The London Founder's Dilemma: Why It's Time to Outsource Your Executive Assistant

Written by: Filip Pesek
Published: 02/05/2025

You’re a London founder. The ambition that fuels the city from Canary Wharf to Shoreditch is the same ambition that drives you. Your focus is sharp, your goals are aggressive, and your time is your most valuable currency. But let’s be honest: that focus is constantly under attack.

Between the endless back-and-forth emails, the meeting chaos on a packed Tube schedule, and the low-leverage admin work, your most critical priorities often sink to the bottom of your own to-do list. The traditional answer-hiring a full-time local assistant-is a model that’s cracking under the pressure of today’s London. The smartest leaders aren’t just working harder; they’re building better systems. For a growing number of them, the first step is to outsource their executive assistant in London.

This is the playbook for why this strategic shift is becoming the new competitive edge for founders who move fast and think long-term.

The New Reality: Why the Old Hiring Model is Failing in London

The assumption that the best support must have a desk in your office is outdated and, frankly, incredibly expensive. Today’s founders face a unique set of challenges that make the traditional in-house hire a strategic gamble.

1. The £60k+ Problem

Hiring a full-time EA in the UK sounds straightforward until you run the real numbers. According to recent UK salary guides, a competitive base salary in London can easily exceed £50,000 or £60,000 per year. But that figure is deceptive. The “fully-loaded” cost of an employee is far higher.

You need to factor in ~13.8% for Employer’s National Insurance contributions, mandatory pension schemes, and potential private health benefits to even be competitive. Add the cost of a desk in a prime London office, a high-end laptop, software licenses, and other overhead, and your £60k assistant is suddenly costing your business closer to £75,000.

That is a significant chunk of capital that could be funding a new marketing campaign or your next product iteration.

2. The War for Talent

London is one of the most competitive job markets in the world. For a founder, this means you are not just looking for an assistant; you are competing for talent against global corporations with massive budgets and established prestige.

The process is a time-vortex.

You, the founder, get pulled into weeks or even months of reviewing CVs, conducting interviews, and vetting candidates. It’s a huge drain on your most precious resource. Even after all that, you might hire a “good enough” candidate, not a truly exceptional one, creating a subtle but constant drag on your efficiency.

3. The Post-Brexit Reality

While London remains a global powerhouse, the operational landscape for hiring has undeniably shifted. The simplicity of tapping into the vast, highly skilled EU talent pool through direct employment has been replaced with new layers of administrative and legal complexity.

For a lean startup, navigating international employment law is a distraction you can’t afford.

This is why a service-based agreement with an EU-based agency has become such a powerful workaround. It allows you to access that world-class talent pool with the simplicity of a single invoice, removing all the cross-border employment friction.

4. The Rigidity Trap

A full-time employee represents a fixed, long-term cost on your balance sheet. For a startup managing its burn rate, this rigidity is a strategic risk. Your workload fluctuates-some months you’re in a mad dash to close a funding round, other months are quieter. Yet the salary remains constant.

An in-house employee can’t easily scale up to 150% capacity during a critical project, nor can you scale their cost down during a lull.

This fundamental mismatch between the fixed nature of employment and the variable needs of a growing business is a trap that restricts your ability to stay lean and agile.

The Strategic Shift: The Power of the Outsourcing Model

This new reality demands a new approach. The modern solution is to shift from hiring an employee to integrating a service. A dedicated executive assistant service in London, for example, is designed to counter every one of these challenges.

This model provides financial agility. Instead of a massive fixed salary and unpredictable overhead, you operate with a clear, predictable subscription-based cost. This frees up tens of thousands of pounds in capital to be deployed where it matters most—in growing your business.

Furthermore, reputable agencies give you access to a globally-sourced talent pool. They do the heavy lifting of vetting, training, and quality control, presenting you with a top-tier professional who understands the pace and demands of C-level support. This saves you months of effort and de-risks the entire process.

Most importantly, this approach offers radical flexibility. The support can scale up or down with your needs, ensuring you are only paying for what you use.

This lean, agile model is how modern, high-growth companies are built. Virtual assistant agencies like DonnaPro, for example, are built specifically for this, offering part-time, highly skilled EAs without requiring long-term contracts.

What a High-Performance EA Actually Does

This isn’t just about offloading basic admin. A true C-level EA, supercharged by modern AI tools, acts as an operational partner.

Our assistants are real people who master AI tools to become highly effective. For our UK clients, this means delegating high-value tasks like:

The goal isn’t to do less – it’s to delegate smarter so you can achieve more.

Conclusion: Your New Competitive Edge

The challenges of building a business in London are immense, but so are the rewards. The most successful founders aren’t the ones who do everything themselves; they are the ones who build the smartest, most efficient systems.

Choosing to outsource your executive assistant is no longer just a cost-saving measure; it’s a strategic decision to prioritize focus, agility, and growth. It’s about investing in your most valuable asset: your own time.

Ready to see what this looks like for your business? Explore our virtual assistant services for London founders and see how you can reclaim 60 hours per month.

FAQ

Will a remote EA based in the EU be available during my London working hours?

Yes, absolutely. All of our executive assistants are based in the European Union and operate in UK and CET hours, so time zone alignment is never a problem for our UK-based clients.

Is outsourcing really more cost-effective than hiring locally in London?

The difference is significant. A full-time local hire in the UK can cost £45,000–£60,000+ per year before you even add pension and taxes. The DonnaPro model provides executive-level support at a fraction of that cost, with no overhead or long-term commitments. A full-time in-house assistant can cost £50,000+ a year, while our service is £25,200.

How can I be sure my company's sensitive data is secure with a remote assistant?

Security is paramount. We are fully compliant with GDPR and all assistants follow strict confidentiality practices. Every assistant is rigorously vetted, and security measures are formalized in every agreement.

What kind of work can I actually delegate to a virtual EA?

You can delegate a wide range of responsibilities. This includes everything from inbox and scheduling management to client coordination, creating internal SOPs, updating your CRM, and even helping with hiring and investor communications. Check our services page for more details.

How long does it take to get started?

The process is designed to be fast. Most of our UK-based clients are matched with their executive assistant and ready to start in just 7–10 days. We handle the onboarding and setup so you can see results almost immediately.