Here’s what’s happening this week

Hey team,

We’re sliding into the holiday stretch… that funny overlap where the year is still accelerating but everyone is already mentally packing their suitcases.

And while the whole Handoff crew is leaning into that end-of-year momentum, I’ll be honest: I’m pretty jealous that I’m not in Colombia with the rest of the team right now.

They’ve got the sunshine.
The arepas.
The laughter spilling out of every group photo.
And I’m here refreshing the content, as if it were my Roman Empire.

But envy aside, closing out the year in the same region where our talent story began feels poetic, which Tony captures beautifully in this week’s op-ed.

Here’s what’s in this edition:

• Tony’s Op-Ed: Why Colombia matters, why this team matters, and why 2026 is already a win

• Post of the Week: A Colombia takeover moment worth replaying

• Talent Spotlight: Meet Jesús Velandia, the operations multiplier every founder wants

Colombia, Talent, and the Team That Made 2025 Our Breakthrough Year

By Anthony Gonzalez

There’s a particular feeling I get when I land in Colombia… something between familiarity and possibility.

It’s the reason I chose Latin America as the backbone of Handoff. The talent here isn’t just skilled; it’s hungry, curious, resilient, and deeply committed to growth.

And this year, that belief was proven in a way I couldn’t have scripted.

We started 2025 as a team of three.

We’re ending it as a team of twelve.

Twelve people. Twelve stories.

Twelve backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences — all pulling in the same direction, building something bigger than any one of us.

And while headcount is one marker of tangible growth, breakthroughs also happened in the systems, precision, and output that this team created together.

This year, we didn’t just work harder; we worked smarter.

We designed and shipped a 75+ touchpoint discovery call workflow that used to take hours of messy prep… and turned it into a clean automated pipeline.

Three hours saved on every execution.

We developed over 20 modular workflows that enhanced our delivery, making it sharper, faster, and more consistent, while reducing errors by 90% across the board.

And with that foundation, something incredible happened:

Handoff’s revenue grew 6x.
Six times.
In a single year.

Not because we chased scale, but because we built the infrastructure that deserved scale.

This trip is more than a gathering; it’s a reminder of what’s possible when you put real opportunity in the hands of people who have spent their lives creating opportunity for themselves.

I’m grateful for every single person on this team: the analysts, the creatives, the operators, the strategists, the problem-solvers, the ones who push back, the ones who step up, the ones who move silently but move mountains.

This is what happens when AI-powered systems meet human potential — when automation clears the noise, and people get to do the work that actually matters.

I’m grateful for the energy, the youthful, fearless energy, that makes this model more than a business concept. 

It makes it a movement.

And I’m grateful because this year wasn’t easy.

But somehow, this team made it look effortless.

When you see the group photo from this trip, I hope you see what I see:

A team that believes in each other.

A team that believes in this mission.

A team that grew faster than we imagined, and is ready to grow even more.

If this is how we close out 2025, then 2026 isn’t just promising, it’s already happening.

Post of the Week: On the Ground— Team Handoff Takes Colombia

This week’s standout moment comes straight from Anthony’s personal LinkedIn: a behind-the-scenes look at the Colombia meetup.

He didn’t give us a long caption, but honestly?

The pictures did the talking.

Sunshine, arepas, chaotic group selfies… peak Handoff energy in one post.

A perfect snapshot of momentum, gratitude, and global unity heading into 2026.

Talent Spotlight: Jesús Velandia

Meet Jesús Velandia, an Executive Assistant + Operations Specialist available through Handoff: a multiplier for fast-moving founders who need clarity, structure, and operational lift.

What Jesús brings

Jesús blends operations, automation, and cross-functional coordination to turn chaos into clarity. He has experience as a Service Delivery Manager, where he drove forecasting, automated multi-department workflows, and built systems that made leaders faster and more decisive.

What sets him apart

Range: Operations, workflow automation, service delivery, and EA work.

Tools: ClickUp, Microsoft Planner, Notion, Trello, Monday, Power Automate, Power Apps

Superpowers: Streamlining processes, building dashboards, optimizing recurring tasks

Languages: English + Spanish

Perspective: He’s an entrepreneur himself — he understands founder brain, shifting priorities, and the value of time.

Jesús doesn’t just assist, he builds.

He organizes the noise, structures priorities, automates the repetitive work, and creates visibility systems that help leaders make decisions with confidence.

Scale Smarter with Handoff

Whether you’re filling a key role or building an entire team, Handoff connects you with vetted, global-first talent, fast.

Cheers,
The Handoff Team

P.S

Yes, the holiday giveaways are coming. And yes, they’re worth looking out for!