Every hire on SpendHound’s frontline customer success team came through LatamCent. That team now holds the enterprise accounts the company’s expansion depends on.
“We built that from the ground up with a couple of LatamCent-placed people. Being able to keep those enterprise customers is integral to the expansion of SpendHound itself.”
Elle Hoffman-ShayowitzCustomer Success Team Lead, SpendHound
Watch the story
At a glance
- Company
- SpendHound, a product of YipitData
- Industry
- SaaS spend management
- Function placed
- Customer Success, the continued-service team that owns accounts after onboarding
- Location
- Colombia, alongside SpendHound’s broader team in the US and Brazil
- Team
- 8 people, built entirely through LatamCent
- Outcome
- A frontline team strong enough to hold enterprise accounts, and new service functions built from the ground up
The challenge
The accounts SpendHound cannot afford to lose
Once a customer clears early adoption, Elle’s eight-person team takes over the account and owns it for the life of the relationship. Their job is to keep customer health high, drive adoption of new features, create advocates, and stop churn before it starts. That only works if the people doing it can carry an account on day one.
The problem was finding those people. SpendHound was hiring in Colombia, a market where it had no existing relationships and no specialized network to lean on.
“I see LatamCent as a partner to help us find the talent we need in a place where we don’t necessarily have the relationships or the specialization. You’re the experts, and you help us sift through and get to the candidates that are the best use of our time.”
Elle Hoffman-ShayowitzWhat was at stake: an account-owning CS rep sits between the customer and their renewal. The wrong person in that seat puts revenue at risk.
Why Colombia, and why it works
Elle did not have to sell herself on the region. Every person she has hired for the team is a LatamCent placement in Colombia, and the results made the case on their own.
“Everyone we’ve hired for my team is a LatamCent placement in Colombia. You help us look through resumes, give us options to interview, and handle a lot of the sourcing, scheduling, and support. It makes it much easier for us to get people on.”
Elle Hoffman-ShayowitzThe real test came when she asked herself whether the team could run without the partnership.
“Could we figure out a way to do it without you? Sure. But we kind of can’t. You’re integral to our hiring process.“
What happened
LatamCent ran SpendHound’s frontline CS hiring end to end.
Sourcing in Colombia
Finding account-ready CS talent in a market where SpendHound had no network of its own.
Resume review and shortlists
Sifting candidates so Elle only spent interview time on people worth her time.
Interview coordination and scheduling
Every candidate guided through SpendHound’s full interview process.
Support after the offer
Onboarding support so new hires could get on and own accounts fast.
Real-time feedback loop in Slack
When a fit wasn’t right, SpendHound said so and LatamCent fixed it quickly.
“Even at times where the quality seemed like it might be lacking a little, we give feedback and you’re able to fix it very quickly. You’re very responsive to our insights and our needs, and we’ve come up with some incredibly strong team members through the process.”
Elle Hoffman-ShayowitzWhat Elle keeps coming back to is how little friction sits between a need and a solution.
“You’re really easy to work with. There aren’t any barriers to getting things done. We can just hop in Slack and say, here’s what we’re seeing and here’s what we need.”
Elle Hoffman-ShayowitzThe results
The team Elle built did more than fill seats. It created capability that did not exist before.
Before
Hiring blind in a new market
- No relationships or specialized network in Colombia
- Account-owning roles where a bad hire risks renewals
- Hiring manager time spent sifting instead of interviewing
After
A team SpendHound can’t run without
- 8-person CS team, 100% hired through LatamCent
- New service functions created from the ground up
- Enterprise accounts held by LatamCent-placed people
“You’ve helped us find incredible candidates I could not have found on my own. People who have been integral to building this team up, even creating new functions of service within my team.”
Elle Hoffman-ShayowitzThe clearest proof is where it matters most to the business: enterprise retention. SpendHound’s expansion depends on keeping its highest-value customers happy enough to become references for the next ones.
“We need those high-level customers happy and engaged in order to sign other high-level customers.”
Elle Hoffman-ShayowitzA frontline team good enough to hold enterprise accounts is not a support cost. It is the engine underneath new enterprise revenue.
By the numbers
In their words
“Y’all are our teammates too. I can ask for what I need or give feedback in the moment, and then we’re able to get things done and move quick.”
“We’ve come up with some incredibly strong team members and candidates through the process.”
“People are everything.”
Advice to leaders on the fence
Elle’s advice is not about the region. It is about being clear on your own culture before you hire into it.
“Something I’ve learned is to really make the expectation and the culture known. Commitment expectations in the US versus LATAM can be a little different, and every American company is different. People who’ve worked for other American companies come in thinking they know what to expect, and it’s not the same at all. Being very clear about what’s expected and what the culture is matters, because it’s not always intuitive.”
Her own team’s culture is the example: “We have a little less bureaucracy and more individuality, more trust, and the expectation that you come, you perform, and you own your work.”
Set that expectation up front, hire people who want it, and the region takes care of itself.
Part of a bigger build
Work with LatamCent
Build the team you can’t run without.
Pre-vetted Latin American talent for US B2B SaaS teams, placed in 21 days or less.
- English tested and interviewed
- Guided through your full process
- Payroll, compliance, contracts handled
- Replacement guarantee
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you hire an entire customer success team in Latin America, not just one role?
Yes. SpendHound’s frontline CS team was built entirely through LatamCent, hire by hire, in Colombia. The model works for a single placement or a full team.
How do you hire customer success reps who can own enterprise accounts?
The vetting happens before the client ever sees a candidate. LatamCent screens for experience, English, and account-ownership ability, so hiring managers only interview people who can already carry the work. Our customer success manager interview plan shows the exact process.
What does customer success talent in Latin America cost versus the US?
Comparable US customer success lead-level comp runs roughly 2 to 3x the cost of the same hire through LatamCent, for the same experience level.
How fast can you fill a customer success role?
LatamCent places pre-vetted talent in 21 days or less, with candidates guided through the client’s full interview process.
What is the biggest mistake when hiring CS talent in LATAM for the first time?
Not being explicit about your company’s culture and expectations. As Elle puts it, people who have worked at other US companies arrive with assumptions that may not match yours. Make the expectations clear up front.
