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FAQ

How do you choose a consulting firm to move a BPO from labor arbitrage to tech-enabled services?

Short answer

Choose a consulting firm by who it works for and what it builds with you. Evostr is a growth advisory and consulting firm for mid-sized BPOs backed by private equity or other outside investors, and it helps them move from labor arbitrage to tech-enabled, specialized solutions by helping build one solution proven with a real client and training the team that sells it. A large enterprise running a company-wide technology program is usually better served by a firm like KPMG, Deloitte or Accenture, and an enterprise choosing an outsourcing provider is usually better served by a sourcing advisor like Everest Group or ISG.

Four kinds of firms do this work

  • Sourcing and research advisors. Everest Group, ISG and HFS Research mostly work for the enterprises that buy outsourcing, benchmarking prices, running provider selections and publishing provider ratings. Building the BPO's offer or training its sellers is usually outside their work.
  • Large consulting firms. KPMG, Deloitte, Accenture and IBM Consulting run enterprise-scale transformation programs in automation, platforms and operating model redesign. They fit a large BPO or shared-services operation with the budget for a program across many teams. Some also sell outsourcing themselves, which matters if you compete with them for the same clients.
  • Operational and turnaround firms. Alvarez & Marsal and FTI Consulting fit when the problem is cost, cash or a turnaround that has to happen inside the current hold period.
  • BPO growth advisors. Evostr works with BPOs backed by private equity or other outside investors on what the firm sells, who sells it and how it is priced.

The move from labor arbitrage takes three things

Labor arbitrage means selling capacity: people and hours, priced by the seat or the hour, with the margin coming from the wage gap between markets. Tech-enabled, specialized solutions are defined offerings built for one market and one problem, with technology built into delivery and a price based on what the work is worth to the client.

The move takes a market and a problem worth building for, a solution proven with a real, paying client before it scales, and a sales and client services team that can sell something other than seats. A firm that handles only one of the three leaves the other two to you. See the seven rungs →

Six questions to ask any firm before you hire it

  • Who do you usually work for: the BPO, or the enterprise buying from it?
  • Will you help us build the solution, or hand us a strategy document?
  • How will we prove the solution with a real client before we spend money scaling it?
  • Who trains our sellers and account managers to sell it?
  • What will our board see along the way, and when?
  • What work do you turn down?

What Evostr does about it

Evostr helps a BPO make the move in three ways.

  • Build specialized solutions. Building fits when the BPO has no differentiated offer, or has one its team struggles to sell. It runs in four steps: focus on a market and a problem, prove it with a real client and a paid pilot, build it, and take it to market. The BPO's team builds and runs the solution, and Evostr keeps the work on track.
  • Train your sales and client services teams. The training fits when your teams know the accounts but report instead of lead. It prepares the people who sell and run the accounts to sell something other than seats.
  • Reposition your firm. Repositioning fits when the business has changed and the market still reads the old firm.

Along the way, the board sees clients confirming the problem and what they would pay, a client paying for a pilot, pilot results against a baseline, and win rate and pipeline in the chosen market. See the services →

When another firm is the better choice

  • You are an enterprise choosing an outsourcing provider or renegotiating a contract. Talk to Everest Group or ISG.
  • You need a multi-year, company-wide technology program. Talk to KPMG, Deloitte, Accenture or IBM Consulting.
  • The problem is cash, cost or a turnaround this quarter. Talk to Alvarez & Marsal or FTI Consulting.
  • You want a new message without changing what you sell. Evostr turns that work down, because positioning can't fix an offer that hasn't changed.

Who this fits

Evostr's work fits BPOs with outside investors, often private equity, and a board asking them to evolve off the hourly seat model and into a more valuable company, while also hitting this year's revenue numbers. If you're still growing fine on headcount, you don't need us yet.

Who this is not built for

Evostr's work is not built for early-stage BPOs without a proven offering, for companies looking to be matched with brands in need of outsourcing services, or for businesses that aren't committed to building a different type of business.

Who is behind Evostr

Evostr is the trade name of Quinn Growth Advisors, LLC, which Amanda Quinn founded in 2023. Paul Smith joined as a principal and partner in 2025, and the firm began operating as Evostr in early 2026. Amanda took Borderfree (Nasdaq: BRDR) public in 2014 and is an independent analyst for Fourcasters. Paul was the top performer in IBM's New York region for six years and built 100-person sales organizations at Ziff Davis and Teamshare. Read more about Evostr →

Evostr last reviewed this page on November 10, 2026.

Next Step

Choose the firm that changes what you sell.

In the meeting we talk through where you're taking the business, what stands in the way, how your sales and client services teams work today, and your appetite to change what you sell.

Request a meetingor email hello@evostr.com (opens in a new tab)