Jared Orkin went from setting up AOL accounts for seniors at age 15 to building Activate Talent, the offshore staffing empire placing hundreds of employees at massive brands like Hexclad , Fashion Nova , and Comfort.

On Episode 4 of What's Working, Jared breaks down his wild entrepreneurial journey, from launching a hyperlocal Groupon competitor in college to dominating Amazon FBA. He reveals why Amazon sellers absolutely must leverage TikTok Shop today , how to seamlessly integrate offshore talent into your org chart , and why operating at a "value deficit" is the ultimate networking cheat code. Plus, Jeremy Thurswell drops in to deliver a massive contrarian take on why AI is actually creating more jobs.

In This Episode, We Cover:

• The "Halo Effect": Why you need a TikTok Shop influencer army to drive high-trust conversions back to your Amazon listings.

• Why customer service is the last place you should remove humans, as AI lacks the tone and judgment needed to save high-LTV customers.

• The secret to business and life: Operating at a "value deficit" by consistently giving more than you take.

• How AI tools are lowering the cost of major projects, allowing companies to launch more initiatives and hire more people to execute them.

• How to start outsourcing by asking your current team to list their biggest bottlenecks.

Connect with Jared & Activate Talent:

• Check out Activate Talent: activatetalent.com

• Follow Jared on X: https://x.com/Jaredorkin

Production & Scaling Partners:

• This video is fully edited and produced by Content Forge. Need DFY YouTube organic for your brand or full-service editing for your YouTube channel? Get a free consultation here: https://getcontentforge.com/

• Need help launching or scaling your brand on TikTok Shop? Book a free consultation with Zain at: https://zainith.agency/

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro & The TikTok Shop Halo Effect

00:19 - Welcome to the What's Working Pod

01:46 - Selling AOL Accounts at 15

02:30 - Building a Groupon Competitor in College

03:22 - Scaling Amazon FBA & Affiliate Marketing

04:24 - Building the Innovate Conference

05:14 - The Shift in Amazon: Why You Need TikTok Shop

06:05 - Founding Activate Talent

06:50 - What Brands Do We Outsource For?

07:22 - Why You Shouldn't Be Scared of Outsourcing

08:23 - The Contrarian Take: AI Won't Kill Customer Support

10:14 - How to Buy Your Attention Back

11:00 - Are We Hiring More or Less With AI?

12:00 - The "Value Deficit" Philosophy

12:51 - How to Structure Your Org Chart with Offshore Talent

14:14 - Jeremy Thurswell Drops In 15:10 - Outro

#WhatsWorkingPodcast #ActivateTalent #JaredOrkin #OffshoreStaffing #EcommerceGrowth #AmazonFBA #TikTokShop #AI