""In business, I've had an increase in reliable responsiveness [because of my VA]. [I have] the capacity to know that I don't need to be constantly monitoring my texts and emails. I can be in a meeting and know that if something emergency-wise comes up, it'll be flagged to me. If somebody needs something, they'll be responded to and it will be scheduled quickly.""
— Arnav Guleria, Managing Director
The Challenge
Arnav Guleria, Managing Director at Zanbato — a financial technology firm that makes private markets more liquid and reliable — found himself at a crossroads familiar to many fast-moving executives: the work that kept things running was getting in the way of the work that actually mattered.
Operating across multiple locations including New York, California, and Wyoming, Arnav was constantly navigating time zone differences, back-to-back meetings, and a relentless stream of scheduling and correspondence demands. Rather than serving as a force multiplier, these tasks had become a drain on his focus and his team's momentum.
"I started noticing certain tasks I didn't particularly enjoy doing that were turning into bottlenecks for myself and for my team," Arnav explains. "I knew that shifting work over to somebody could improve the quality of my work."
The solution wasn't just about delegation — it was about finding someone capable enough to operate independently, handle sensitive communications, and bring genuine relief to both his professional and personal calendar.
The Solution
BELAY paired Arnav with Virtual Assistant Nikki Zapert, whose primary focus quickly became what Arnav needed most: seamless, proactive calendar management across time zones and locations.
"Arnav's time is scheduled, but meetings can pop up and he has to be on the fly," Nikki explains. "A majority of what I do for him is calendar management because he's in [different locations] and so are his clients. He travels frequently and is in different time zones than his clients."
Nikki also took on coordination with board members, scheduling group meetings and managing the complex back-and-forth of executive correspondence. When an email arrived requiring action, Arnav could simply forward it and trust that Nikki would either handle it or surface any issues that needed his attention.
Beyond his professional life, Arnav also enlisted a second BELAY VA to manage personal tasks — from scheduling appointments in the right city to tracking milestone events like birthdays and anniversaries well in advance. Together, his two VAs gave Arnav a complete support system that covered every dimension of his demanding schedule.
""One thing that Nikki does exceptionally well is when an email comes in and someone wants to schedule a meeting or know what our next steps are, I can forward it to her, take it out of my Inbox, and I know either it will get done or she will come back to me with any issues.""
— Arnav Guleria, Managing DirectorThe Impact
The results for Arnav were immediate and far-reaching. The sheer efficiency gain was striking — tasks that once consumed ten minutes of his attention were handled in thirty seconds, freeing up what he describes as massive amounts of time.
"Nikki does what I would take 10 minutes to do within 30 seconds," Arnav notes. "I've had massive amounts of time freed up."
Professionally, Arnav gained the confidence to step away from his inbox during meetings, knowing that urgent matters would be flagged and routine communications handled promptly. His responsiveness — and by extension, his reputation with clients and colleagues — improved measurably.
"On the personal side, [I've been] able to take on more complicated kinds of things. Whereas before I would have shied away from certain nonprofit kinds of stuff because I wouldn't know if I would have the time to commit to organizing those things, now I'm able to do that."
For Arnav, BELAY didn't just solve a productivity problem — it expanded what was possible. With the right support in place, he could commit more fully to the work and relationships that matter most.