"Our performance as an organization is greatly improved because of the two BELAY team members. When we started with BELAY, our operating budget was probably $300,000 a year. And, [after] three years, we're close to operating around a million dollars a year. We've seen like three times growth in the amount of people we have, the amount of people we serve, and we're expanding to new countries."
— Mike Mannina, Founder and CEO
The Challenge
Mike Mannina founded ThriveWorx to disrupt poverty through market-driven collective action — a mission that expanded rapidly across three countries and began serving thousands of people annually. But as the organization scaled, Mike found himself doing everything alone.
"As a founder, you're wearing every hat. Nothing in the organization that has ever happened, you [haven't] touched it all."
Four or five years into running ThriveWorx, Mike was still personally managing every expense, preparing monthly expense reports, and attempting to handle tax filings — all while leading a growing team and international programs. The administrative load had become unsustainable.
It took a recommendation from another BELAY client to prompt Mike to seek help.
"Another BELAY client told us about BELAY, and they were like, 'You need to check them out. You need help.' And I was like, 'I do need help.'"
The Solution
Mike started with BELAY's bookkeeping services, bringing on Carrie Escamilla to take over the financial operations that had been consuming his time. Carrie now reconciles corporate credit cards, manages ThriveWorx's QuickBooks account, pays contractors, runs monthly and quarterly financial reports, and tracks expenses.
"I care about every detail, but it's nice to let somebody else care about monthly closes and make sure that we're tracking things appropriately."
Soon after, Mike added a Virtual Assistant — Hannah Franklin — to address the full scope of administrative demands on his calendar and communications. Hannah fully manages his schedule, handles event planning, takes meeting notes, coordinates onboarding for new employees, sends gift packages and thank you notes, and books his personal appointments.
Mike even flew Hannah out to Atlanta twice so she could experience his routines firsthand.
"I drove her from my house to the office to our top three or four coffee, lunch or breakfast appointment places. When I say, 'Hey, book me here,' [she now has] a sense of what my flow is like."
"With more time, I've been able to focus on innovation and look beyond the horizon for the organization. Last year I got to put a five-year plan together, and there's no way you can put a five-year plan together effectively if you have to put out every single fire every day in a growing organization."
— Mike Mannina, Founder and CEOThe Impact
The results have been transformational for ThriveWorx. Since partnering with BELAY, the organization has grown its operating budget from approximately $300,000 to nearly $1 million annually — a nearly threefold increase in just three years — while expanding its reach to new countries and serving thousands more people.
"[Hannah and Carrie] are so bought into our mission that there's a personal vesting in it just as much as a professional [vesting]. It's like everything's clicking. The two BELAY members have been a huge part of making that possible."
With his schedule and finances under control, Mike has been able to shift his focus from daily firefighting to long-range strategy. He completed a five-year plan for ThriveWorx — something he describes as impossible without the support of his BELAY team.
"Having the VA and the Bookkeeper in the organization as well as the rest of our team is essential to being able to plan as a leader and to grow an organization."