"We've grown the business quite a bit. When Lauren joined, we'd only been in business for [about] nine months. We've grown both in terms of headcount, we've grown a lot in terms of revenue. Our value proposition to our clients is that we are a boutique agency that is focused on doing things right. That doesn't just include writing the correct software. It also includes communicating, clearly hitting deadlines and all that kind of stuff. And we've been able to do a lot of that in part because of Lauren's support in the operational side of things."
— Max Walker, Co-founder
The Challenge
Max Walker, co-founder of Piton Labs — a software engineering agency that helps startups and enterprise companies launch innovative products — found himself trapped in a cycle of low-leverage administrative work that was pulling him away from his core strengths.
"I historically took care of a decent amount of the operational side of the business. I was finding that a lot of my time was being taken up with stuff that wasn't high leverage for the business. I was spending a lot of time going back and forth over scheduling things, making sure invoices were paid, making sure that people on the team had put their hours into our tracking system — stuff that was not a good ROI for my time."
Max was candid about his own limitations as an operator. A self-described "macro picture guy," he recognized that detail-oriented tasks like invoice follow-up and calendar management weren't just consuming his time — they were suffering from his inattention. Invoices sat unpaid for 45 to 60 days simply because no one was following up with clients to request payment.
After researching several virtual assistant services, Max settled on BELAY — drawn in part by a serendipitous connection: just like his company Piton Labs, the name "BELAY" is a rock climbing reference. It felt like the right fit from the start.
The Solution
BELAY matched Max with Virtual Assistant Lauren Bible, who quickly took ownership of the operational tasks that had been weighing him down. From the very beginning, Lauren handled email and calendar management — freeing Max to fully embrace his remote, flexible work lifestyle without constantly scrambling to keep up.
"I work remotely, and I travel a lot. We work flexible hours. It was great to be able to actually take advantage of those things and not just be desperately trying to barely keep up with email, calendar invites and all these sorts of things. It was sort of a game changer in that respect."
Over time, Lauren's responsibilities expanded to include client tracking spreadsheets, website updates, and coordinating client gifts. What made the partnership especially powerful wasn't just task completion — it was Lauren's judgment. Max could trust her to triage incoming demands and escalate only what truly required his attention, without needing step-by-step direction.
"I trust her judgment to decide what needs urgent attention, to proactively communicate to me and figure things out," Max says. For a founder whose strengths lie in strategy and vision rather than operational detail, that kind of autonomous, skilled support was exactly what Piton Labs needed.
"Within a few weeks at most, I was getting time back way beyond what I'd put in, ramping her up on things, showing her stuff and going through the process with BELAY. That was very pleasantly surprising to me because that was not necessarily my expectation."
— Max Walker, Co-founderThe Impact
The impact of Lauren's support was felt quickly and broadly across Piton Labs. The most immediate improvement came in accounts receivable: with Lauren proactively following up on outstanding invoices, the chronic problem of payments sitting unpaid for 45 to 60 days was resolved.
"We've grown the business quite a bit. When Lauren joined, we'd only been in business for [about] nine months. We've grown both in terms of headcount, we've grown a lot in terms of revenue. Our value proposition to our clients is that we are a boutique agency that is focused on doing things right. And we've been able to do a lot of that in part because of Lauren's support in the operational side of things."
Beyond the business metrics, Max experienced a meaningful shift in his day-to-day quality of life. No longer ending each day frustrated and depleted, he was free to focus on the strategic, innovative work that motivated him to start Piton Labs in the first place. "[Lauren has] opened up a lot of opportunity for me to focus on the things that I am good at," he says. "That's been just really great, and it's made my life better."
For a founder who approached the engagement with some initial skepticism — having had mixed experiences with staffing agencies in the past — the results exceeded expectations. Within just a few weeks, Max was already recouping more time than he had invested in onboarding Lauren, a return he called "very pleasantly surprising."