The Great Reset: Capabilities, Not Headcount
Layoffs get the headlines. AI optimized teams make the impact. Here are the exact capabilities you can add to your workforce today, with verified business cases across FMS, EOR, Marketing, Engineering, Finance, Strategy, and Product.
Matthew MottolaGet this in your inbox every week. Join 26,000+ subscribers.
The Great Reset: Capabilities, Not Headcount
Cheers from Running Remote in Austin!
Two things are dominating every conversation here.
- ARR per employee. As we mentioned in prior newsletters, the ARR per employee has 3x'ed.
- Documentation. The teams shipping fastest with AI are the ones who have written down what good looks like - the SOPs, scope, and success criteria that turn an agent into something you can actually trust.
In the same week, a16z released their request for startups, and AI-Native service companies are #2.1 They say "AI-native companies that don't sell software - they sell the service. Instead of giving you a tool, they just do the work."
What's really happening?
The great reset. While layoffs get the headlines, AI optimized teams make the impact.
But what is an AI optimized team? It's a team built around:
- Capabilities, not headcount
- Small cores with large networks
- The right mix of agents, FTEs, and specialized contractors
It's not another AI recruiter, increasing the slop that exists in the current resume to interview hiring process.
And it leads to outcomes like a 12-location rebrand delivered under $200K, dozens of MVPs shipped for WeWork's incubator startups, a biometric integration strategy, and many more below in this newsletter.
Have you embraced the other half?
a16z says "AI models are improving really fast, and they're now able to do complex work far beyond engineering."
We know AI is half the equation. The other half is talent, and Human Cloud models are the AI optimized models for talent.
Below find the exact outcomes you can add to your Human Cloud today.
Also let us know how your transformation is going! Are you still planning? Piloting?
Reply and we'll get in touch,
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- Matt, CEO |
PS: We're hosting a hackathon in Boston on May 28. We'll be building workforce agents with Boston's best executives - limited to 20 seats. We'd love to have you. Request your spot →
Community Call
HC Community Call - Tomorrow, April 30, 1:00 PM ET
A great lineup this month:
- Matt Vuckov (TalentCraft) on the $4B+ industrial reshoring talent transformation
- Martins Vilums (abill.io) on how to actually drive leads from ChatGPT
- Tony Buffum on Voice of the C-Suite + the SHRM Accelerator update
- Jack Spencer on UK policy and adoption
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Featured From the Founders
Matthew Mottola
CEO, Human Cloud
What If Every Agent Is Just a Job Req
Mark Cuban says the largest wealth transfer in AI is implementation. He's right - but he stopped one layer short. The real opportunity is the human layer that makes implementation work. The tool is the interface. The agent is the work. And every agent, when you look at it closely, has the same components as a job req: scope, skills, constraints, deliverables, success criteria.
Read on Human Cloud →Capabilities to Add to Your Human Cloud
FMS
To manage your existing contractor network
Worksome + Petrol Advertising: $40,873 Saved Annually and 91% Reduction in Contract Admin Time
Petrol Advertising, an 85-employee creative and video game agency, dealt with manual invoicing, broken international payments (including freelancers in China), and 2-3 week payment delays. After implementing Worksome they consolidated their freelancer database, cut time spent per contract by 91%, and saved $40,873 a year on freelance admin.
$40,873 Saved91% Less Admin14.6 Hrs/ContractHive 25 + Encompass Digital Media: 30+ Nightly Shifts Scaled in 8 Weeks for Amazon Prime NBA
Encompass Digital Media had to stand up a specialist freelance broadcast workforce for Amazon Prime Video's NBA EMEA season - fast. Using Hive 25, they onboarded 40+ vetted freelancers in an 8-week ramp, sustained 30+ live shifts per night, consolidated 40+ invoices into 1 monthly statement, and recorded zero IR35 reclassification incidents.
40+ Freelancers£25K+ Savings0 IR35 IssuesWorksome + Global Ad Network: $9.4M Annual Savings Across a 58,000-Employee Workforce
A global advertising network with 58,000 employees was carrying high worker misclassification risk, manual SDS processing, fragmented systems, and recruiter fees averaging 15.3%. After implementing Worksome, they delivered $9.4M in total annual savings - including $7.5M in tax savings and 75,347 process hours saved a year across 5,430 SDSs.
$9.4M Saved$7.5M Tax Savings75K Hours SavedEOR
To keep your contractor network compliant
FoxHire + Texas University: Hires Across 4 States Filled in Hours
A private Texas university struggled to retain and recruit top talent post-COVID and could not hire across state lines without standing up separate entities. FoxHire's EOR enabled compliant employees in NC, PA, WA, and TX with positions filled within hours, opening up the full national candidate pool.
4 StatesHours to FillCXC + Boeing: 800+ Contractors Managed Across 8 International Locations
Across Europe, Boeing's contingent worker spend was rising on inflated supplier margins, non-compliant practices, and country-by-country contracts with no visibility. CXC ran a global MSP - including 130 Global Navigation Analysts hired direct in Poland - and expanded MSP coverage from 3 countries in 2018 to 8+ by 2022.
800+ Contractors8 Countries130 Direct HiresNative Teams + Visium: 100% Compliance Hiring Across Multiple Countries
Visium, a tech consultancy specializing in AI and data, hit a wall expanding internationally - too much legal and admin work for hires in countries where they had no entity. Native Teams provided the legal infrastructure to hire compliantly in new countries without setting up local entities, achieving 100% compliance with local regulations.
100% ComplianceMulti-Country HiringMarketing
To rebuild your go-to-market
Model B + FDLI: 75th Anniversary Brand Redesign
FDLI's existing brand identity no longer reflected the organization's mission entering its 75th anniversary. Model B led a full brand modernization - logo, identity system, website, and brand guidelines - to unify communications and better represent FDLI's purpose across stakeholders.
75th AnniversaryFull Brand SystemWripple + Quorum Software: Unified Digital Strategy for 1,500+ Customers Post-Merger
Following a merger, Quorum Software needed a single digital strategy to consolidate multiple acquired companies under one brand and support both sales and demand generation. Wripple assembled a 5-person specialist team that delivered a unified digital strategy serving 1,500+ customers and clearer brand positioning across the web.
5-Person Team1,500+ CustomersPost-MergerMarketerHire + Tinuiti: 100+ Creative Projects Delivered with Reduced Iterations
Tinuiti, the largest independent full-funnel performance marketing agency in the US, struggled to source expert designers who could integrate with the in-house team and adapt to fluctuating workloads. MarketerHire matched them with 3 vetted designers who delivered 100+ projects with fewer iterations than general freelance marketplaces.
100+ Projects3 Designers HiredEngineering
For ensuring you can ship production grade code
Remotely + Minded: 4 Engineers Hired in 2 Months and Engineering Team Doubled
Minded, a telehealth platform for mental health treatment, needed to transition its MVP from an agency build to an in-house engineering team fast. Remotely placed 4 engineers in 2 months (3 from Argentina), 2 of whom were promoted to people managers, and doubled the engineering team within the following year.
4 Engineers / 2 Months2x Team in 1 YrLATAMbeecrowd + Vale: 2,300+ Candidate Evaluations in 30 Hours
Vale launched an AI talent insourcing program and needed to screen thousands of data science and engineering applicants under an aggressive deadline. beecrowd's automated technical assessments evaluated 2,300+ candidates in just 30 hours, providing unbiased, role-relevant scoring at scale.
2,300+ Candidates30 HoursAI HiringTorc: 5 Product Teams Deployed in Under 2 Weeks, 7.6 Days Average to Start
A leading consumer tech company - and 2023 Apple App of the Year winner - faced surging demand for digital outdoor experiences and needed to scale product engineering without inflating burn. Torc deployed 5 product teams in under 2 weeks, hitting an average of 7.6 days from job post to start.
5 Teams7.6 Days to Start2 WeeksSee all Engineering solutions →
Finance
Elastic finance capacity, no full-time hire
Paro + Kinley Corporation: Accounting Costs Cut in Half, Month-End Close Reduced 50%
When Jimmy Kinley became CEO, Kinley Corp needed to clean up financial statement timeliness to secure bonding for future construction projects. Paro matched expert talent in under a week, cut accounting operational costs by 50%, dropped month-end close from 50-60 days to 30 days, and positioned the company for increased bonding capacity inside 6 months.
50% Cost Cut50-60 to 30 Days<1 Week to MatchBusiness Talent Group: Big 4 Partner Deployed for Audit Remediation
A multinational manufacturing and construction portfolio company needed an experienced finance advisor to remediate accounting deficiencies, strengthen financial controls, and improve reporting reliability. BTG deployed a Big 4 partner who tightened controls and reduced risk across the finance organization.
Big 4 PartnerAudit RemediationBusiness Talent Group: Former Deloitte Consultant Deployed for US Diabetes Sales Strategy
A large pharmaceutical company evaluated reallocating sales reps from insulin to other portfolio offerings and needed external scenario modeling. BTG placed a former Deloitte consultant who built alternative scenarios for the Global Brand Commercial team to inform the strategic shift.
Ex-DeloitteSales StrategyStrategy
An executive bench, on demand
Business Talent Group: Biometric Integration Strategy Delivered
A major health and wellness organization needed a clear view of consumer biometrics to inform its digital exercise platform roadmap. BTG deployed a specialist medical technology consultant who evaluated biometric tech, mapped user-facing metrics, and delivered integration recommendations the organization could act on.
Specialist StrategyCatalant: HR Vendor Assessment Completed 10x Faster Than Internal Team
A Fortune 500 retail company hit a tight RFP deadline to reevaluate its pre-hire assessments, and the internal team did not have the bandwidth. Catalant connected them with Jill, a 15-year organizational development expert, who completed the vendor assessment 10x faster than the internal timeline with personalized recommendations.
10x Faster15 Yrs ExpertiseGraphite: Unified Business Unit Strategy at a Global Tech Consultancy
A global technology consultancy ran multiple business units with disjointed plans and rising overhead. Graphite placed an independent senior strategist who built a single, organization-wide strategy across business units, drove cohesion, and unlocked efficiency without adding permanent headcount.
Org-Wide StrategyProduct
Ship the next thing
ThirstySprout + WeWork: Dozens of MVPs Shipped for Incubator Startups
WeWork's incubator companies needed engineering capacity that internal resources could not match. ThirstySprout supplied flexible vetted full-stack engineers and shipped dozens of MVPs for participating startups, helping them get products into a launchable state and move faster toward release.
Dozens of MVPsWripple + Equifax: 6-Person Team Delivered 4 Initiatives for Ignite Launch
Equifax needed to stand up a B2B social strategy while launching its new Ignite Data & Analytics platform across multiple workstreams under a tight timeline. Wripple assembled a 6-person cross-discipline team that planned and executed the campaign across key social channels, delivering 4 major launch initiatives.
6-Person Team4 InitiativesUncompany + Tupelo Honey Cafe: 12-Location Rebrand Delivered Under $200K
Tupelo Honey Cafe, a growing restaurant chain, needed top-tier creative talent to execute a full rebrand across 12 locations - branding, web, collateral, interiors, attire, and content video - inside a defined budget. Uncompany staffed the work end-to-end and delivered the rebrand for under $200K.
12 LocationsUnder $200KHave you tried HC 3.2?
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What is Human Cloud?
Human Cloud helps companies find and deploy the right flexible talent solutions in minutes instead of months.
We automate discovery, compliance, and orchestration across 1,000+ workforce platforms - so business teams move fast, procurement teams stay in control, and rogue contractor spend turns into a strategic advantage.
By using Human Cloud, companies can:
- ✓ Shortlist 10+ ideal solutions in minutes (not weeks)
- ✓ Deploy 3+ marketplaces in under a day (not 6-12 months)
- ✓ Turn 60% rogue contractor spend into a governed, strategic workforce
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