Dear Reader,

As 2019 was drawing to a close, my uncle, who had spent over 20 years building his travel business in Vancouver, Canada, found himself facing an unexpected challenge—hiring and retaining talent. Despite his experience and dedication, Canada was grappling with a severe talent shortage, and the few employees he managed to hire were frequently leaving. This constant turnover was wreaking havoc on his payroll, and he was struggling to keep his business afloat.

During one of our regular FaceTime calls, we found ourselves brainstorming potential solutions. Should we outsource to a BPO? Could we find a way to stabilise his workforce? Then, a simple yet powerful idea struck us: why not hire employees to work remotely? We had all the tools and technology needed now a days to enable remote work, so why not leverage them?

So, I began hiring for him—starting small, with just one remote employee in India. But as that hire proved successful, we added another, and then another. Before long, I had hired 21 employees for him, all working remotely from India, providing the support my uncle desperately needed. At first, it was just me, helping out a family member. There was nothing particularly special about it—just a simple process that we refined over time. Eventually, we even brought on a recruiter to help manage the growing team. What had started as a side project quickly became a major focus.

Then, in 2020, as the world was gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic, my uncle’s travel business, like so many others, faced unprecedented challenges. But thanks to the remote team we had built, he was able to sustain his operations during those difficult times. It was in 2021, as I continued navigating this new landscape, that I came across a tweet that would change everything.