Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica McMannes.
Hi Erica, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
If “necessity is the mother of invention,” Erica McMannes’ life as an Army spouse—including 14 moves in 22 years—translated to “necessity breeds innovation” as an assignment in California lead her to the startup scene in Silicon Valley.
After 14 years working with military families and children, two degrees in Human Ecology, three military moves in three years, and two kids under the age of 5, I made a hard pivot in 2012 into the startup scene.
Our young family had just moved from Louisiana to Monterey, California and I was quickly exposed to ingenuity, passion, and endless opportunities to build meaningful business solutions in the Silicon Valley tech space. I had little to no job prospects in my trained field (a challenge experienced by millions of other military spouses) and took a chance by saying “yes” to something new set in my path.
I quickly learned that my interests and background in how people traverse environments, how communities expand through shared interests, and how people find themselves in an array of situations have a strong setting in the start-up space. I latched on to corporate and community solution building and the innovation potential of startups. And I haven’t looked back.
Following four years of working for several startups as a consultant, I began to see a bigger picture emerge. I had been building both local and remote teams of military spouses for my clients to take products to market and run brand customer programs.
After knocking a product launch out of the ballpark (by saturating the user market in about four months), one of my client’s executive leaders said, “Damn, these military spouses are a force to be reckoned with, why don’t people know about you all as a workforce?”
This was my “ah-ha” moment.
I realized more people should know about this remarkable and untapped talent community that has always been near and dear to me. It became my mission to create a scalable business model that could plug and play into corporations that would also provide employment solutions for my peers.
In April of 2016, I sent a Facebook message that embarked my journey into customer experience (CX) solutions. That message was to my now co-founder/CEO of Instant Teams, fellow Army spouse Liza Rodewald, who was a software engineer running her own software firm.
I proposed to her an idea that had been tugging at my soul: how to build a business that connects corporate organizations in search of remarkable talent with military spouses seeking employment who need meaningful, portable remote solutions.
Liza was the right partner for this tech-focused solution, and we have been growing and scaling ever since. We are now part of the less than 3% of female-led companies to receive venture funding, allowing us to meaningfully employ hundreds of military spouses who have faced a 24% unemployment crisis over the past decade.
Being both a start-up founder and a military spouse has molded me into an empathetic leader, resourceful change agent, and resilient business owner.
Many military spouses will tell you: It’s not just about surviving the challenges; it’s about transforming through them.
So, let’s embrace challenges and turn them into our greatest assets!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Funny enough, I was just on a team call this morning and someone asked, “What do you wish you knew before becoming a founder?” And after 8 or 9 years into this journey, I have to say — it’s a loaded question.
The struggles are real, and entrepreneurship is definitely not for the faint of heart. There are incredible programs out there — for scaling, networking, mentorship — but one thing I’ve learned is that the internal journey of a founder is often left out of those conversations. The inner self — your mindset, emotional endurance, and personal identity — is constantly being tested. Every part of who I am — my past, my strengths, my insecurities, my boundaries — has been challenged in ways I couldn’t have predicted.
It’s a unique paradox: building and scaling something that touches hundreds or even thousands of people, while quietly navigating some of the most personal growth you’ll ever go through.
I’ve faced the usual business challenges — and I know now that those struggles can be signs of growth or alignment with the market — but that doesn’t make them any easier when you’re in the thick of it. In the early days of COVID, we lost nearly half our book of business in just a few weeks — most of our customers at the time were in travel and hospitality. We’ve had to weather cash flow crises, delayed payments, team growing pains, tough customer issues. We’ve been underestimated and overlooked as female founders — and still showed up.
At this point, I sometimes joke we’ve been through almost every storm you can imagine — and somehow, we’re still standing. And more importantly, we’re still learning.
As you know, we’re big fans of Instant Teams. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Instant Teams is a CX Talent Marketplace. Through its comprehensive suite of solutions—including BPO and outsourcing services (with temp-to-perm options), a targeted job board, and brand marketing opportunities—Instant Teams delivers high-performing CX teams that strengthen brands. Committed to its mission, the company empowers military families by providing remote CX employment opportunities that enhance financial wellness and career growth.
In the day to day we are building and managing high-performing CX teams for brands across the nation, as well as building community, hosting large scale events, and partnering with brands on the marketing front to remain boots on the ground in serving the military spouse community.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://instantteams.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instantteams_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/instantteams
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/instant-teams
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@instantteams
