You’ve built the resume. You’ve climbed the ladder. You’ve checked all the boxes.
But behind the scenes… you’re second-guessing your next move.

You’re the one others rely on - the mentor, the achiever, the calm in the room.
So why do you feel stuck?

Why are you scrolling job boards at night with no intention of hitting “apply”?
Why are you mentoring others to rise while quietly shrinking inside?

Here’s what I know:
You’re not broken.
You’ve just outgrown the version of success you were trained to chase.

💡 Imagine if you could:
• Pivot or rise into your next role with clarity and confidence 
• Speak up and be seen as a leader without burning out
• Set boundaries that actually stick
• Wake up grounded, energized, & proud of who you’re becoming

That’s the transformation I help women create - by guiding them back to themselves.


👋 Hi, I’m Jaspreet - High Performance Coach, creator of the 𝗔𝗦𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱™, Microsoft alum, & mom who knows what it’s like to lead and still feel lost.

I was born in a small town in India where girls were expected to stay quiet and stay in line.

But my father chose differently & raised me to believe I could do anything a boy could do & more.

I became the first girl in my family to attend university. I broke records. I led teams at Microsoft.

And still, I battled self-doubt, imposter syndrome, & the pressure to be the “good girl” who didn't rock the boat.

It took years of unlearning, identity work, & real support to finally lead from wholeness, not performance.

Now, I help other high-achieving women do the same.


💼 What I Do
I help high-achieving professional women who are "successful on paper" but unfulfilled in their current careers make bold, soul-aligned moves - without starting over or losing themselves.

Through my 1:1 coaching experience, 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗱, I guide you through the 𝗔𝗦𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱™, a 6-part framework to shift from proving to powerful:

✔️ 𝗔lign with your power
✔️ 𝗦trengthen your mindset & capacity
✔️ 𝗖larify your next high-impact move
✔️ 𝗘mbody executive energy
✔️ 𝗡avigate with boundaries & grace
✔️ 𝗗istinguish your leadership & brand


If this sounds like you,
📩 DM me “𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧” to start the conversation privately.
🎯 Or take my free quiz: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲? (Link in profile)

You don’t have to figure this out alone.
Let’s make your next move your most powerful one yet.

Jaspreet Gill, MBA

Most women don’t leave corporate
because they’re “unhappy.”

They leave because they realize the life they’re building
no longer matches the woman they’re becoming.

When I walked away from a career
that looked impressive on paper,
I learned 5 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 
𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸👇

1️⃣ 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.
 You can have the title, salary, and recognition and still feel empty. 
 Fulfillment comes from alignment, not achievement.

2️⃣ 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗸𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁.
 When a role has defined you for years, stepping away can feel like losing a part of yourself. 
 That discomfort isn’t failure. It’s growth.

3️⃣ 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗽.
 It simply shifts. From fear of staying stuck… to fear of what’s next. 
 Courage is never the absence of fear, it’s forward movement despite it.

4️⃣ 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲. 
 Opportunities rarely come from job boards.
 They come from conversations, relationships, and 
 being top-of-mind when someone says, 
 “𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.”

5️⃣ 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸. 
 Rebuilding isn’t linear - it’s layered, uncomfortable, and deeply clarifying.
 Give yourself permission to evolve without rushing the timeline.

Save this post for the day you catch yourself whispering: 
“𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘁?”

Cheering on you ♥️

Land Dream Promotions. Launch Bold Pivots. Lead with Confidence. | High Performance Coach for Women Ready to Stop Settling | Keynote Speaker | Microsoft Alum | Proud Mom

Your best days aren’t the problem. Your baseline is.

When I was at Microsoft, my calendar looked like a game of Tetris.

Back-to-back calls, 
multiple time zones, and 
getting my kids ready for school 
before the day even started.

So when I set goals like “daily journaling” 
or “hour-long workouts,” 
they only worked on perfect days. 

On real days? Nothing. 

Not because I lacked discipline,
but because my goals only fit 
the version of me when life was smooth.

And life isn’t smooth - it’s layered, unpredictable, human.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁:
I redesigned my baseline:
• 10 minutes of movement
• 5 minutes of journaling
• One needle-moving task before noon

Here’s what surprised me: 
𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗺 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲. 

I stopped “falling off.” Momentum compounded.

High-achievers don’t need bigger goals. 
We need baselines we can keep on hard days.

Because consistency isn’t about perfection,
it’s about designing for reality.

What’s one goal you could trim down to a 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 this month?

Drop it below, I’d love to see what feels sustainable for you ♥️

Promotions don’t go to the hardest worker.
They go to the person people 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰.

If this stings a little, good...
that means you’re exactly who I’m talking to.

Because here’s the truth most 
high‑achieving women learn too late:
• You can’t outwork a perception problem.
• You can only out‑communicate it.


If you’ve been:
• Delivering results without getting visible
• Speaking up but getting talked over
• Taking on more work hoping it will “pay off”

It won’t.
Not the way you’re imagining.


Women in senior roles aren’t rising 
because they’re doing more.
They’re rising because 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩t.

Authority isn’t loud.
It’s intentional.

It’s the clarity, conviction, and presence that makes people stop and take you seriously.

If you’re done being overlooked and ready to build
the kind of presence that gets promoted, stick around.

I break this down every week♥️

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸–𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 > 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸–𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.

Work–life balance treats work and life
as two competing worlds.

High-performers know they’re intertwined,
and alignment matters more than balance.

When your career and life are designed 
to support each other,
you don’t have to choose between 
success and sanity - you get both.

I’m curious: 
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 - 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?

Tuesday evening. 
Her laptop glowed in the dark like a promise she couldn’t keep.

Seventeen tabs, color-coded to perfection. 
Spreadsheets. Timelines. Contingency plans. 

On the screen, everything looked calm. Inside?
Tight chest. Clenched jaw.

Senior director in tech. Brilliant. Trusted. 
The kind of leader who solves problems 
before others see them. 

Except this time, the problem was her own.

“I’m not lost,” she said. “I’m being thorough.”
But thorough felt like a badge and a trap.

We started closing tabs.
One click. Then another.
Each “x” felt like peeling off a layer of pressure.
By the fifth, her voice softened, like she could finally breathe.

“𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗮𝘆?” I asked.

She exhaled, like she’d been holding her breath for months.
“𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿… 𝗜’𝗺 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆.”

Not a blueprint. A direction. Something her body could say “yes” to.

Her first week looked ordinary: 
• A 15‑minute coffee with a VP she admired
• One courageous DM to propose a cross-functional pilot
• A single page reflecting on what energized vs. drained her last quarter

No big reveal. No perfect plan.
Just small moves that felt doable.
And with each one, the pressure eased.

The truth is: 
Most women think clarity means certainty. It doesn’t.
It means choosing a direction even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed.

When you’ve built a career on being thorough, that feels risky.
But it’s often the most strategic move you’ll make.

𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂:
If you picked a 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 for Q1 (not a perfect plan),
what’s the first 15‑minute step you’d take this week?
And where might you be mistaking thoroughness for progress?

Thank you for the lovely conversation Neety Jain

Helping Unstoppable Women Build Unfiltered Brands| Founder, Haus of Noor| Host, Her Own Narrative Podcast| Book Your 1:1 Business Clarity Call

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞.
My conversation with Jaspreet reminded me, 
You can "have it all" and still feel something's missing.

Jaspreet Gill, MBA shared how she built a successful career.
She had spent seven years at Microsoft as a Sales Executive.
She had the title, the respect, the financial stability, 
And the career trajectory most people work toward.

Yet, something felt amiss.
Many women live here:
Everything looks right from the outside.
Life is stable.
But something feels off.

She described it so honestly: 
"I turned 40 and thought: now what?"
The doubts and worries came around like clockwork.

It seemed like a daunting decision 
That posed a lot of risk and uncertainty.
But she took baby steps.

She became a certified High Performance Coach.
She coached women in the evenings and on weekends.
She tested the work quietly, without a pivot.

It was then her passion became too obvious to ignore.
The more she helped other women thrive, 
The more she realised this gave her joy.
And she made the decision to quit her job.

This part matters:
She was the only bread winner in her house.
Her husband is a stay-at-home dad raising their kids.

Jaspreet's salary was good
But she didn't find a corporate career challenging. 
There was more to be done,
So she moved to regain her purpose to live.

This wasn't impulsive.
It was deeply considered.
Her heart, soul, mind, and body were pushing her 
Toward this leap of faith.

Today, Jaspreet is building her coaching business, 
Working with women who look successful 
— but feel stuck or question their next chapter
While navigating leadership or entrepreneurship.

One line from our conversation stayed with me:
"Clarity is not certainty. Clarity comes from action."
And another truth we kept coming back to:
"You can be deeply grateful for your life 
— and still want more."

This wasn’t about quitting a job.
A corporate career is safe
And allows you to do the things you like. 
But if you have a feeling it won't be enough, 
Don't ignore that.
𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞!

If you're stuck, Jaspreet offers a simple starting point:
10 minutes walk. No headphones. Just you and your thoughts.

If you're feeling that nudge, 
Take that steps 
Towards what really matters.

Are you in the same position? Hear Jaspreet's story in my podcast! 

https://lnkd.in/emMsTQrr

#WomenEmpowerment #HerOwnNarrative #WomenLeaders #WomenPodcasters

𝗔 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿: 
You can have a great life 𝗔𝗡𝗗 still want a bigger one.

Wanting more doesn’t make you ungrateful.
It means you’re paying attention.

Ambition isn’t a threat.

It’s clarity. It’s alignment. It’s self‑trust.

I was recently invited by Neety Jain onto 
the 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘖𝘸𝘯𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 podcast to talk about 
this exact tension...

the quiet, internal pull so many
high-achieving women feel but rarely say out loud.

If you’ve been feeling the nudge
toward your next chapter… honour it.

Your desire for “more” is not the problem.
It’s the signal.

Cheering on you always♥️

PS: Don't forget to check the comments for link to the podcast episode :)

Stop asking, “What’s next?”
Start asking, “What's my next move?”

High-achievers love future-proof plans.
But progress rarely starts with certainty.
It starts with honesty.

When you’re in transition, the question isn’t:
“How do I map the next 5 years?” 
It’s: “What's one move that feels aligned today?”

Because 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀. 
And compasses only work when you move.

𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼-𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 that feel true now, not perfect plans for later.

If this landed for you, share it with someone 
who’s been overthinking their next step. 

Sometimes, one line can change the way we move forward.

Helping Founders Break the $10M Ceiling | Strategy, Cash Flow & Leadership Systems | Scaling CFO

I help founders simplify scaling.

You started your business. You pushed past $1M. Now you're stuck somewhere between $3M and $10M, working harder than ever but not moving faster.

The problem isn't effort. It's complexity.

Too many priorities competing for attention. Financials that don't tell you what to do next. A team that still needs you for everything. Growth that feels like grinding instead of building.
I fix that.

I'm Cruz Gamboa, founder of Ascend Growth Ventures. I combine Scaling Up methodology with CFO-level financial clarity to help founders cut through the noise and scale with confidence.

Before this, I spent 25 years in corporate finance - including Regional CFO at GE and strategic finance leadership at GE Capital. I've seen what works at scale. Now I bring that to founders building something that matters.

I work best with CEOs in professional services, coaching, SaaS, and service-based businesses who are ready to scale profitably without burning out.

One conversation can change your trajectory: calendly.com/cruzagamboa/call-with-cruz-ascend-30min

Cruz Gamboa

Scaling isn’t about being nice.
It’s about being clean.

Clean with roles.
Clean with standards.
Clean with truth.

You don’t fire people.
You outgrow misalignment.

As the Netflix CEO puts it:

“If I wouldn’t fight to keep you, I owe you honesty—and a generous exit.”

Not because someone failed.
But because one of three things is true:
•	The role evolved faster than the person
•	The seat was wrong from the start
•	The bar moved—and the company didn’t move it back

High-performing companies don’t drag this out.
They decide early and act with dignity.

No drama.
No ego.
No moral stories.

Just:
•	Radical clarity
•	Respectful exits
•	Fair severance
•	Clean energy left behind

Dragging misalignment is the real cruelty.
Clarity is the kindness.

Scaling isn’t loyalty to individuals.
It’s loyalty to the mission, the team, and the future.

Right people.
Right seats.
Right standards.

And when someone no longer fits?
You don’t shame them.
You set them free.

If you want to scale, stop managing discomfort.
Start architecting teams.

Managers hesitate.
Leaders make room.

#scalingup #founders #growth #ceo

Most businesses don’t fail because they’re bad.

They fail because they’re trying to be someone else.

Burger King copied McDonald’s for 30 years.
Same audience.
Same positioning.
Same “family-friendly” nonsense.

And they kept losing.

Because you can’t beat the market leader
by playing their game better than them.

By 2004, Burger King was dying.
So they asked the only question that actually matters:

“Who is already buying from us?”

Not who they *wanted*.
Not who looked good in presentations.

The truth.

The answer?
Men aged 18–34.
Heavy fast-food users.
People who came back again and again.

And those customers didn’t want:

➡️ Safe
➡️ Cute
➡️ Corporate

They wanted:

➡️ Flame-grilled food
➡️ Control
➡️ Edge
➡️ Personality

So Burger King stopped pretending.

They brought back “Have It Your Way.”
Not as a slogan.
As a strategy.

They built everything around that one customer.

Marketing got bold.
Messaging got raw.
Campaigns got polarizing.

Subservient Chicken.
Whopper Freakout.

Not for everyone.
Exactly the point.

What happened next?

Same-store sales jumped.
Franchises grew.
And net income increased 2860% in three years.

That’s not a pivot.
That’s a resurrection.

Burger King didn’t beat McDonald’s.

They sidestepped them.

McDonald’s owned families.
Burger King owned young men who wanted control.

Different customer.
Different lane.
No direct competition.

Here’s the real lesson:

If you try to serve everyone,
you get ignored by everyone.

The fastest way to grow isn’t copying the leader.

It’s finding the customer they don’t care about
and building obsessively for them.

Specific beats broad.
Always.

#ceo #founder #growth

No alternative text description for this image

Most businesses don’t fail from lack of effort.

They fail from listening to themselves instead of the market.

Dunkin didn’t pivot loudly.

They pivoted quietly by watching what people kept paying for. 

Then they let the data rewrite their identity.

That’s the real upgrade:
✅ Feelings → Facts
✅ Ego → Evidence
✅ deas → Income that repeats

The market is always talking.

Your sales are the language.

So here’s the uncomfortable check:
What do people come back for again and again?

And are you building more of that… or still pitching what you’re emotionally attached to?
#scalingup #CEO #founder #growth

Your First Product Is Not Your Last

She built a $7.8 BILLION empire
…from a basement
…with $70,000
…and zero investors

Judy Faulkner.
Founder & CEO of Epic Systems.

No VC hype.
No IPO roadshows.
No “exit strategy.”

Just one woman, one computer, and a decision most founders are too scared to make:
“I will not give up control.”

Judy wrote Epic’s first code herself.
When hospitals still ran on paper.
When people said tech had no place in healthcare.

GE tried to buy Epic Systems.
Oracle tried.
Private equity tried.
She ended every meeting the same way: No.

46 years later:
➡ Epic Systems powers 50%+ of U.S. hospital beds
➡ 305M+ patient records
➡ Still private. Still founder-led.

No ads.
No apps.
No noise.

Just software that helps doctors save lives
—and quietly prints billions.

Lesson most founders miss:
Fast money buys speed.
Control buys decades.

Boring businesses.
Long vision.
Unbreakable conviction.

#scalingup #ceo #founders

Bill Gates could have flown First Class every day or flown on his own plane, even as a billionaire, 

But he chose to fly Economy until around 1997.

Why?

Because it wasn’t worth the money.

Same plane.
Same arrival time.
5× the cost for a tiny upgrade.

That’s how smart people think about scale.

Most people make money and immediately upgrade their lifestyle.

Smart operators upgrade what makes money.

More spending doesn’t equal more growth.
It usually equals more noise.

When you’re scaling, ask one question:
👉 Does this change the outcome?

If it doesn’t:
Cut it.

A fancy office doesn’t increase revenue.
A luxury car doesn’t improve execution.
Premium tools don’t fix broken systems.

Wealth has one real job:
Buy back your time.

Once you have enough, the goal isn’t more stuff.
It’s fewer constraints.

Less distraction.
More focus.
More leverage.

Scale isn’t about looking successful.
It’s about building something that works without you.

That’s real wealth.
#scalingup #ceo #growth #founder

He was 78 years old
…when he launched a vodka brand
…with no distillery
…in an industry that laughed at him

Sidney Frank.
The man behind Grey Goose.

No product breakthrough.
No secret formula.
No startup hype.

Just one insight most people missed:
People don’t buy vodka. They buy status.

Sidney didn’t make better vodka.
He made a better story.

France on the label.
Luxury in the bottle design.
A price so high it forced belief.

While others chased volume,
he chased perception.

He didn’t market to the masses.
He placed Grey Goose in elite bars first.
When bartenders poured it,
the world followed.

He moved slowly.
Protected exclusivity.
Ignored trends.

8 years later:
➡ Grey Goose became the default “premium vodka”
➡ Competitors copied the look
➡ Bacardi paid $2.3 BILLION

No overnight success.
Just disciplined positioning.

Lesson most builders miss:
Innovation gets attention.
Positioning creates power.

Experience didn’t slow him down.
It sharpened him.

Long vision.
Clear narrative.
Unshakeable belief.

#founders #scalingup #businessstrategy #longtermthinking

Most people think Starbucks’ rewards program is about free coffee.

It isn’t.

It’s about cash flow.

Starbucks Rewards is not a loyalty perk.
It’s a prepaid deposit system.

When a customer loads money into the app, Starbucks gets paid before any coffee is made.
Accounting-wise, that money sits as deferred revenue.

But operationally?
It’s usable cash.

That’s the move.

Instead of waiting for daily transactions, Starbucks created a system where millions of customers fund operations in advance.

No interest.
No bank fees.
No dilution.
No debt.

Every preload improves:
✅ Working capital
✅ Liquidity
✅ Balance sheet strength

And Starbucks holds that cash until the customer redeems it.

Some never do.

Unused balances.
Forgotten cards.
Abandoned apps.

That “breakage” flows straight to profit.

Multiply this behavior across ~29 million users and you don’t have a rewards program anymore.

You have a deposit base.

This is why Starbucks scales so efficiently:
▶ Stores expand faster
▶ Cash flow stays predictable
▶ Capital stress stays low

They didn’t out-market competitors.
They re-engineered when money moves.

The lesson:-

Growth isn’t always about selling more.
Sometimes it’s about getting paid earlier.

Starbucks didn’t build loyalty.
They built a financial engine and wrapped it in a green apron.#ceo #scalingup #growth #ceo #founder

Most companies scale faster by cutting people.
Publix scaled stronger by owning the opposite.

95 years. Zero layoffs.
Not luck. Not culture posters.
A Scaling Up system done right.

➡ Promote from within
➡ Clear succession planning
➡ Everyone thinks like an owner
➡ Leaders built, not bought
➡ Long-term value over short-term savings

When people own the outcome, execution compounds.
When leadership is grown internally, trust scales.

This isn’t a feel-good story.
This strategy may not be your strategy. 
For Publix, It’s a people strategy that beat Walmart.

You have to find what it's true for your company. 

Scale isn’t about size.
It’s about who owns the results.

#scalingup #growth #CEO

No Layoffs?

The first $5M? Brutal.
The next $5M? Still hard.
After $10M? Growth accelerates.

Here’s the scaling truth Kevin O’Leary calls out:

The first $5M is about survival. You’re learning how to deploy capital, take smart risks, and build systems that work. 

Most entrepreneurs quit here.

The next $5M? 

Execution matters. You’ve survived the grind, learned what works, and can now scale with confidence. Decisions compound. Efficiency improves. Strategy becomes your edge.

Beyond $10M? You’re playing a different game. Capital works for you, not the other way around. Systems, processes, and disciplined execution create leverage.

Lesson: 

Wealth and business scales the same way. 

Master the first phase. 
Build discipline. 
Then scale.
#scalingup #founder #growth #ceo

ADIDAS LOST €1.5 BILLION.
NOT TO NIKE.
NOT TO THE MARKET.
BUT TO ITS OWN BUREAUCRACY.

January 2023:
Dead Yeezy stock.
First loss since 1992.
Slow teams. Scared decisions. Broken speed.

9 months later?
Profitable. Faster. Sharper. Beating Nike.

The turnaround wasn’t magic.
It was leadership.

One CEO did 3 things most companies avoid:
→ Cut layers
→ Killed approvals
→ Simplified what already worked

No hype.
No noise.
Just speed, clarity, and conviction.

Big lesson:
You don’t lose because you’re small.
You lose because you’re slow.

Sometimes the fix isn’t more strategy.
It’s less nonsense.

#scalingup #CEO #founders #growth

ADIDAS Story

Growth without cash flow is just noise. 📉
Dives deeper into why founders who master cash strategy scale faster, stay resilient, and win long term.

Full Cash Is King podcast episode premiering Friday 🚀

🔔 Turn on notifications so you don’t miss the next clips—and the full conversation.

👉 Set your reminder & watch the premiere here:
https://lnkd.in/eBnXhnie

#CashIsKing #DevinSizemore #PodcastShorts #BusinessPodcast
#CashFlowManagement #ScalingBusiness #FounderMindset
#SustainableGrowth #WealthStrategy #EntrepreneurLife
#YouTubePremiere #PodcastReels

He didn’t fail for 10 years.
The market just wasn’t ready yet.

Hwang Dong-Hyuk sold his $675 laptop to buy food.
Lived with his grandmother.
Got rejected for a decade.

Studios said:

➡️ Too weird
➡️ Too violent
➡️ Not commercial
➡️ Too complex

Same script.
Same idea.
Same “no”.

Here’s the part most people miss 👇

This wasn’t a talent problem.
It was a timing + distribution problem.

He had the product early.
The market came late.

In 2018, Netflix expands globally.
Needs bold, non-safe content.
Needs local stories with global emotion.

One exec reads the script and says:
“This is exactly what we need.”

$21.4M invested.
Zero marketing push.
No homepage love.

Result?

✓ #1 in 94 countries
✓ 1.65B viewing hours
✓ $900M+ value created
✓ Best ROI in Netflix history

Scaling lesson most founders ignore:

Great ideas don’t die.
They wait.

If you’re early:
Don’t dilute the vision to get small yeses.
Build proof elsewhere.
Survive long enough to meet the right platform.

Scaling isn’t about changing your idea.

It’s about finding the right leverage.

One right distributor > 1,000 wrong pitches.

Ten years of “weird”
became a global empire.

Sometimes the world just isn’t ready yet.

Stay in the game long enough… and it will be.
#scalingup #founderstories #growth #CEO

The World Isnt Ready

GIANTS don’t fall overnight.
They fall one comfortable decision at a time.

They built the category.
Owned the market.
Had money, talent, and trust.

Then they did one thing wrong 👇
They stopped adapting.

Motorola. 
Intel. 
Netscape. 
Borders.

Not stupid.
Not unlucky.
Just late.

The market doesn’t punish failure.
It punishes complacency.

Scroll through this carousel if you want a reminder of one brutal truth:
➡️ Past success is not future security.
➡️ Comfort is more dangerous than competition.
➡️ If you’re not improving, someone else is preparing to replace you.

Stay hungry.
Or become a case study.
#SCALINGUP #CEO #FOUNDER #GROWTH

CRITICAL MISTAKES

Most people don’t need a new year.

They need a new operating system.

2026 won’t reward louder marketing, more hustle, or more tools.
It will reward founders who build clarity early and compound it fast.

What I’m seeing with founders between $3M–$10M is consistent:
• When financial visibility improves, decisions slow down in the right way
• Leadership shifts from reactive to intentional
• Teams stop guessing and start executing
• Growth becomes calmer, not heavier

Breakthroughs rarely come from doing more.
They come from removing noise and tightening the system.
That’s the mindset I’m taking into 2026.

Less chaos. More leverage. Fewer moves. Better ones.

If you’re also thinking about how you want to operate differently next year, I wrote a short piece on what actually creates momentum at this stage.

DM me or write "2026", and I will share the memo I wrote for my clients and friends with you.

#ceo #founder #scalingup

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patagonia-solar-llc

He refused to touch a $1.50 hot dog, and it helped build a ~$250B business.

Jim Sinegal.
Costco co-founder.

Inflation hit.
Costs rose.
Wall Street pushed the obvious move:

“Raise prices.”

Jim’s response was blunt:

“If you raise the price of the hot dog, you’re done.”

No slides.
No consultants.
No narrative gymnastics.

Just a rule.

So Costco did what most companies won’t:

They redesigned the system.
* Built their own production capacity
* Reduced supplier dependency
* Ruthlessly simplified SKUs
* Absorbed costs where trust mattered most

Instead of passing pain to customers, they owned it.

While others:
→ Blamed inflation
→ Shrunk products
→ Optimized short-term margins

Costco:
→ Held the line on iconic prices
→ Added ~5M new member households
→ Sustained ~92% renewal rates
→ Scaled to ~$250B in annual revenue

Here’s the part most founders miss:

They weren’t protecting a hot dog.

They were protecting trust.

And trust compounds faster than margins ever will.

Most companies raise prices to survive.
Strong companies redesign economics so prices don’t have to.

Boring moves.
Brutal discipline.
Unfair long-term advantage.

So what’s the one price, promise, or principle in your business that you refuse to break, no matter the pressure?

#scalingup #founders #leadership #pricing #ceo

In 1997, Jeff Bezos was stressed for all the right reasons.

Amazon was losing money.
Online retail wasn’t proven.
Most investors thought he was wrong.

Here’s the part people miss:

Stress doesn’t come from working hard.
It comes from knowing what to do and not doing it.

So Bezos acted.
Packed boxes himself.
Made the calls.
Shipped anyway.

No fancy office.
A door for a desk.
A Honda Accord in the parking lot.

Fast forward to amazon have $2.6 TRILLION market cap.

Lessons for founders:

▶️ Action kills anxiety
▶️ Clarity is earned through execution
▶️ Fancy setups don’t build big companies
▶️ Ignore opinions, obey the math
▶️ The long game compounds quietly

If something is stressing you out right now,
it’s probably your to-do list calling you out.

#scalingup #founder #ceo #growth

If everything is a priority, nothing scales.

That’s why most companies don’t stall from lack of ideas.
They stall from lack of focus.

The Power of One fixes that brutally fast.

Here’s the rule:

At every level of the business, there is ONE thing that matters more than everything else.

Not a vision board.
Not 12 KPIs.
One outcome that moves the needle now.

Company:
→ One #1 priority for the quarter that makes growth unavoidable.

Leaders:
→ One measurable result they own. No hiding. No excuses.

Teams:
→ One clear objective that directly supports the company's priority.

Individuals:
→ One commitment that, if done daily, makes execution inevitable.

Why this works (and why most won’t do it):

➡️ Focus beats intelligence
➡️ Clarity beats motivation
➡️ Ownership beats meetings
➡️ Execution beats strategy decks

Scaling isn’t about adding more people, more tools, or more plans.

It’s about removing everything that doesn’t matter
until what’s left cannot fail.

That’s the Power of One.

What is the one thing in your business that is calling for your full dedicated attention?

What are the things you are willing to pause so that you can fix it and remove the constraint?

#scaling #founders #growth #ceo

This is Why Companies Fail

Most founders do not have a growth problem.

They have a strategy stacking problem.

That is what the 7 Strata of Strategy solves.

It is a framework created by Verne Harnish to force clarity on the 7 layers that actually drive scale, profitability, and differentiation.

Not vision statements.
 Not buzzwords.
 Real strategic leverage.

What is the 7 Strata?

A practical checklist for building a strategy that compounds.

It answers one question:

“Why should the right customer choose you, pay you more, and stay longer?”

When to use it

Use the 7 Strata when:
• Revenue has stalled between $3M to $10M
 • Sales feels harder than it should
 • Margins are thin
 • Marketing sounds generic
 • The team cannot clearly explain why you win
 • You are scaling but complexity is rising faster than profit

It is especially powerful during:
• Annual planning
 • Strategy resets
 • Go-to-market changes
 • Repositioning
 • Pre-scale phase

What each Stratum means

Words You Own
 The category in the customer’s mind.
 If you do not define it, the market will.

Sandbox
 Who you serve and where you win.
 Focus creates power.

Brand Promise
 The measurable result customers can expect.

Brand Promise Guarantee
 How you reduce risk and increase trust.

Differentiating Activities (3 to 5)
 What you do differently that competitors cannot easily copy.

X-Factor
 Your 10x to 100x structural advantage.
 Process, data, network, cost, or ecosystem.

Profit per X + BHAG
 Your economic engine and long-term target.

This is where strategy meets money.

Why 7 Strata?

Because advantage is layered.

Most companies operate with 2 or 3 layers.

Strong companies stack all 7.

Each layer multiplies the others:

Positioning
 → Focus
 → Trust
 → Differentiation
 → Structural advantage
 → Profit engine
 → Long-term dominance

Miss one, and growth leaks.

The founder truth

If your strategy cannot be explained on one page, it cannot scale.

Clarity is not a branding exercise.
 It is a profit lever.

If you are operating between $3M to $10M and growth feels heavier every year, your next breakthrough is probably not more hustle.

It is a sharper stack.

If you want, I can share the worksheet I use with founders to map this in under 60 minutes.

Just DM SEVEN

#scaling #growth #CEO #founder

Cash flow isn’t optional—it’s the #1 rule behind sustainable business growth 💸
In this episode, Devin Sizemore breaks down how smart cash strategy fuels scale, stability, and long-term success.

Full podcast episode premiering 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟯𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝟳𝗔𝗠 𝗘𝗦𝗧 🚀

🔔 Turn on notifications so you don’t miss the next reels and the full episode.

👉 Set your reminder & watch the premiere here:
https://lnkd.in/eBnXhnie

#CashIsKing #DevinSizemore #BusinessPodcast #PodcastReels
#CashFlow #EntrepreneurMindset #ScalingBusiness #FounderTalk
#SustainableGrowth #WealthStrategy #StartupGrowth

Most founders brag about revenue.

That’s a mistake.

I’ve seen companies doing millions a year…
and the owner is still stressed, still stuck, still one bad month away from panic.

Why?

Because revenue doesn’t buy freedom.
Profit does.

More revenue without profit just gives you:

• More people
• More complexity
• More risk
• Same lifestyle

That’s not growth.
That’s leverage working against you.

Here’s the truth:

Growth does not start with selling more.
It starts with a profitable system.

There are only 3 levers that matter:

1. Price – Are you charging what it’s worth?

2. Volume – Are these the right customers?

3. Cost – Are you efficient without breaking delivery?

Everything else is noise.

Fix those three, and profit shows up.

Profit gives you:

➡️ Margin for mistakes
➡️ Proof the model works
➡️ Room to breathe

Profit turns into cash.

Cash pays the team.
Cash pays you.
Cash funds growth without stress.

Then you reinvest:
Better people.
Better systems.
Better clients.

That feeds the engine.

The engine creates more profit.

And now growth funds itself.

Stop asking:
❌ “How do we get more revenue?”

Start asking:
✅ “How do we make this system more profitable?”

Revenue is movement.
Profit is power.

If your business feels fragile, it’s because it is.

Fix the system.
The money follows.

Are you focused on more revenues or more profit in your business?  What would your business look like if you had more profit with the same amount of revenue?

#scalingup #growth #Ceo #founder

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