YipitData, the alternative data company backed by Carlyle (up to $475M) and Norwest, filled 47+ roles across Latin America through LatamCent in two years. The fully remote team spans GTM, customer success, recruitment, ops and procurement, mostly in Colombia, and saves the company $1.47M a year without slowing its pace. Every team has promoted from within.
“I wish many of our US-based employees showed the same level of enthusiasm we’re getting from our team members in Latin America.”
Natalie DiTomassoVP of Business Operations, YipitData
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At a glance
- Company
- YipitData, parent of SpendHound
- Backed by
- Carlyle and Norwest (see our work with PE-backed portfolio companies)
- Industry
- Data analytics and alternative data
- Functions placed
- GTM, customer success, renewals and procurement, recruitment, ops, product, engineering and BDR
- Location
- Mostly Colombia, fully remote alongside the US team
- Scale
- 47+ roles in two years, $1.47M in annual savings
The challenge
A fast company is a filter, not just a workplace.
YipitData moves fast. Natalie DiTomasso, the company’s VP of Business Operations, calls the internal pace “organized chaos,” and she means it as a compliment. The teams ship quickly, ask questions constantly, and pivot as the business changes, which it does often.
That speed is an asset. It is also a filter. Dropping anyone into that environment is hard regardless of where they sit, and Natalie says it took her a long time to get used to it herself.
What was at stake: the bar was never just “can they do the work.” It was “can they integrate into a team that operates at this speed and own their part of it.” YipitData needed people who would plug in and run, not seats to fill.
Why LATAM, and why the hesitation was small
Every new market carries some reservation. Natalie is direct about that: any time you hire from a new workforce, you expect to run into things you haven’t seen before. The question was operational, not whether the talent was there.
What lowered the stakes was that YipitData already had deep ties to Latin America inside the company, including a co-founder from Brazil and a strong existing base of Latin American employees. The culture wasn’t foreign to them. So the decision came down to logistics and execution, exactly where it should.
“One of the biggest challenges in hiring globally is time zone. You don’t really have that with LATAM. For companies that work collaboratively, that is a huge advantage.“
What happened
LatamCent sourced and vetted candidates against YipitData’s roles, and the teams integrated fast. Natalie is clear that the integration wasn’t automatic, and the unlock was simple once they found it.
Sourcing and vetting against every role
LatamCent sourced and vetted candidates for GTM, customer success, renewals and procurement, recruitment, ops, product, engineering and BDR roles.
Hires that integrated fast
New team members plugged into a company that ships quickly and pivots often.
Making the culture explicit
YipitData told new hires “this pace is normal, this is how we operate, you should be feeling this,” and the working relationship got smoother. People spoke up, asked questions, and settled in.
Scaling to 47+ roles
Over two years the work grew across functions, including SpendHound’s 8-person procurement expert team and its 8-person customer success team, both hired entirely through LatamCent.
That’s the difference between a placement and a hire that sticks. LatamCent put the right people in the room. YipitData gave them the context to run.
The results
The first thing Natalie noticed was passion, and it didn’t fade. She describes a team that works hard, wants to win for the company, and brought energy she wishes she saw more of from US-based staff.
Before
A new workforce, a fast pace
- Reservations that come with any new hiring market
- A pace that filters out people who can’t own their part
- Comparable US talent at 2 to 3x the cost
After
A 47+ person remote team
- 47+ roles filled across GTM, CS, recruitment, ops and procurement
- $1.47M a year saved vs. equivalent US salaries
- Promotions on every team
- 91% retention in renewals and procurement, 73% in customer success
“A lot of our LATAM hires for product and engineering have actually had stronger communication skills than some of the candidates we’ve gotten in the US. And they’ve also been more passionate.”
Natalie DiTomassoFor junior BDR roles, the cultural and communication fit with the US was close enough that hiring was streamlined from the start. Sales development, a historically high-turnover function across the industry, saw more churn, as expected for the role. Renewals and procurement kept 91% of hires, and customer success kept 73% (see the nearshore hire retention data).
The hires didn’t just stay. They moved up. Every team has promoted from within:
- SDRs to Sr SDRs and SDR team leads
- AEs to Sr AEs
- Procurement experts to Level 2, and on to internal Level 3
- CSMs promoted from within customer success, levels 1 through 3
A placement that stays is good. A placement that gets promoted is the whole point.
And because YipitData is remote-first, the teams operated on equal footing. No split between an in-office US core and a remote LATAM edge. Everyone remote, everyone in.
A couple hours of difference instead of twelve is a structural edge, not a compromise. Everyone remote, everyone in.
By the numbers
In their words
“When I started, my team was around four or five people. It’s almost 30 now. That’s in large part due to the work LatamCent has done for us.”
Dakota DoukasDirector of Customer Success and Procurement, SpendHound“It basically feels like we’re working with our in-house people team. Sometimes I actually get confused about who’s a YipitData employee and who’s a LatamCent employee.”
Zack HildenbrandtManager, Procurement Expert Team, SpendHound“I can’t even measure the impact.”
Jason EdickEnterprise Procurement Expert Team Manager, SpendHound“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-ShayowitzCustomer Success Team Lead, SpendHound“We’ve smashed some records this year. Some of our very best months have taken place this year when we’ve grown the team. And a lot of those reps that have had a lot of success have been sourced from LatamCent.”
Michael FacciSenior Sales Development Manager, SpendHound“The passion was very apparent. Dedication to the work, wanting to be well integrated into our teams, and they integrated very well.”
Natalie DiTomassoVP of Business Operations, YipitDataAdvice to leaders on the fence
Natalie’s take is practical. She wouldn’t tell anyone to be hesitant about the talent. The things worth thinking through are operational, not whether LATAM can deliver.
Watch the time zone fit, which for most teams is a non-issue and often an advantage. And know that if you’re putting remote LATAM hires alongside an in-office US team, you’ll have more to manage than a company that’s remote-first.
Sort the logistics, and the talent takes care of itself.
Her one-line summary of working with LatamCent: dedicated, responsive, warm, clear, and adaptable to a business whose needs change constantly.
Part of a bigger build
Work with LatamCent
Build the team your portfolio company needs
Pre-vetted Latin American talent for US B2B SaaS and PE-backed teams, placed in 21 days or less.
- English tested and interviewed
- Guided through your full interview process
- Payroll, compliance, and contracts handled
- Replacement guarantee
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a PE-backed company build a whole team in Latin America?
Yes. Carlyle- and Norwest-backed YipitData filled 47+ roles across GTM, customer success, recruitment, ops and procurement through LatamCent in two years, saving $1.47M a year.
Do LATAM hires stick?
At YipitData, 91% of renewals and procurement hires and 73% of customer success hires are still active. Sales development saw more churn, as expected for a high-turnover role.
How do LATAM hires compare to US candidates?
Natalie DiTomasso says several LATAM product and engineering hires had stronger communication skills than some US candidates, and more passion.
Is the time zone a problem?
No. Natalie names time zone as the biggest advantage: a couple of hours of difference instead of twelve, which matters for collaborative teams.
Do LATAM hires get promoted?
Yes. Every YipitData team has promoted from within: SDRs to Sr SDRs and team leads, AEs to Sr AEs, procurement experts up to internal Level 3, and CSMs across levels 1 to 3.
How was the $1.47M in savings calculated?
It prices the 47+ roles LatamCent filled against equivalent US salaries for the same positions.
How fast does LatamCent fill roles?
LatamCent places pre-vetted talent in 21 days or less, with payroll, compliance, and contracts handled and a replacement guarantee.
