CASE STUDY · CURIOSITY STREAM
75%
Cost reduction
100K
Customer inquiries annually
24M+
Customers
"Work for Impact allows us to maintain an exceptional standard of service while lowering costs and offering better pay for talent. Three birds with one stone!"
Andrew Echeguren
Senior CX Manager
ABOUT CURIOSITY STREAM
Curiosity Stream Inc. is the world’s first publicly traded streaming media company dedicated to factual content, captivating an audience of approximately 24 million paid subscribers worldwide. From the award-winning Curiosity Stream, home to thousands of documentaries, including the Emmy Award-winning Stephen Hawking’s Favorite Places, to the Curiosity Audio Network, delivering thought-provoking podcasts, and Curiosity University, where top professors share engaging lectures, Curiosity Stream fuels minds with knowledge and wonder.
An exceptional customer experience is central to Curiosity Stream’s success. Seamless support access, efficient issue resolution, and proactive assistance are essential for both retention and acquisition. By ensuring every interaction is smooth and engaging, Curiosity Stream transforms curiosity into discovery, without interruption.
Curiosity Stream’s previous customer service solution, managed through a BPO, faced two key challenges: escalating costs and communication bottlenecks. As the CX budget surged, rising costs per ticket and increasing BPO contract expenses became a major concern for Andrew Echeguren, Senior CX Manager, as well as the COO and CFO, who were focused on company-wide cost optimization. In an effort to cut expenses while maintaining excellent service, customer service operations were relocated from the U.S. to the Philippines, but budgetary and operational inefficiencies persisted.
A lack of direct communication with customer service representatives also created operational bottlenecks. Information had to pass through layers of BPO management, leading to slower decision-making and reduced agility in addressing customer concerns. These challenges underscored the need for a more cost-effective and streamlined approach to customer service.
Failure of Simple Geographic Relocation
Intense Executive Pressure on ROI
The "Middleman" Bottleneck
"Our biggest priority was exceptional service and our biggest challenge was growing costs. Our CX budget had ballooned as we added agents, and the BPO contract costs rose each year. While they were a great partner, the expense ultimately became untenable for our business."
Andrew Echeguren
Senior CX Manager
Work for Impact provided Curiosity Stream with an alternative to traditional outsourcing, offering a fully integrated, in-house-style CX team while maintaining cost efficiency and ethical employment practices. After evaluating multiple providers, Work for Impact stood out by striking a balance no other competitor could achieve. As Andrew says, “Getting approval from the COO and CFO was easy, I could show that we’d maintain exceptional service, pay talent better, and cut costs, all at the same time.”
The transition was seamless. Curiosity Stream hired a team lead and six frontline CX representatives in the Philippines through Work for Impact. The team lead structured the training process, getting all new hires fully operational and onboarded to the company’s tech stack within a week. Now, the outsourced team is successfully handling approximately 2,000 enquiries every week.
The solution provided an "in-house-style" experience, meaning the remote CX team functioned as a seamless extension of Curiosity Stream rather than a detached third party. This integration ensured brand alignment and high-quality service.
A major differentiator was the ability to "pay talent better" while simultaneously cutting costs for the company. This ethical approach secured executive buy-in from the COO and CFO by proving that fair wages and efficiency are not mutually exclusive.
Led by a dedicated team lead, the entire group was fully operational and integrated into the company’s software and tech stack within just one week. This demonstrates an incredibly efficient knowledge transfer and technical readiness.
The transition resulted in a high-capacity engine capable of handling approximately 2,000 enquiries per week. This level of output shows that the lean, hand-selected team can manage significant scale without sacrificing quality.
"Now, outsourced CX is embedded directly in the business, it’s an outsourced team that feels much more in-house. I interact much more directly with the team members, I’m right there in the Slack channel with them!"
Andrew Echeguren
Senior CX Manager at Curiosity Stream
Curiosity Stream cut costs by 75%, saving $10 per agent per hour while maintaining top-tier CSAT, speed, and retention, proving cost savings don’t have to compromise customer experience.
“Work for Impact’s B Corp status was a key factor,” says Andrew. “CX is demanding yet rewarding, and we want to make sure our agents are fairly paid. Happier agents deliver better customer experiences.”
With communication barriers eliminated, Andrew now works directly with agents, resolving issues faster. Integrated with company tools, the outsourced team operates seamlessly, just like in-house staff.
With flexible contracts, scaling the team up or down for seasonal demand is effortless. Work for Impact sources qualified talent within 1-3 weeks, and Andrew can review candidates directly on the platform.
Curiosity Stream's team can oversee worklogs, complete with time tracking, screenshots, and payroll, making it easy to approve overtime, manage budgets, and gain valuable performance insights.
