A case study on assembling a strong multidisciplinary team that improved marketing, technology, and operations
About Press Advantage
Press Advantage is a leader in the press release industry, helping businesses distribute news with clarity, reach, and impact. The company’s value comes from both its service quality and its ability to deliver visibility for clients consistently.
As the business expanded, so did the demands on marketing, product development, technology, and daily operations.
Press Advantage needed a stable internal capacity rather than rotating agencies and contractors.
The Hiring Strategy
Press Advantage made a deliberate shift.
Instead of outsourcing execution across multiple functions and managing fragmented vendors, they decided to build an internal team of A-players across key business areas.
The roles they hired through Pavago were:
- Head of Marketing
- Two Ruby on Rails Developers (core product tech)
- Executive Assistant
- Digital Marketer
- SEO Expert
This combination provided coverage of strategic leadership, tech execution, performance marketing, and operational support.
Each was a full-time hire, embedded into the organization, not a temporary consultant.
Why These Roles Mattered
Press Advantage needed both strategic and executional horsepower:
Head of Marketing
Provided direction and accountability for acquisition, brand positioning, and campaign strategy. This person became responsible for outcomes, not tasks.
Ruby on Rails Developers
Enabled faster product iteration, better stability, and the ability to build features that supported scalable growth.
Executive Assistant
Freed leadership from routine operational load so they could focus on high-value decisions, client relationships, and growth strategy.
Digital Marketer and SEO Expert
Delivered execution across digital channels, improved conversion pathways, and strengthened organic visibility.
Together, this team didn’t just fill roles. They owned outcomes across core functions.
Cost Structure and Savings
To put this in context, consider typical alternative options:
Typical Outsourced Model
- Marketing agency: $4,000–$6,000/month
- SEO agency: $3,000–$5,000/month
- Tech contractors (project-based): $5,000–$12,000/month each
- Executive operations support: variable and inconsistent
Total on agencies and contractors easily exceeded $20,000+/month, often with limited accountability and frequent turnover.
Press Advantage In-House Team
- Head of Marketing (full-time)
- Two full-time Ruby on Rails developers
- Executive Assistant
- Digital Marketer
- SEO Expert
All hired through Pavago as dedicated team members. Even with competitive global compensation, Press Advantage assembled these six roles for a fixed monthly cost significantly lower than a comparable set of outsourced teams.
This structure not only reduced overall spend but also eliminated:
- duplicated vendor fees
- transition costs between contractors
- inefficiencies from misaligned incentives
- Ongoing agency retainer costs
The result was more capacity for less predictable spend.
How the Team Was Utilized
Once onboarded, the team did more than just “execute.” They took ownership of major parts of the business:
Marketing
The Head of Marketing led planning, prioritization, and measurement. They worked with the Digital Marketer and SEO Expert to:
- Align messaging with business goals
- optimize acquisition funnels
- build content and search visibility
- improve conversion performance
This shifted marketing from “activity reporting” into measurable revenue contribution.
Technology
The Ruby on Rails developers:
- built and improved core product features
- resolved tech debt
- accelerated time to deployment
- supported seamless end-user experience development
This reduced backlog delays and improved product stability without waiting on external contractors.
Operations
The Executive Assistant centralized communication, scheduling, and operational coordination, letting senior leadership focus on revenue-producing decisions and client relationships.
ROI in Practical Terms
The return from this team showed up in three concrete ways:
1. Time Reallocated to High-Value Work
Senior leadership and specialists spent less time managing external vendors and coordinating handoffs. Instead of dealing with task queues, they could focus on growth strategy, product decisions, and revenue-driving priorities.
2. Predictable, Internal Accountability
Instead of chasing deliverables from agencies and rotating contractors, Press Advantage had people whose job was simply to make things work. That eliminated churn, improved velocity, and created dependable execution paths.
3. Compounding Performance
Marketing performance improvements, product enhancements, and operational stability did not happen in isolation. They reinforced each other:
- tech features supported better marketing funnels
- Marketing brought more qualified leads
- Operations kept everything running smoothly
That compounding effect is what real ROI looks like in a scaling business.
Why This Worked
This worked because Press Advantage hired for ownership first.
Every role was scoped with accountability, not just tasks. These hires:
- understood the business context
- were integrated into internal workflows
- took responsibility for outcomes
- communicated proactively
Hiring offshore was not about cost arbitrage. It was about getting access to talent willing and able to act like internal team members.
Pavago’s Role
Pavago did not run marketing campaigns, write code, or manage operations.
Our role was to:
- Identify high-quality talent across multiple disciplines
- screen for technical skill, judgment, and accountability
- Support Press Advantage through hiring and onboarding
The value was not in quick placements.
It was in placements that contributed meaningfully to outcomes.
The Takeaway
Press Advantage did not hire offshore to save money.
They hired offshore to build a predictable internal engine that could:
- Take ownership of revenue outcomes
- improve product velocity
- strengthen marketing performance
- support long-term operational effectiveness
They built a team capable of scaling the business rather than patching it.
And that is the real difference between outsourcing and building internal capability.
Build a High-Performing In-House Team
