The Founder:
Anna Tillotson isn’t your typical agency owner.
The Gold Coast-based entrepreneur started House of Cart from her kitchen table while raising three young children. With a philosophy degree (not a single tech certification to her name) and a no-BS approach to business, Anna built one of Australia’s most trusted Shopify and Klaviyo agencies.
But success came with a price: 50-hour work weeks, zero family time, and the constant weight of being the bottleneck in her own business.
“I was drowning,” Anna admits. “Every client email, every design revision, every Klaviyo flow – it all went through me. I built this business to create lifestyle freedom, but I was working more than ever.”
Sound familiar?
The Challenge:
Growing pains of a female-founded agency.
By 2020, House of Cart had proven its model. Anna’s conversion-focused Shopify builds and strategic Klaviyo setups were generating real results for e-commerce brands. Word spread fast.
But scaling created impossible choices:
- Quality vs. Capacity: Take on more clients and risk delivering mediocre work, or turn away revenue?
- Family vs. Business: Miss another school pickup, or let clients down?
- Founder Burnout: How long could Anna sustain 50-hour weeks as the sole technical expert?
Like many agency founders, Anna faced the classic dilemma: she couldn’t hire Australian designers and developers at $80-120K+ per year without pricing herself out of the market. But she also couldn’t keep working herself into the ground.
The specific pain points:
Anna handled 90% of client work personally
Local hiring would require $250K+ in salaries for the skills needed
Needed experts who understood Shopify and Klaviyo at a master level
Previous outsourcing attempts failed due to misalignment and slow responses
Required team members who “got” her no-BS, client-first approach
“I knew I needed help, but I’d heard horror stories about outsourcing,” Anna explains. “Then a close friend in the Shopify community told me about Filta. She said, ‘They’re different. They actually get e-commerce.'”
The Solution:
Building a Philippines
dream team.
Anna partnered with Filta to build a dedicated offshore team in the Philippines – not random contractors, but full-time specialists who became core members of House of Cart.
Filta Delivered:
- Shopify Design Manager – Certified expert handling custom theme development
- Email Marketing Manager – Klaviyo-certified specialist building conversion-focused flows
- Project Manager – Coordinating client deliverables and internal workflows
- Technical Developers – Full-stack Shopify developers for complex customizations
Why it worked:
- E-commerce Expertise – Filta’s Philippines team specializes in Shopify/Klaviyo talent
- Cultural Alignment – English-fluent professionals who communicate like local team members
- Time Zone Advantage – Philippines team provided extended coverage for urgent client requests
- Full HR Support – Filta handled payroll, compliance, and all employee management
- Quality Screening – Only top 5% of applicants made it through Filta’s vetting process
Key wins from the Filta partnership
- 500% revenue increase since partnering with Filta
- From 50 hours/week to 10-15 hours/week – Anna reclaimed 35+ hours weekly
- 70% cost savings vs. hiring equivalent Australian talent
- 200+ Shopify brands served (up from ~30 when she started)
- Team scaled from 1 to 7+ without breaking the bank
- 5-star client satisfaction maintained throughout rapid growth
“The team Filta found for me? They’re not just competent – they’re exceptional.
My Klaviyo specialist, Dana, is better than most Australian hires I interviewed. And she genuinely cares about our clients’ success.”
The Results:
500% revenue growth while working 70% less.
The numbers tell the story:
500% revenue increase since partnering with Filta
From 50 hours/week to 10-15 hours/week – Anna reclaimed 35+ hours weekly
70% cost savings vs. hiring equivalent Australian talent
200+ Shopify brands served (up from ~30 when she started)
Team scaled from 1 to 7+ without breaking the bank
5-star client satisfaction maintained throughout rapid growth
Three transformations
that changed everything.
Time Freedom:
From Burnout to Balance
“I went from working 45-50 hours a week to max 10-15 hours,” Anna shares. “Now I actually pick up my kids from school. I have energy for family dinners. I built this business for lifestyle freedom – now I finally have it.”
The Philippines team handles:
- All Shopify theme customizations and development
- Complete Klaviyo flow setups and email campaigns
- Client onboarding and project coordination
Technical support and troubleshooting
Anna focuses on:
- High-level strategy and client relationships
- Business development and partnerships
- Team leadership and vision
Cost Efficiency:
Smart growth without
venture capital
House of Cart saved approximately 70% on labor costs compared to hiring in Australia.
The math:
- Australian hires: $250K+ annually for equivalent skillsets
- Filta team: ~$75K annually for four specialists
- ROI: $175K+ saved, reinvested into marketing and growth
“Outsourcing through Filta wasn’t just affordable – it was strategic,” Anna explains. “The money I saved went back into Facebook ads, new service offerings, and scaling the business properly.”
Culture Elevation:
From stressed solo founder to empowered team leader
“The culture shift was unexpected but incredible,” Anna reflects. “My Philippines team is so engaged, so motivated. They’re proud of the work we do together.”
The Filta team brought:
- Reliability: Consistent delivery, every single time
- Initiative: Proactive problem-solving without constant oversight
- Authenticity: Genuine care for House of Cart’s mission and clients
- Collaboration: Seamless integration with Anna’s Australian contractors
“They’re not ‘offshore workers’ – they’re my team. Period.”
The female founder
advantage.
Anna’s story resonates with thousands of women building businesses while raising families.
“As a mom running an agency, I couldn’t keep sacrificing time with my kids,” Anna shares. “Filta gave me both – a thriving business AND the lifestyle I built it for.”
The Philippines team enabled Anna to:
- Attend school events without guilt
- Take family vacations without business panic
- Build a sustainable, scalable business model
- Prove you can have ambition AND balance
“Female founders are expected to do it all perfectly – business, family, self-care,” Anna reflects. “Partnering with Filta proved I don’t have to choose. I can have both.”
What agency owners should know.
If you’re an agency owner working 50+ hours/week, answer honestly:
- Are you the bottleneck in your own business?
- Could you earn 10x revenue if you had more capacity?
- Is your team cost preventing you from competitive pricing?
- Are you sacrificing personal life for business growth?
Anna’s advice to fellow agency owners:
“Stop trying to do everything yourself. I was terrified of outsourcing, but partnering with Filta was the best business decision I’ve made. My revenue is up 500%, but more importantly? I’m present for my family again. That’s the real ROI.”