"Rather than guessing what the market wanted, Jacqueline DeStefano-Tangorra decided to test it. The result surprised her: $33,000 in her first month in business - before hiring a single employee. Today, she has scaled her firm to more than six figures in monthly revenue. Instead of overplanning or making a dramatic move, she turned to Upwork to test her assumptions about demand. "At one point, I saw the market shifting dramatically in the expertise that businesses were seeking," DeStefano-Tangorra says. "Upwork gave me a live market. If clients paid, renewed and referred, I knew something was there. If not, I adjusted.""
"Rather than scaling quickly, she focused on patterns. Which problems appeared repeatedly? What clients were willing to invest in solving more than once. "Most founders fall in love with ideas," she says. "I wanted to fall in love with tangible evidence." As the signals became clearer, DeStefano-Tangorra shaped her offerings around consistent demand. She built repeatable frameworks, shifted from selling time to delivering outcomes and focused on long-term partnerships."
Jacqueline DeStefano-Tangorra tested market demand on Upwork rather than relying on planning. Her first month produced $33,000 before hiring any employees, and the firm later scaled to more than six figures in monthly revenue. She drew on experience in complex data and AI and as a Big 4 technology consultant. She used client payments, renewals and referrals as live signals and adjusted offerings accordingly. She prioritized recurring patterns of problems, built repeatable frameworks, shifted from selling time to delivering outcomes, and focused on long-term partnerships. The firm has worked with over 200 clients, including national franchises and Fortune 500 organizations.
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