At ZipRecruiter, we’ve seen firsthand how the right team structure can unlock speed and growth across a business. But hiring is only part of the equation — how teams operate matters just as much.
We sat down with Joe Yakuel, founder and CEO of brkfst.io, the leading UGC platform for retail and ecommerce brands. brkfst.io helps companies scale content production by connecting them with a network of over 5,000+ creators and building systems that keep output fast, consistent, and aligned with performance goals.
In this conversation, Joe breaks down what actually slows content teams down, how those challenges compound at scale, and how the shift toward UGC is changing the way brands build and operate their teams.
ZipRecruiter: At ZipRecruiter we know that speed matters in hiring, but it matters just as much in marketing. What’s the cost of moving too slowly when it comes to content?
Joe Yakuel: The biggest cost is that you end up paying more for worse results. When creative isn’t refreshing fast enough, ads fatigue, click-through rates drop, and acquisition costs start to rise. At that point, it’s not a media problem, it’s a creative velocity problem.
There’s also a timing problem. Trends shift, messaging evolves, and competitors move quickly. If it takes weeks to get new content live, you’re constantly reacting instead of setting the pace. Content is what keeps performance moving. So when it slows down, everything else does too.
ZipRecruiter: What actually slows down content production inside most teams?
Yakuel: Waiting. Content usually isn’t slow because it’s hard to make. It’s slow because it’s sitting somewhere. Waiting for feedback, waiting for approval, waiting for edits, or waiting for someone to decide what to do next. Those small delays add up. Something that should take a couple of days turns into two weeks.
The teams that move fast don’t eliminate steps, they remove the gaps between them. Feedback happens quickly, fewer people are involved in approvals, and there’s always a clear next step with a clear owner so nothing sits waiting.
ZipRecruiter: Where do teams start to struggle as content volume increases?
Consistency starts to break. At low volume, it’s easy to keep things tight. You can review everything closely and make sure it all feels aligned. As output increases, that becomes harder. You start to see variation in quality, messaging, and timing. You’ll see things like duplicate ideas, content that doesn’t build on what worked before, or assets going live that don’t quite match the brand.
It’s not because the team or the creators behind it aren’t capable, it’s because there’s more being produced than the system can keep consistent. Without a way to manage that, teams end up producing more, but not necessarily better. The ones that handle scale well are able to maintain a baseline so even as volume increases, the work still feels cohesive and intentional.
ZipRecruiter: Lastly, how has UGC changed the way brands should think about building their teams?
It’s shifted teams from producing everything themselves to managing a flow of content.
Instead of relying only on in-house creators, brands now work with a network of creators who are constantly producing. That changes the role of the team. It becomes less about making every asset internally and more about setting direction, choosing what to test, and making sure the output stays aligned with the brand.
UGC doesn’t replace the team, it changes what the team is responsible for.
