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The Dumbest Thing I Did All Week

Kyle Mau · April 2026 · 2 minute read

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Short stories and sharp lessons about hiring, management, and building teams — from the Founder of HireUA.

I did something dumb this week. I searched “Virtual Assistant services” on Google and clicked on every single result on the first two pages.

You know what I found?

The same website. Over and over. Just with a different logo.

Stock photo of a smiling woman holding a laptop. “Boost your productivity.” “Free up your time.” “Get a world-class assistant.”

One of them had a family running through a field.

Here’s the thing:

If you can swap the logo on a company’s website and nobody would notice — that company has nothing to offer you. They’re like eating raw potatoes.

And most of them are.

I went through their “How It Works” pages. Same three steps. Same vague promises. Same “rigorous vetting process” with zero explanation of what that actually means.

I went through their FAQ sections. Same questions, same answers, same empty words.

I went through their testimonials. Written quotes. No names. No videos. No results. Just “Great service, highly recommend!” with a stock headshot next to it.

(Fake)

And the pricing? Either hidden behind a “book a consultation” button or so vague it could mean anything.

These are not companies trying to help you. These are companies trying to extract money from you while giving you as little information as possible upfront.

Real companies show their work.

Real companies put real clients or real candidates on camera.

Real companies can explain exactly how they vet people — what they test for, how they score it, and why it works — because they actually built a system instead of copy-pasting “rigorous screening”.

If you’re shopping for a Virtual Assistant service right now and everything looks the same — it’s because it IS the same. Most of these companies are interchangeable, and they know it.

Find the one that isn’t.

Find the one that isn’t.

That’s us:

​https://hire-ua.com

Kyle Mau
Written by

Kyle Mau

Founder, HireUA

I moved to Ukraine in 2016 and built internet businesses from Eastern Europe. My first hires there changed how I work, and by 2021 that lesson had turned into a small recruiting business that became HireUA. Since then we’ve made 1,100+ placements across 40+ countries and saved clients an estimated $100M+ in payroll. I’m a member of EO (Entrepreneurs’ Organization) and the former EO Staffing & Recruiting industry lead.

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