sends welcome messages after acceptance

  5. Slide 15Open deck

    Revenue accelerated through 2022

    The chart repeats the yearly revenue series and emphasizes its acceleration, from $1.5m in 2015 to $14m in 2022. The rise becomes steeper in the last three years, reaching $6m in 2020 and $8.9m in 2021 before the 2022 bar.

    Slide text

    Verblio Revenue Growth

  6. Slide 16Open deck

    Recap: people and growth systems

    The recap highlights recruiting the first 10 writers, acquiring early customers, producing 50k pieces of content year to date, and growing a team with contractors. It also revisits the marketplace and SaaS model, the CEO's role, and how writers earn on the platform.

    Slide text

    Over the last 20 minutes Keys to recruiting our first 10 writers (3k today) I showed you $0 TO $1M TALENT SaaS+ Growth channel first 10 customers (7 pay > $20k/mo today) 50k pieces of content YTD, the system we used How we recruited 12 high talent, low pay contractors How we scaled an A+ team of 40 FTE with a low budget The CEO’s key role in every phase of the process Bonus round if time: How we make money in marketplace + SaaS How 3k writers make a living on our platform Our next move

  7. Slide 17Open deck

    Thank the audience

    The closing slide thanks the audience and leaves the talk centered on the speaker and the company he represents.

    Slide text

    September 2022 Steve Pockross CEO of Verblio