Ep. 582 - FAN FAVORITE | Somewhere COO Benjamin Surman – How Top COOs Slash Headcount and Boost Profits
Second in Command: The Chief Behind the Chief with Cameron Herold
Second in Command with Cameron Herold
4.9 • 224 Ratings
🗓️ 26 May 2026
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What if cutting half your team could be the secret to explosive growth?
In this Fan Favorite episode, Cameron Herold sits down with Benjamin Surman, COO of Somewhere (formerly Support Shepherd), a company that rocketed from $1M to $25M and is still hungry for more. The conversation tackles the real-world, often-unspoken operational questions: When do you fire instead of hire? Where’s the hidden margin in automation? Why are so many leaders clinging to headcount when systems could do the job faster, cheaper, and with less chaos?
If you’re addicted to the idea that bigger is always better, this episode will shake your assumptions. Miss it and risk drowning in legacy thinking while your competitors eat your lunch. Listen now for the strategic edge you won’t hear anywhere else.
Timestamped Highlights
- 00:48 – The real reason behind a bold global rebrand
- 02:29 – How one contractor quietly took the reins as COO
- 08:54 – Why bootstrapping (not VC money) set the right culture
- 11:00 – The micro-influencer lever that brings 4,000 referral partners
- 13:25 – What no one tells you about hiring in Latin America
- 17:41 – The $3M decision: Slashing 120 employees with zero regrets
- 20:13 – Behind the curtain of an automated sales pipeline
- 25:37 – The COO playbook for uncovering invisible inefficiencies
About the Guest
Benjamin Surman is the Chief Operating Officer of Somewhere, a hyper-growth headhunting agency revolutionizing global talent acquisition. With a relentless focus on automation and operational excellence, Benjamin Surman has scaled the business from $1M to over $25M in just three years.
Mentioned Resources
- My First Million Podcast
- Sean Puri, Sam Parr, Nick Huber
- HubSpot
- Recruit CRM
- Michael Gerber – The E Myth Revisited
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 his 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
Note: This Fan Favorite episode is a recast of one of our most impactful interviews, still packed with insights for second-in-command leaders. Whether it’s your first listen or a revisit, there’s timeless value inside.
The Second in Command Podcast is an original production hosted by Cameron Herold. Brought to you by COO Alliance. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey there, just a quick note before we dive in. This is actually one of our older episodes, |
| 0:04.3 | but we're bringing it back because it's one of the most downloaded ones we've ever released. |
| 0:08.6 | Clearly, it struck a chord with a lot of listeners, and I know there's so much value packed inside. |
| 0:13.6 | So whether you're hearing it for the first time or revisiting it, enjoy this fan favorite. |
| 0:22.9 | Welcome to the Second in Command podcast, produced by the C.O. Alliance and brought to you by |
| 0:29.2 | its founder, Cameron Harold. In the Second in Command podcast, we talked to top COs who share |
| 0:35.4 | the insights, strategies, and tactics that made them the chief behind the chief. |
| 0:40.6 | And now, here's your host, Cameron Herald. |
| 0:48.0 | Our guest today is Somewhere's chief operating officer, Ben Sermon. |
| 0:52.9 | Somewhere used to be called Support Shepherd, |
| 0:54.5 | and I first learned about them through Sean Puri on My First Million Podcasts, which is my |
| 0:58.8 | favorite podcast out there, other than the Second Command. Ben is an experienced operations leader. |
| 1:04.0 | He excels at spearheading strategic initiatives that drive significant revenue growth and aligned |
| 1:08.4 | with the core organizational goals. What that really means is this guy can scale a company. |
| 1:13.6 | They've gone from about a million dollars in revenue a couple of years ago to around |
| 1:17.6 | $25 million this year and expect to hit $50 million next year. |
| 1:20.6 | His expertise lies in launching and optimizing new programs, seamlessly integrating them to |
| 1:25.6 | enhance operational efficiency and productivity. |
| 1:28.2 | He basically can automate the heck out of any business and really get incredible growth. |
| 1:32.5 | At one point, they were up 220 employees. |
| 1:34.7 | He got them down to 175, getting rid of 55 people because of optimization and automation |
| 1:41.0 | and processes, got huge profitability and scale and growth back into |
... |
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