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# From Layoff to Leap of Faith: How Vanessa Matibag Built Outside Lead HR Solutions
- URL: https://www.foundedbywomen.org/women-who-lead/from-layoff-to-leap-of-faith-how-vanessa-matibag-built-outside-lead-hr-solutions/
- Published: 2026-08-28T03:18:14.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-28T03:18:14.000Z
- Author: Editorial team
- Tags: Women Who Lead

After 17 years with one nonprofit, growing alongside it from its earliest days, Vanessa Matibag was laid off when the organization closed its doors. The obvious next move would have been to find another full-time role, but the layoff gave her something rare after two decades in HR: time to actually think about what she wanted next. Rather than jumping into another position, she took stock of everything she had built and decided to go out on her own, launching [Outside Lead HR Solutions](http://www.outsideleadhr.com/?ref=foundedbywomen.org).

Working exclusively with small to mid-sized nonprofits and mission-driven organizations, Vanessa consistently finds the same gap: not a lack of effort, but a lack of structure. HR in these organizations often grows by accident, pieced together across payroll, benefits, and whatever lands on the executive director's desk, with no one quite remembering why things work the way they do. Her approach starts with understanding what's actually happening on the ground, then building tools and processes the organization can sustain on its own, so the impact holds up long after the engagement ends.

Looking ahead, Vanessa is focused on growing Outside Lead as a strategic fractional HR partner for nonprofits, sharpened by a recent rebrand and a new structured offering she calls the 3 Gears Framework. She's also expanding beyond one-on-one consulting into speaking, workshops, and panels, and broadening her reach into other corners of the mission-driven world where the same HR gaps show up again and again.

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***Q: You were laid off in early 2023 after years in the same role, and that became the turning point for founding Outside Lead HR Solutions. What made you decide to build your own practice rather than look for another full-time role?***

I was laid off from a nonprofit I'd been with for 17 years. I joined when it was basically a startup, grew alongside it, and then the organization closed its doors. After 17 years with one place, leaving to find another full-time role felt like the obvious next move, the natural thing to do. But the layoff gave me something I hadn't had in a long time: time to actually think about what I wanted, not just what position I could land next.

Honestly, if that organization hadn't closed, I probably would have stayed with them all the way to retirement. That option was gone, so I had to ask myself a different question - what did I actually want this next chapter to look like? I took a hard look at everything I'd built over more than 20 years in HR. The skills, the relationships, the judgment you only get from doing the work that long, and realized I wanted more variety in my work and more choices. I knew I could bring that senior-level experience to other nonprofits that needed real HR guidance but weren't ready to hire a full-time HR leader.

I talked it through with a colleague about going solo, and at some point you just have to take the leap. It wasn't part of some long-term plan. It started as a leap of faith in the middle of a hard transition. I wanted to control my own time, work for myself, and find out what else I was capable of at this stage of my life and career. That's the whole story behind Outside Lead HR Solutions.

Three years later, I still have moments where I miss the predictability of a full-time job. But I don't see myself going back. I like being able to work closely with different organizations, help them through a particular stage of growth, and actually see the difference the work makes.

***Q: You work exclusively with small to mid-sized nonprofits and mission-driven organizations, often ones that have never had real HR support beyond payroll. What’s the biggest gap you see when you step in, and how do you build something that lasts after the engagement ends?***

The biggest gap is almost never effort or intention. Every leader I work with genuinely wants what's best for their organization and their people, and they're usually working hard to keep things running. The problem is that HR grew in pieces, almost by accident — payroll handled by one person, benefits by someone else, and any employee question landing on the executive director's desk because there was nowhere else for it to go. A process exists because someone built a spreadsheet years ago, and by the time I show up, nobody remembers why it works that way. There's a lot of goodwill in these organizations, just not much structure underneath it.

So I start by understanding what's actually happening on the ground, including the workarounds people have quietly built to keep things moving. Some of those workarounds are genuinely smart and worth keeping. Others create confusion or eat up far more time than anyone realizes.

From there, I focus on what the organization can realistically maintain once I'm gone. I'm not interested in leaving behind some complicated system that only works while I'm in the room. I build tools people will actually use, explain the thinking behind them, and make sure someone internally knows how to carry the work forward. What I want to leave isn't just a problem fixed; it’s building a foundation: an organization that knows how to retain its best people, that can build a real culture of equity and inclusion instead of just claiming one, and that can handle its next hard HR moment without picking up the phone to call me. That's the real test of this work, not what it looks like while I'm there, but whether it holds up after I'm gone. If it falls apart the moment the engagement ends, I haven't done my job.

***Q: What’s next for Outside Lead HR Solutions?***

I'm looking forward to growing Outside Lead as a strategic fractional HR partner for non-profit organizations. That's where I believe I can be most useful: working alongside leaders, helping them sort through what feels messy, and building the structure they need for whatever stage they're in.

We also recently went through a rebrand, but our mission and direction hasn't changed. It's really about sharpening how I deliver the work. I streamlined my services into what I'm calling the 3 Gears Framework, which gives organizations a clearer, more structured way to work instead of a grab-bag of HR fixes. I still want Outside Lead to be the kind of partner I know many nonprofit leaders are looking for: experienced, straightforward, and willing to meet them where they are.

I'm also getting out from behind one-on-one engagements more — doing more speaking, workshops, webinars, and panels, so I can reach leaders who might never book a consultation but still need to hear this. And I'm intentionally expanding beyond the corners of the nonprofit world I've worked in so far, into other industries within that space, because the same gaps show up everywhere mission-driven work is happening, not just in the pockets I've served historically.

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