Ep. 542 - Vinali Group COO and Co-Founder Ruth Velez - Uncommon Wins: The Proven Way to Lead with Vision Under Fire
Second in Command: The Chief Behind the Chief with Cameron Herold
Second in Command with Cameron Herold
4.9 • 224 Ratings
🗓️ 6 January 2026
⏱️ 43 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Are you facing the pressure to reinvent your business before it’s too late? Imagine your cash flow vanishing, your team at risk, and your market shifting overnight.
In this candid, deeply human episode, Sivana Brewer talks to Ruth Velez, COO and co-founder of Vinali Group, who led her company from the brink of collapse during COVID through a string of audacious pivots to global growth. Ruth exposes the real emotional rollercoaster behind leading with your partner, building culture across borders, hiring and keeping amazing talent, and never losing faith, no matter how chaotic it gets.
This episode isn’t just about operations, it’s about surviving, adapting, and growing stronger together. Listen now to avoid the pain of stalling out, wasting years on the wrong models, or letting fear keep you stuck. Don’t miss Ruth’s rare, actionable insights. You won’t get this level of honesty or inside story anywhere else.
Timestamped Highlights
[00:00] – The bold moment Ruth and her husband decided failure was NOT an option
[02:50] – How COVID nearly destroyed their staffing business—and the exact pivot that saved them
[03:59] – Recruiting from Colombia: training from scratch to building a cross-border powerhouse
[05:45] – Nearshoring vs. offshoring: hidden advantages for cost, culture, trust
[08:52] – Security, HR, and team-building—the true reasons to use a staffing partner
[12:00] – Grit and transparency: the secret to client loyalty during chaos
[17:48] – Marriage + business: the COO/CEO dynamic, picking which wild ideas to follow
[24:06] – Being the “options queen”—conquering doubts and finding your strengths
[33:42] – Building legacy: raising entrepreneurial kids in a family business
[35:34] – Only work with clients who TRULY fit—how that changed everything
About the Guest
Ruth Velez is COO and co-founder of Vinali Group, an international nearshore staffing company headquartered in Orlando, FL with offices in Colombia and across Latin America. Ruth is known for operational excellence, culture-building, and helping US companies leverage nearshoring for both trust and talent.
Mentioned Resources
- PPP Loan (COVID relief program)
- EOS – Entrepreneurial Operating System
- ISO 27001 (cybersecurity certification)
- Alex and Layla Hormozi (business couple)
- Traffic and Conversion Summit (business conference)
- Blockbuster, Redbox, Netflix (examples of pivoting, business adaption)
About the Co-Host
Sivana Brewer is a Fractional COO for Remote Teams and former COO at Closers.io, where she helped scale the company to multiple eight figures and built over 500+ sales teams in just 2.5 years. She specializes in leadership development, remote operations, and systems that empower teams to grow sustainably.
đź”— Connect with Sivana on LinkedIn
Important Links
- Connect with Cameron: Website | LinkedIn
- Explore the COO Alliance - The World’s Leading Community for Seconds in Command
- Get Cameron’s book: Second in Command: Unleash the Power of Your COO Book
- Take Cameron’s leadership course: Invest In Your Leaders Online Course (Use promo code PODCAST10 before the end of the month for 10% off)
- Chat or video call with AI Cameron via Delphi
The Second in Command Podcast is an original production hosted by Cameron Herold and co-hosted by Sivana Brewer. Brought to you by COO Alliance. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The CEO, my husband and I, were just like, this cannot fail. |
| 0:03.7 | Like, we've poured so much, and this is just us. |
| 0:06.4 | We don't have private investors. |
| 0:08.4 | This is us pouring our entire lives into building this. |
| 0:13.2 | But we also saw some hope because we had great clients, the clients that did stick around. |
| 0:18.5 | And we pride ourselves into really having that tight, |
| 0:22.1 | not being so transactional, but being very relational with our clients. So our clients |
| 0:25.8 | were really good at helping us along and really being patient with us. |
| 0:36.7 | Welcome to the Second and Command podcast, produced by the COO Alliance, and brought you by its founder, Cameron Harold. |
| 0:44.3 | In the Second in Command podcast, we talked to top COOs who share the insights, strategies, and tactics that made them the chief behind the chief. |
| 0:53.6 | And now here's your co-host, former |
| 0:55.8 | COO of a multi-eight-figure remote company and alumni member of the COO Alliance, Savannah Brewer. |
| 1:06.9 | Today on the Second and Command podcast, I am joined by Ruth Balez, the president and CEO of the Nolly Group, |
| 1:13.5 | with a background that spans the media, education, and executive leadership, Ruth's journey from award-winning radio host to global operations leader running a near-shore recruiting company after multiple pivots is really inspiring. |
| 1:26.3 | In this episode, she shares what it's like to run a |
| 1:28.4 | business alongside her husband. He's CEO. She's C-O-O. And a little bit about the Yin and Yang dynamic. |
| 1:34.8 | And really, the takeaways are very translatable to any CEO and CEO partnership. We also dive into |
| 1:41.3 | how she helps steer the company through the brink of collapse during COVID, |
| 1:45.4 | ultimately using grit and pivoting to a new business model that's not thriving. |
| 1:50.8 | She offers her approach to building client relationships that last, even through hard times. |
| 1:56.8 | Ultimately, this one is packed with wisdom on resilience, relationship building, and leading with heart and strategy. |
| 2:04.0 | Let's dive in. |
... |
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