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500 Remote Employees, Zero Office Space: The Anti-Traditional Playbook
In this powerful episode of CEOs Unscripted, host Jane Gentry sits down with Brad Stevens, founder and CEO of Outsource Access, to explore his remarkable journey from serial entrepreneur to building a 500-person remote workforce in the Philippines—all while navigating a global pandemic.
📍 TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Introduction: Brad Stevens & Outsource Access
02:15 - The Entrepreneurial Origin Story: Third Grade Micro Machines Business
05:30 - Wharton to Unemployment: The $20K Signing Bonus Plot Twist 08:45 - First Company: Patient Assistance Programs for Seniors
11:20 - The Nutritional Supplements Journey
13:40 - Teeth Whitening Product Fiasco: 10,000 Units, 18 Countries
16:25 - Discovering Outsourcing & Launching Outsource Access in 2019 19:10 - Growing to 500 Employees in 4.5 Years Across 85 Industries
22:30 - Launching Right Before COVID: Building Remote Culture from Day One
25:45 - EOS Framework: The System That Prevented Implosion
28:20 - Jim Collins' Level 5 Leadership in Practice
30:50 - Writing Personal Welcome Messages to Every New Hire
33:15 - Virtual Leadership: Intentional Communication & Cadence
36:40 - The Five Chronological Steps Framework
39:20 - Building Culture Remotely: Virtual Success Magazine & UN Goals 42:10 - Employee Engagement: Recognition, Purpose, and Autonomy
44:50 - "What Got You Here Won't Get You There": Scaling Challenges 47:30 - Ferrari Intensity vs. Cargo Ship Reality: Managing Growth Speed 50:15 - The 2-Question Exercise That Reveals Business Constraints
52:40 - The 90-Day Onboarding Process & Playbook Creation
55:20 - Rapid Fire: Reading List, Early Lessons & Advice for Young Leaders 57:30 - Closing Thoughts
What You'll Learn:
The Remote Leadership Framework - How to build culture, maintain communication, and drive performance with 500 employees in another country
Scaling Without Implosion - The systems, frameworks, and leadership principles that enabled 4.5 years of hypergrowth
The Onboarding Advantage - Why most companies fail at onboarding and Brad's 90-day playbook that actually works
Level 5 Leadership in Action - Practical applications of Jim Collins' principles for mid-market CEOs
Key Takeaways for Mid-Market CEOs:
✅ The EOS framework combined with Four Disciplines of Execution creates accountability and clarity
✅ Recognition matters more than you think—Brad spends 10-15 hours monthly writing personal welcome messages
✅ The 2-question exercise that reveals your biggest business constraints in one survey
✅ Why onboarding takes 90 days (not 2 weeks) and how to structure it for success
✅ Ferrari intensity doesn't work with cargo ship reality—managing expectations during hypergrowth
Featured Topics:
Whether you're managing remote teams, scaling rapidly, or struggling with onboarding, this episode delivers battle-tested frameworks from a CEO who grew 500 employees across the world during a pandemic.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Books & Frameworks:
ABOUT THE GUEST:
Brad Stevens is the founder and CEO of Outsource Access, a company that helps small to medium-sized businesses integrate talented offshore staff from the Philippines to drive scale and profitability. Since launching in 2019, Brad has grown the company to 500 employees across 85 different industries, building a distributed workforce model before the pandemic made it necessary.
A Wharton graduate and serial entrepreneur for 25 years, Brad has built and sold companies in pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, teeth whitening products, and now outsourcing. He's a 14-year member of EO (Entrepreneurs' Organization) and served as President of EO Atlanta. Brad is passionate about level 5 leadership, systematic onboarding, and proving that remote teams can build exceptional culture and deliver outstanding results.
ABOUT CEOS UNSCRIPTED:
CEOs Unscripted is a bi-weekly podcast by mid-market CEOs, for mid-market CEOs. Host Jane Gentry brings 20+ years of enterprise consulting experience and firsthand CEO leadership to deliver unfiltered conversations about what it really takes to scale, lead, and win in today's business landscape.
No fluff. No jargon. Just real talk that drives real growth.
Subscribe for new episodes every other week!
💬 JOIN THE CONVERSATION: What's your biggest challenge with remote team management or onboarding? Drop a comment below!
View all episodes
By Jane GentryIn this powerful episode of CEOs Unscripted, host Jane Gentry sits down with Brad Stevens, founder and CEO of Outsource Access, to explore his remarkable journey from serial entrepreneur to building a 500-person remote workforce in the Philippines—all while navigating a global pandemic.
📍 TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Introduction: Brad Stevens & Outsource Access
02:15 - The Entrepreneurial Origin Story: Third Grade Micro Machines Business
05:30 - Wharton to Unemployment: The $20K Signing Bonus Plot Twist 08:45 - First Company: Patient Assistance Programs for Seniors
11:20 - The Nutritional Supplements Journey
13:40 - Teeth Whitening Product Fiasco: 10,000 Units, 18 Countries
16:25 - Discovering Outsourcing & Launching Outsource Access in 2019 19:10 - Growing to 500 Employees in 4.5 Years Across 85 Industries
22:30 - Launching Right Before COVID: Building Remote Culture from Day One
25:45 - EOS Framework: The System That Prevented Implosion
28:20 - Jim Collins' Level 5 Leadership in Practice
30:50 - Writing Personal Welcome Messages to Every New Hire
33:15 - Virtual Leadership: Intentional Communication & Cadence
36:40 - The Five Chronological Steps Framework
39:20 - Building Culture Remotely: Virtual Success Magazine & UN Goals 42:10 - Employee Engagement: Recognition, Purpose, and Autonomy
44:50 - "What Got You Here Won't Get You There": Scaling Challenges 47:30 - Ferrari Intensity vs. Cargo Ship Reality: Managing Growth Speed 50:15 - The 2-Question Exercise That Reveals Business Constraints
52:40 - The 90-Day Onboarding Process & Playbook Creation
55:20 - Rapid Fire: Reading List, Early Lessons & Advice for Young Leaders 57:30 - Closing Thoughts
What You'll Learn:
The Remote Leadership Framework - How to build culture, maintain communication, and drive performance with 500 employees in another country
Scaling Without Implosion - The systems, frameworks, and leadership principles that enabled 4.5 years of hypergrowth
The Onboarding Advantage - Why most companies fail at onboarding and Brad's 90-day playbook that actually works
Level 5 Leadership in Action - Practical applications of Jim Collins' principles for mid-market CEOs
Key Takeaways for Mid-Market CEOs:
✅ The EOS framework combined with Four Disciplines of Execution creates accountability and clarity
✅ Recognition matters more than you think—Brad spends 10-15 hours monthly writing personal welcome messages
✅ The 2-question exercise that reveals your biggest business constraints in one survey
✅ Why onboarding takes 90 days (not 2 weeks) and how to structure it for success
✅ Ferrari intensity doesn't work with cargo ship reality—managing expectations during hypergrowth
Featured Topics:
Whether you're managing remote teams, scaling rapidly, or struggling with onboarding, this episode delivers battle-tested frameworks from a CEO who grew 500 employees across the world during a pandemic.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Books & Frameworks:
ABOUT THE GUEST:
Brad Stevens is the founder and CEO of Outsource Access, a company that helps small to medium-sized businesses integrate talented offshore staff from the Philippines to drive scale and profitability. Since launching in 2019, Brad has grown the company to 500 employees across 85 different industries, building a distributed workforce model before the pandemic made it necessary.
A Wharton graduate and serial entrepreneur for 25 years, Brad has built and sold companies in pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, teeth whitening products, and now outsourcing. He's a 14-year member of EO (Entrepreneurs' Organization) and served as President of EO Atlanta. Brad is passionate about level 5 leadership, systematic onboarding, and proving that remote teams can build exceptional culture and deliver outstanding results.
ABOUT CEOS UNSCRIPTED:
CEOs Unscripted is a bi-weekly podcast by mid-market CEOs, for mid-market CEOs. Host Jane Gentry brings 20+ years of enterprise consulting experience and firsthand CEO leadership to deliver unfiltered conversations about what it really takes to scale, lead, and win in today's business landscape.
No fluff. No jargon. Just real talk that drives real growth.
Subscribe for new episodes every other week!
💬 JOIN THE CONVERSATION: What's your biggest challenge with remote team management or onboarding? Drop a comment below!