Ben Kellie got his start in the aerospace industry, helping Elon Musk figure out how to get his rockets to land on a floating barge without blowing up. In 2015, Kellie left SpaceX to start The Launch Company, where they supply hardware parts and consulting to a...
Business Growth
The Shotgun Breakup
Back in 2006, Michael Kaplan and his partners bought into a Zerorez Carpet and Living Surfaces Care franchise. The business was generating $300,000 in revenue and losing $40,000 a year. By 2019, the company was generating $17 million in revenue when Kaplan and his...
The $4 Million Dollar Haircut
In 1994, Robert Hartline started selling phones in the back of his car. By 2019, he had built Absolute Wireless into a chain of 56 wireless stores and 350 employees. Hartline was able to systematize his business while he grew by creating employee onboarding videos and...
The Hidden Danger of Cross-Selling
You've likely heard the adage that it is far easier to cross-sell an existing customer a new product than it is to find a new customer. And if your goal is to grow at all costs, then cross-selling makes sense. However, all of that sales growth may not do much for the...
A Rembrandt in the Attic
James Prebble co-founded Palladium Digital, a consultancy helping companies think about their digital strategy. The company experimented with various business models until they landed on helping private equity groups get a return on their investments. Private equity...
One Bold Move That Can Make Your Company More Valuable
Henry Hyder-Smith and Steve Denner started UK-based Adestra in 2004. Adestra is a digital marketing software that helps big companies handle email campaigns, among other things. The company grew nicely. By 2016, it had around $9 million in revenue and a client list...
Reoccurring Revenue vs. Recurring Revenue
Reoccurring Revenue vs. Recurring Revenue Mike Malatesta built Advanced Waste Services, a company that helped businesses dispose of their industrial waste, to $45 million in annual sales before a fateful lunch changed his life forever. It was with a...
4 Reasons Why It’s Better to Own a Big Chunk of a Small Company
Is it better to own a big chunk of a small business or a minority stake in a big company? It’s one of the fundamental questions all owners must wrestle with. Owning a relatively small slice of a big pie has worked out well for both Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who...
3 Reasons Not To Diversify
3 Reasons Not To Diversify How does Vitamix get away with charging $700 for a blender when reputable companies like Cuisinart and Breville make blenders for less than half the price? It’s because Vitamix does just one thing, and they do it better than anyone else. You...
From Recovery to Buy-Out: How One Agency Did It
Anson Sowby started Battery, a creative advertising agency in 2013. Battery quickly won assignments from companies like Netflix and LEGO featuring A-list celebrities such as LeBron James, fueling their growth to 50 employees by 2019. That's when Paris-based Havas...
How to increase the value of your business by 71%
Increase the value of your company by training others in your area of expertise. It can be tough to grow a service business. Clients are typically buying your expertise, and if all you have to sell is time, the size of your business will always be limited by the number of hours in your day.
The Big Thing Holding Back Small Businesses
Small businesses stay small either by choice, or because they start chasing growth in the wrong places. When you strip away the layers, it all comes down to darts.
A blood pressure test for your business
When was the last time you had your blood pressure tested? Taking your blood pressure is one of the first things most doctors do before treating you for just about anything. How much pressure your blood is under as it courses through your veins is a reliable indicator of your overall health; and it can be an early indicator of everything from heart disease to bad circulation.