A letter from Dave Olsen, CEO

This is the background on how Nimbl Staffing has become what it is today. You will get a peek into why we operate as we do and where we are going in the future. 

 

The Beginnings

 

I left an international accounting firm in 2007 to become the CFO of a startup. I gradually realized that most startups don’t need a full-time CFO, and I could spread my impact by serving as the CFO of several startups at a time. 

 

At first, I wasn’t intending to create a business. I was simply taking on more jobs, and my role in these jobs was to handle everything related to accounting, finance, and administration. Once I added a venture capital fund and some of its portfolio companies as clients, I realized I was maxed out. I also realized that a lot of my work could be handled by less experienced people.

 

Because I wasn't looking to build a business, I simply wanted to find a way to get the work done without the jump to full-time, local employees. I had heard about using overseas talent, so I started hiring bookkeepers in Pakistan and India through Elance, now Upwork. 

 

That worked fine, but along the way, I heard that the Philippines is an excellent source of accounting talent. Much of their population is proficient in English, and they are incredibly hard-working and loyal as a culture.

 

The Evolution of Nimbl Accounting

 

In 2015, I found an online job board focused on the Philippines and posted a bookkeeping job. Through this post, I hired three bookkeepers: Cathy, Edmarie, and another. The third person left on short notice due to personal circumstances. It took a long time to post a job, sort through dozens of applications, and give several people a try before someone worked out. I wasn’t looking forward to starting the process over again.  

 

I was hoping referrals from Cathy or Edmarie could make this process easier, but I got something much better. Cathy had access to office space and was interested in hiring whenever I needed someone. Thus began the partnership that would evolve over time into what Nimbl Staffing is today. 

 

I discovered that lower-cost talent is just one of the many benefits of working with the Philippines. The team in Cathy's office is incredibly hard-working, loyal, eager to serve, and grateful for the opportunity to work with a US company. I don’t recall any turnover in the first few years. Cathy had access to a large labor pool and could easily hire as many people as I would need, which is in contrast to the difficulty of finding qualified employees in the US. 

 

In early 2018 my business began expanding rapidly, and Cathy was up to the task of supporting this growth. We evolved into Nimbl, a full-service cloud accounting and tax company with dozens of North American and Philippines employees. 

 

The Launch of Nimbl Staffing 

 

Early in Nimbl accounting’s evolution, a client expressed interest in using people from Cathy’s office to handle some of their non-accounting processes. Cathy hired three people to be dedicated to them. The success of this arrangement demonstrated that providing staffing services to other organizations would be a great business model, which led to the launch of Nimbl Staffing. 

 

We have been rapidly building Nimbl Staffing in parallel with Nimbl accounting. By treating Nimbl accounting as a Nimbl Staffing customer, we have been able to rapidly learn best practices to pass on to our other Nimbl Staffing customers. Through this growth, Cathy maxed out her office space and built a large extension, and in late 2021 we are making plans for the next phase of expansion. 

  

As Nimbl Staffing, we are looking to continually impact businesses by enabling them to grow their staff and scale their companies. They can hand off their routine tasks to Philippines team members and center their attention on building their companies. 

 

We look forward to continuing to support the impact you desire to have on the world! 

 

Sincerely, 

 

Dave Olsen

Founder and CEO

Nimbl Staffing