Ventures & Visionaries Podcast with Mordy Hackel

Episode 19: How Founders Build Better Teams Through AI, Trust and Delegation

Why Delegation Starts With the Right Fit

In Episode 20, Mordy Hackel sits down with Cory Blumenfeld, founder and CEO of Blumoso, an outsourced staffing company that has grown to more than 70 virtual assistants entirely through referrals. Having built multiple companies, including one that raised venture capital, Cory shares why successful delegation isn't just about giving better instructions. It's about finding the right people, understanding how they work, and creating the systems that help them succeed.

From building remote teams and navigating leadership challenges to embracing AI without losing the human touch, Cory challenges business owners to rethink how they hire, delegate, and grow. The conversation explores why recurring team problems may start with leadership itself, why genuine relationships remain a powerful business advantage, and how accountability can transform the way a company operates.

In This Episode

Why delegation often fails because of the wrong match, not bad instructions
How to build genuine business relationships in a remote-first world
Why clear expectations and asynchronous communication matter for distributed teams
How self-awareness and systems can help founders work with their strengths
Why difficult conversations should happen early in business relationships
How leaders can recognize when recurring hiring problems point back to their own systems
Where AI can improve productivity and why human judgment still matters
Why real relationships are a long-term investment in business growth
How referrals, networking, and valuable content can help build a business
Why taking ownership starts with the founder and sets the standard for the entire team

Why Delegation Starts With the Right Match

Delegation is often treated as a process problem: give clearer instructions, create better documentation, and expect better results. Cory offers another perspective. Sometimes, the real issue is whether the person and the role are the right fit in the first place.

Through Blumoso, Cory focuses on understanding personality, work style, and communication preferences to help businesses find people who can work effectively together. His approach draws on ideas associated with personality and behavioral assessments, while emphasizing the importance of understanding how individuals operate in real working environments.

The goal isn't simply to fill a position. It's to create a working relationship where expectations are clear, communication is effective, and both the business and the person have the conditions they need to succeed.

Building Relationships in a Remote-First World

Living and working from Playa del Carmen, Mexico, Cory has experienced firsthand how business relationships can extend beyond geography. The pandemic helped demonstrate that meaningful professional relationships can be built online, even when people rarely meet in person.

Cory shares practical ways to create a stronger sense of connection across virtual teams, from working together quietly on video calls to ending conversations with a memorable fist bump. These small moments help bring personality into remote interactions and make working relationships feel more human.

For teams spread across multiple time zones, he also emphasizes setting expectations around working hours, documenting processes, using project management tools, and communicating asynchronously. Not every decision requires an immediate response or a meeting. With the right systems in place, teams can collaborate effectively without needing constant overlap.

Turning Self-Awareness Into a Leadership Advantage

Cory speaks openly about living and working with ADHD and how his understanding of it has evolved throughout his career. Rather than focusing only on the challenges, he has learned to recognize his strengths, including multitasking, problem-solving, persistence, and the ability to focus intensely when needed.

He also explains why self-awareness, reflection, and prioritization are essential. Systems help him manage distractions, while understanding his own working style allows him to set better expectations for himself and the people around him.

For founders, the broader lesson is that understanding yourself is an important part of learning to lead others. Recognizing how you work best and where you need support can help you build a stronger team and make better decisions.

Why Difficult Conversations Should Happen Early

Every business partnership and working relationship will encounter friction at some point. Cory believes many conflicts become harder to resolve because expectations and boundaries were never clearly established at the beginning.

He recommends having difficult conversations early, defining responsibilities and rules, and making sure everyone understands what they have agreed to. When tensions do arise, open communication, coaching, and a better understanding of each person's work style can help teams work through their differences.

His advice is especially relevant for founders and business partners: the conversations that feel uncomfortable today may prevent much bigger problems as the business grows.

When Hiring Problems Become Leadership Problems

One of the most challenging moments in the conversation comes when Cory turns the question back on business owners. If a founder repeatedly struggles to find the right virtual assistant or keeps letting team members go, is the problem always the people being hired?

Cory argues that leaders need to examine their own systems and management styles. If instructions exist only in the founder's head, expecting another person to understand them perfectly is unrealistic. Repeated hiring problems may indicate that the role, expectations, documentation, or support systems need to change.

Taking responsibility doesn't mean every hiring decision will be perfect. It means recognizing patterns, learning from mistakes, and making changes that prevent the same problems from happening again.

AI Is Powerful, but People Still Matter

The conversation also explores how AI is changing the way businesses operate. Cory sees enormous potential in tools that automate repetitive work, support research, organize information, and help founders turn ideas into working systems more quickly.

However, he cautions against treating AI as a complete replacement for human expertise. These tools still need clear instructions, sound judgment, and people who understand the systems being built. AI can help businesses move faster, but it doesn't eliminate the need for the right people, effective processes, and responsible oversight.

Cory's approach is to combine technology with human involvement. By reducing repetitive work, businesses can create more capacity for meaningful contributions, better decisions, and stronger client relationships.

Why Real Relationships Are a Business Advantage

Blumoso's referral-driven growth reflects Cory's belief that relationships are among the most valuable investments a business can make. While companies increasingly turn to automation and AI-powered communication, he continues to prioritize speaking with people, networking, creating useful content, and finding ways to add value.

For Cory, relationships are built over time. Every meaningful conversation and helpful interaction contributes to trust that can create opportunities in the future. Rather than treating networking as a transaction, he approaches it as a give-and-take relationship in which both sides have something to contribute.

His perspective is a reminder that technology can make communication more efficient, but authentic human connections can help a business stand out.

The Leadership Habit to Stop Immediately

When asked what founders and business leaders should stop doing immediately, Cory's answer is direct: blaming others.

He believes accountability starts with the leader. If a business struggles because of a hiring decision, an unclear process, or a breakdown in communication, the founder must be willing to examine what could have been done differently.

Taking ownership creates the foundation for a culture where people are encouraged to be accountable, solve problems, and learn from mistakes. That standard has to begin at the top before it can become part of the entire company's culture.

About Cory Blumenfeld

Cory Blumenfeld is the founder and CEO of Blumoso, an outsourced staffing company that has grown to more than 70 virtual assistants through referrals. A serial entrepreneur who has built multiple companies, including one that raised venture capital, Cory brings a people-centered perspective to delegation, remote team building, business systems, and leadership.

His work focuses on helping businesses find the right people, improve collaboration, and create the systems that enable teams to perform effectively. He also explores how emerging AI tools can support business growth while preserving the importance of human judgment, expertise, and relationships.