Helping Ivy League-educated, overachievers find meaning and clarity in their career | Speaker, Clarity Coach, Entrepreneur

Huw coaches founders and their leadership teams to create clarity, attain alignment, and unleash their potential. He has worked with CEOs of VC and PE backed software and technology companies on both growth trajectories and supported them through turnaround or transition.

Huw is a 3-time founder, investor, and speaker turned executive coach. His corporate career centered around his work at Goldman Sachs, Rackspace, and Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund with $160bn under management. While at Bridgewater Associates he was a Senior Management Associate responsible for Portfolio Analytics. In 2016 he acquired and later sold Jungle Disk, a cybersecurity company previously owned by Rackspace. He co-founded CyberFortress, a VC-backed insurtech startup in 2018 (where he also became a Talentism client!). He also co-founded Porthcawl Holdings, a value-driven technology holding company, investing in startups and businesses in the SaaS and bitcoin space.

Huw holds an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a Ford Scholar and Baker Scholar, and holds undergraduate and masters degrees in mathematics from Oxford University,

Huw is a proud Welshman who lives with his wife and young son in San Antonio, Texas. He is a board member of the local Entrepreneurs Organization responsible for the Accelerator program, helping budding entrepreneurs scale their businesses to 7-figures. He is also Vice President of Programming for the Harvard Business School Club of San Antonio. His compulsions include identifying gifts in adversity, creating inspiring visions, radical self-discipline, and running 100 mile races in the mountains.

Huw Edwards

You don’t “have to” do anything you once desired to do.

I mean, how is it that you’re so exhausted from doing the things you actually love to do?

It’s because you've forgotten how much of this you once hoped for.

You don’t “have to” pick up the kids from school, lead that meeting, or make that trip. 

You “get to” pick up your kids from school. That’s a freaking joy.... to have kids. 

You get to guide a group of people at work.

You get to solve hard problems.

The reframe is your strength.

We have to stop seeing all these demands as burdens and start seeing them for what they truly are. 

A privilege.

3x Founder, Harvard MBA, ex-Bridgewater Associates, Goldman Sachs | Executive Coach | Helping ambitious founders/CEOs unleash their potential and purpose

No alternative text description for this image

You’ve got to stay with discomfort long enough to see what it’s becoming.

Stay with that uncomfortable feeling instead of avoiding it. 

That’s when you’ll realize discomfort is not a threat.

It’s just stretching you into who you’re becoming.

It can get crazy.

But what do you think?

Growth doesn’t always feel good until it does.

undefined undefined

Read newsletter 

Read the newsletter here: http://newsletter.h3.xyz/

There’s something crazy about emotions. 

Reminds me of Thomas Edison. 

He was behind some of the most transformative inventions in modern history: light bulbs, phonographs, and motion pictures.

A massive explosion once destroyed his factory in New Jersey.

Years of prototypes, notes, and equipment all gone in flames.

He was 67 years old at the time. 

When his son ran to find him, Edison was calmly watching the fire.

He reportedly said, *"Go get your mother and all her friends. They'll never see a fire like this again."*

The next morning, he called his team together and said, *"We're rebuilding. Start tomorrow."*

Within three weeks, the factory was back up and running.

And within a year, Edison released some of his most profitable inventions.

He didn't get consumed by the pain of that moment.

He saw the loss, acknowledged it, and went straight back to work.

My point is that results can trigger an emotional rollercoaster.

We sometimes spend too long celebrating success and too long overthinking losses.

But it’s in our best interest to snap out of our emotions faster for a mentally healthier and more fulfilling life.

Life is a relentless mind game of you vs you

Reminds me of the 1997 NBA Finals.

Michael Jordan woke up sick with a high fever.

He felt weak and could barely stand.

Game 5 was that night, and the Chicago Bulls needed him.

Every logical part of him could have stayed in bed.

He could have sat that game out, and no one would’ve blamed him.

It would’ve totally made sense.

But that night, he suited up anyway.

He played 44 minutes, scored 38 points, and led the Bulls to a crucial win.

I don’t see it as just Utah they were playing against, it was more Jordan against Jordan.

The version that wanted the body to rest vs the self that wanted to lace his shoe and get out the door.

And that night, the better self won.

This mind game doesn’t back down.

But it’s always your choice to choose what part of you is leading.

As James Clear says, *“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.”*

For decades, runners believed a mile under four minutes was impossible. Not human, even.

Coaches said the body would break down.

Then on May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister ran 3:59.4 on the Iffley Road track in Oxford, with two pacers setting the rhythm.

Once one human proved it was possible, less than six weeks later, John Landy ran 3:58.

And within a year, other runners started doing it too.

Same bodies, same track, same distance.

But a different internal reality.

Because someone chose to overcome the limiting belief.

It just shows that the biggest limits aren't always in our talent.

They're in the stories we've accepted as true for so long.

So we tend to make choices from a restricted version of ourselves, rather than our actual capacity.

Still getting things done, still stacking wins, yet feeling a sense of underperformance.

You can only reach your highest potential when you see yourself beyond past stories, fears, trauma, not-so-pleasant childhood memories, mistakes, hurt, disappointment, and pain, no matter how much sense they make. 

Yes, you still feel the fear and anxiety, but the thrill of becoming more than you already are gets stronger than the fear.

You just know you'll even be more restless if you choose to stay in your comfort zone.

So you’ll choose to trust yourself a little more. 

Again and again.

You have to first explore your interests before you scale it. 

You'll wander, test new styles, try different methods and approaches, and experiment with ideas.

You'll fail, win, fall, and rise over and over again.

There'll be many proud moments and many sad moments. 

People will think you're delusional.

Then, when you find what clicks, you double down on it, build a structure around it, and scale it.

So don’t let the fear of being seen as uncertain, inconsistent, or distracted hold you back from achieving your highest potential.

First explore, then commit, and exploit.

How well do you know yourself?

Scratch that.

How well do you trust yourself?

Are you easily worn down just by the idea of being taken unaware?

That's a harsh discredit to your training, experience, gifts, and how far you've come.

In today's issue, I explored the thrill and practices to find peace in the face of uncertainty.

Read the newsletter here👇

There’s a kind of confidence that comes from being calm in the face of uncertainty. Anyone can feel calm when life behaves. But not everyone has maste

Open article: The thrill of being steady in uncertainty by Huw Edwards • 2 min read

The thrill of being steady in uncertainty

I had trained for it.

And still, I was scared.

I was thinking about this the other day, as I geared up for Leadville again last August.

For context, Leadville is one of those races where everything, and I mean everything, hurts.

A 100-mile race. After 25 miles, you're still a quarter of the way through, and the real pain hasn't even begun.

And honestly, as I prepared, the nerves hit me.

I remember at about 3 a.m. on the day of my 2024 race, I was standing in the dark and cold, feeling unsure all of a sudden.

I thought, "Do I really want to do this? Could I just... not start?"

It was tempting to avoid it, but I pushed through and completed the race in good time.

And last year, that rush of uneasiness came back, but I did not back down.

I reminded myself that I’ve earned it, and I trained for it.

The race didn't quite go as planned, but I walked away with lessons to prepare me for this year.

No regrets.

I realized feeling nervous isn't a sign of weakness.

It's part of the process of doing something big, bold, scary, yet so thrilling and exciting.

And when the nerves show up again as I prepare for this year, I won't fight them.

That's what I want. I need it to hurt earlier.

That's the whole goal in a way.

Because I care.

Not just about the win.

I care about the struggles, the curveballs, and the lessons that come with the experience.

It’s okay to feel nervous.

Your success is yours.

But the work that made that success is not about you.

It's about the impact, the people, the why, and the meaning around it.

The moment it starts being a lot more about you, it gets tricky.

Only a matter of time before you start to feel a sense of inner dissatisfaction.

Like you're stuck even with all the success you've achieved.

Because you've lost touch with the big picture beyond you.

I know this feeling because I've lived it.

In today's issue, I shared some of the things I did to get out of my head, reconnect with my purpose, and find fulfillment again.

Feeling stuck or struggling with a cycle of underperformance?

You definitely want to read this 👇

You ever notice how you can be busy all day, get a lot done, and still feel… off? Not tired or burnt out. Just strangely numb. Most people assume that

The bright side of feeling stuck…

It’s not really the failure that hurts.

It’s what the failure can do to our image.

To the pride of our competence.

It sounds crazy to try something new that might fail when you’ve spent years becoming the best at what you do.

I mean, who would want to ruin a great reputation?

Is it worth it?

Hell yeah.

If you truly want to become the best version of yourself, then dare to fail.

In today’s issue, I explored simple practices to help you bet on yourself without losing your mind.

Read the newsletter here 👇

Most high performers aren't afraid of failure. They're afraid of what failure would say about them. This newsletter will explore the thin line between

Dare to fail vs dare not to fail

Failure sucks.

There’s no sugarcoating it.

But it's also inevitable and necessary.

It’s really not the enemy we think it is.

It helps a great deal in shaping us into what we desire to become

Over the weekend, 1,238 readers learned how daring to fail decides how much potential one ever gets to maximize.

Miss the issue?

Find the link in the comments below ↓

{Hyperlink}

We all experience this mind game between our better and our lesser selves.

The self that wants you to:

- Stay in comfort because you’re already successful
- Stick to predictable routines so nothing feels risky
- Hold back because you don’t want to fail publicly
- Play it safe

Vs

The self that wants you to:

- Do things that stretch you
- Try new approaches even if they feel unfamiliar
- Show up even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed
- Find out what you’re capable of

But every time you feel pulled between the two voices, one is trying to lead you. 

Lean into the one that holds your priorities, non-negotiables, and big, vivid vision accountable.

Some opportunities are distractions.

They look great and may be relevant to your image.

Until they're not.

They distract you from the main things.

Excellence needs you to fight for your focus.

So you have to be really good at knowing what you need and what you don't.
.
I share a framework to help elite performers protect their energy from shiny distractions.

You can read it here 👇

There’s something about being good at a lot of things. You can handle more, so you keep taking on more. And before you know it, your attention is ever

Open article: Keep the main things…the main things by Huw Edwards • 2 min read

If everything is important, nothing is.

Performing at a high level will need you to look away from a lot of things.

As good as they appear, they can dilute your attention from things that matter.

And fill you with unnecessary mental clutter

Until you’re spread thin and the feeling of underperformance creeps in. 

Over the weekend, I shared ways elite performers manage their attention to sustain ultra-performance 

Miss the issue?

Find it in the comments below ↓

3 resources to help you walk through hard things with ease: 

1. TED Talk: How to Make Stress Your Friend by Kelly McGonigal

https://lnkd.in/d6U8V7UJ

2. TED Talk: How to Stay Calm When You Know You'll Be Stressed by Daniel Levitin

https://lnkd.in/dNRH25RJ

3. Podcast: “Unlocking Us — Brené Brown with Emily and Amelia Nagoski (Burnout & How to Complete the Stress Cycle)

https://lnkd.in/dmPD3JKj

ted.com

Kelly McGonigal: How to make stress your friend

Love yourself.

A lot.

But love the impact you get to create more.

If you want to keep performing at a high level, you need a cause bigger than you to stay focused.

Else, you’ll be easily distracted by the validations, status, and relevance.

And that will mess with your performance and motivation in the long run. 

Over the weekend, elite performers learned to reconnect with the love of their craft for a happier life. 

Miss the issue?

Find it in the comments below ↓

You can be well aware of a messed up situation.

And still not be rattled by it.

You're still aware of the risks, but you're mentally stable enough to not be knocked off by it.

More present in what you can do NOW.

From a place of stable emotions, of course.

But that’s only if your peace is not entirely tied to things going your way.

Otherwise uncertainties will hit harder than they should.

Over the weekend, 1,240 readers learned practices to be steady in the face of curveballs.

Miss the issue?

Find the link in the comments ↓

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

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

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

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

McDonald’s didn’t win because the food was amazing.

They won because nothing was left to chance.

400°, not 375°.
2 minutes 50 seconds, not 3.
Two pickles. Always two.
Golden outside. Fluffy inside.
If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.

That’s not micromanagement.
That’s scale.

69M customers a day don’t tolerate creativity.
They tolerate consistency.

Ray Kroc didn’t build a burger company.
He built a machine that produces the same outcome, every time, anywhere in the world.

Most businesses fail because:

➡️ The standard lives in the founder’s head
➡️ Quality depends on “good people”
➡️ Execution changes with mood, energy, or talent

McDonald’s removed all three.

They turned judgment into instructions.
Talent into training.
Excellence into a checklist.

If your business needs you present to run well,
you don’t own a business.

You own a job.

Scale happens when systems are so tight that average people produce elite outcomes.

#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?

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

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

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

A Sony engineer watched his daughter play Nintendo in 1984 and thought “the sound on this thing is garbage.”

Ken Kutaragi secretly built a better chip and gave it to Nintendo. Sony almost fired him for it.

Then he convinced Sony to partner with Nintendo on a CD-ROM console called the “Play Station.”

June 1991. Sony announces the partnership at CES.

Next morning? Nintendo takes the same stage and dumps Sony for Philips.

Sony’s board wanted to quit gaming entirely. Called it a “toy business.”

Kutaragi stormed into the president’s office. “Are you going to be a laughing stock to Nintendo for the rest of your life?”

The president’s response: “Just do it.”

They had to exile Kutaragi’s team to Sony Music because headquarters refused to house the project.

Then Kutaragi pitched Sega on a joint console. Their board laughed: “That’s a stupid idea. Sony doesn’t know how to make hardware.”

Betrayed by Nintendo. Rejected by Sega. Nearly killed by his own company.

December 1994. PlayStation launches. 100,000 units sold day one.
At E3, Sega announced the Saturn at $399. Sony’s Steve Race walked to the mic, said “$299,” and walked off. Standing ovation.

By 1998, PlayStation was 40% of Sony’s total profit. 563 million PlayStations sold across all generations. The PS2 is still the best-selling console ever.
The prototype’s codename? “PS-X.” Everyone knew the X was a reminder of who crossed them.

Most founders think this is a story about revenge. It’s not.
Kutaragi’s biggest fight wasn’t Nintendo or Sega. It was his own organization that thought the vision was beneath them.

That’s usually the real constraint. Not your competition. The blind spots inside your own company that nobody’s willing to name.

#scalingup #founder #ceo #growth

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

cruzgamboadrive

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

taplio

The Battle

Huw Edwards

Cruz Gamboa

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreHuw Edwards's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreCruz Gamboa's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Huw Edwards

Cruz Gamboa

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Huw Edwards's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreCruz Gamboa's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreHuw Edwards's LinkedIn Performance