Today we’d like to introduce you to Zel Rivera.
Hi Zel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My career began in operations and brand execution across Asia Pacific, leading projects in complex environments where structure determined survival. I learned early that growth without infrastructure collapses under its own weight.
When I eventually built Hey Maria in the United States while managing teams and projects in the Philippines, distance forced clarity. I couldn’t rely on proximity. I had to rely on systems.
That became the foundation of my work.
Today, as Founder and CEO of Hey Maria, I focus on helping entrepreneurs design companies that are not dependent on their constant presence. I call myself the Anti-Chief-Everything-Officer because I believe modern founders have been conditioned to carry too much for too long.
My work is about building operational ecosystems that allow ambition to scale, without burning out the leader behind it.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has never been a smooth road, but not in the dramatic sense people expect.
The real challenge wasn’t external. It was structural.
The entrepreneurial world celebrates hustle but rarely teaches governance. Many founders are scaling revenue while still operating as the bottleneck.
When you’re building across borders, that flaw becomes obvious. You cannot micromanage from thousands of miles away. You cannot depend on personality. You must depend on the process.
The hardest transition was shifting from “doing” to designing.
Letting go of control.
Building accountability layers.
Creating oversight structures.
Trusting systems more than adrenaline.
That’s where maturity happens in business.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
About Hey Maria
Hey Maria is not a staffing company.
It is an operational support architecture.
We provide what I call “A Village of Support at the Price of One.”
Instead of hiring a single virtual assistant and becoming their manager, HR department, and strategist, our clients receive a layered support ecosystem:
• A Dedicated Virtual Associate
• A Success Manager overseeing performance and alignment
• Administrative Support
• Strategic oversight for business transformation
The difference is not manpower.
The difference is structure.
Most delegation fails because it lacks supervision.
Most remote teams fail because they lack systems.
We built Hey Maria to eliminate both risks.
What sets us apart is that we don’t just remove tasks. We build capacity. We design businesses that can operate even when the founder is traveling, expanding, or stepping into higher leadership roles.
That’s what I’m most proud of helping leaders scale without sacrificing stability.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Something most people don’t know is that I study systems more than trends.
While many entrepreneurs focus on marketing tactics, I spend my time analyzing operational dependencies, where founders are still acting as decision bottlenecks and how to eliminate that vulnerability.
Growth is exciting.
Sustainability is intelligent.
I build for sustainability.
Pricing:
- VA Plus $9.99/hour
- VA-On-Demand $299.00
- Business Transformation Strategy $300.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.heymaria.us/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heymaria.us/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heymaria.us/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/heymaria/
- Other: https://zelrivera.com/
Image Credits
Hey Maria LLC
