guHRoo payroll & hr

I worked for a large corporation when I moved to South Carolina in 2010. I called up to “corporate” one day to ask for a few hundred dollars to sponsor an event for a local non-profit.

“Matt, we just don’t get involved at the local level.”

I remember this conversation as clear as day. My family and I were putting down roots in South Carolina and wanted to be a part of the community. For us, this meant supporting the causes we care about and being a part of a company that cared about our community. 

When I couldn’t find a company in my industry that aligned with these goals, we created our own. 

We give away 5 percent of our company to local charities. That includes three percent of all revenue, one percent of our product, and one percent of our time volunteering (come serve with us!).

Interested in how we solve human resources problems for small businesses? Grab a time on my calendar here: https://meetings.hubspot.com/matt702/15-minute-intro-call

Outsourced Scale

We provide small businesses with virtual, offshore teammates, powered by AI.

Partner

Underdog Digital

We grew frustrated with how digital marketing agencies treated us and their ability to produce results. We built our own process, 10xed our leads, and started replicating the process for others. Small business marketing simplified.

GrowCo Columbia

Founder, President of the Board of Directors

Some tech company 

Sr. Sales Executive

The big red machine 

District Manager

I was so proud when my company finally grew enough to offer health insurance to my team. I thought I was being a great employer.

Then one of my employees told me bluntly: "It would be more expensive and worse coverage for me to use our plans."

That stung. But what really opened my eyes was talking to one of our clients who was trying to recruit against companies like Facebook. They were showing potential hires age-banded plans and getting beat every single time.

I realized this wasn't just my problem - small businesses across South Carolina were losing the talent war because of benefits.

I knew you couldn't have a PEO in South Carolina without Blue Cross. In our state, they're the only carrier that matters. So I didn't just find a solution, I built one.

It wasn't easy. Blue Cross has strict size requirements and won't work with just any agent. But I was determined to give small businesses the same buying power as Fortune 500 companies.

Today, we've helped hundreds of South Carolina businesses compete for top talent, saving an average of $50K annually. 

Our biggest win? 

A 21-employee nonprofit that we saved $120K per year - money they used to hire a new teammate to grow their mission instead of padding insurance company profits.

If you're tired of losing talent because your benefits can't compete with big corporations, or you're spending too much on insurance that your employees don't even value, let's talk.

Every dollar you save on benefits is a dollar you can invest back into growing your business and taking care of your team the way they deserve.

Book a time with me here: https://go.guhroo.co/ty-page-2921-8170

☞ Matt Vaadi

Coker University

Director, Center for Leadership & Entrepreneurship (2016-Present)

Associate Professor with Tenure (2022-Present)

Assistant Professor (2016-2022)

Center for L&E Mission: We inspire and develop authentic, innovative student leaders who leave their mark on campus, in the community, and in their careers.

New Initiatives & Program Development:

1. Seminars for Success Program (skills-based training workshops and certificates)
2. Entrepreneurship & Innovation Concentration (built out six new courses for the business major)
3. $10,000 Pee Dee Idea Challenge (spring competition for students across 5 schools)
4. $10,000 SC Innovates Statewide Pitch Competition (fall competition across 16 partner institutions)
5. Maverick Innovators Fellowship (experiential learning cohort across 8 schools in NC, SC, and TN)
6. Coker Enactus (award-winning team of entrepreneurial students implementing community impact projects)
7. Executive Round Table (annual course featuring successful leaders/entrepreneurs as guest speakers)
8. Kooper Leadership Academy (semester-long professional development, career connections, and service projects)
9. Leadership & Entrepreneurship Advisory Council (biannual meetings with business owners and corporate leaders)
10. Business Fellows Scholarship (competitive interview process for incoming freshmen)
11. M.S. in Management & Leadership program (developed and taught the very first course offering)
12. $310,000+ in total grants and donations since 2016

Courses Developed & Taught at Coker:

1. Creating & Launching the Venture
2. Creativity & Innovation
3. Entrepreneurial Marketing
4. Entrepreneurial Studies
5. Entrepreneurship Across Contexts
6. Executive Round Table
7. Foundations of Entrepreneurship
8. Intro to Business
9. Intro to Entrepreneurship
10. Leadership & Team Management (grad)
11. Managing & Growing the Venture
12. Marketing Management (grad)
13. Principles of Management
14. Small Business Management
15. Sport Management
16. Sport Marketing

Associate Professor and Center Director

University of Missouri - Kansas City

New Initiatives & Program Development:

1. Project Chair, Regnier Venture Creation Challenge, 2014, 2015, a multi-stage business plan competition in which students compete for $55,000 in total awards by presenting new venture concepts to local investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs.
2. Project Chair, Roo Idea Jump Feasibility Plan Competition, 2014, 2015.
3. Sam Walton Fellow, UMKC Enactus team, 2014, 2015.
4. Instructor for Prep KC, a two-week college planning and entrepreneurship workshop at UMKC for high school students, 2014.

Courses Developed & Taught at UMKC:

1. Biology, Entrepreneurship, & Innovation
2. Entrepreneurial Management
3. Introduction to Entrepreneurship
4. Small Business Management Practicum (MBA)

Conference Papers:

1. Academy of Management, 2014, 2015
2. Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference, 2014
3. Product Development and Management Association, 2013

Professional Development:

1. Babson doctoral consortium, 2015
2. Oklahoma State management scholars professional development workshop, 2015
3. Academy of Management entrepreneurship doctoral consortium, 2014
4. Journal of Management Studies doctoral professional development workshop, 2014

Dissertation:

The influence of director human and social capital and firms' entrepreneurial orientation on corporate entrepreneurship (2016)

Entrepreneurship Instructor and Doctoral Student

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Senior Supervisor, National Service Desk (2010-2012)

- Directly led a team of 17 onsite/remote service desk technicians while providing growth and development opportunities, and provided leadership to the overall team of 80 service desk technicians.
- Challenged staff to reach new levels of performance by setting goals, coaching, and rewarding positive improvement in order to achieve monthly teamwide key performance indicators.
- Coordinated interviewing and hiring of new service desk technicians.
- Provided oversight and coordination of day-to-day operations and department projects.

Senior Analyst, Public Affairs (2009-2010)

- Provided project coordination and analytical support for the Office of the Secretary, which is responsible for leading all initiatives and programs related to the Kansas City Fed’s Board of Directors.
- Served as project leader for the 34th Annual Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, coordinating participant communications and invitations, travel logistics, meeting arrangements, and ongoing correspondence.

Senior Analyst, Financial Management (2007-2009)

- Served as project coordinator for the organization-wide performance evaluation process, the annual budget process, the Budget Document for the Board of Governors, organizational budget training, fully-costing of Bankwide data, capital budgeting, and the Bank’s budget data reporting application.
- Prepared content and speaking notes for high-profile presentations outside of the Federal Reserve Bank, including the Central Bank of Iraq and Bank Al-Maghrib in Morocco.
- Coordinated the quarterly Course and Direction Performance Report which measured Bankwide progress toward achieving its strategic direction and high priority objectives.

Management & Leadership Development Program

Student-centered business professor with a Ph.D. in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and 18+ years of higher education and industry experience.

Collaborative center director committed to developing students’ leadership skills, enhancing their entrepreneurial thinking, and pushing them to excel in their personal and professional lives.

Dynamic corporate trainer with a focus on customized, skills-based training workshops and certificate programs.

Fun-loving husband and dad trying to keep up with two crazy boys.

taplio

The Battle

☞ Matt Vaadi

Andrew Burkemper, Ph.D.

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