27+ Years Helping Lawyers Build for Life After Law — Without Sacrificing Today | Clarity • Intention • Legacy | Founder, The Wealthy Lawyer

Let’s be honest.

Law school didn’t teach you how to manage money — yet your financial decisions now affect everything.

I work with successful lawyers who earn well on paper, but still feel the quiet pressure of knowing their financial life isn’t as clear or protected as it should be.

Between demanding careers, student debt, growing families, and big responsibilities, many lawyers I meet aren’t worried about making more money — they’re worried about making the right decisions with what they already earn.

That’s where I come in.

For nearly three decades, I’ve helped lawyers turn high income into clear, intentional wealth by building structure around their finances — so success actually translates into confidence, security, and choice.

My work focuses on fundamentals:

• Protecting income before chasing returns
• Giving every dollar a job
• Making decisions that reduce pressure, not add to it
• Building wealth that supports life today — and life after law


Most clients reach out when they:

• Feel behind despite earning well
• Aren’t sure whether to save, invest, or pay down debt
• Worry about what would happen if they couldn’t work
• Know they need a plan, but don’t know where to start


After working together, they feel:

• Clear about their financial direction
• Confident their family and income are protected
• Grounded in a plan they actually understand and trust

You’re in the business of law — not financial planning.

My role is to bring clarity, structure, and peace of mind, so you can focus on what matters most.

Most conversations start with a simple virtual coffee — no pitch, no pressure — just clarity and a chance to see if there’s a smarter, calmer way forward.

Jeffery M. Lamont

Congratulations on making partner…
you don’t need a $257,645 car to prove you’ve made it.

Because at this stage, success doesn’t need to be signaled.

Not with suits.
Not with watches.
Not with vacations.
Not with visible upgrades.

Not because you can’t.

Because you don’t need the reminder.

You’re not trying to feel successful.
You already know where you stand.

What you’ve built is quieter than most people expect.
And steadier.

You’re not using purchases to motivate the future.
It’s already been accounted for.

At this stage, confidence looks less like display,
and more like knowing what you could walk away from — calmly.

That kind of security doesn’t draw much attention.
But it tends to last.

Jeffery M Lamont

High income doesn’t equal financial clarity. I help lawyers build wealth that gives them control — not more pressure. | Founder, The Wealthy Lawyer

Image shows a large, elegant estate with classic architecture surrounded by trees, paired with a white luxury SUV parked in the driveway. The scene conveys quiet success, stability, and understated wealth rather than flashy status symbols. The accompanying LinkedIn post speaks to lawyers who have made partner, emphasizing that true confidence and success don’t need to be proven through expensive cars, watches, or visible upgrades. Instead, it highlights calm financial security, long-term planning, and the peace of mind that comes from knowing the future is already handled.

You didn’t work this hard to make partner just to still feel this tight.

That’s the part no one talks about.

At this level, money should buy relief —
not just lifestyle,
not just options,
but space in your head.

And yet…

Last week, I spoke with a couple of partners in their 50s...
each earning 7-figures.
Both reached out for the same reason:

They felt like they should be further ahead than they are.

Not because they’ve done anything wrong.
Not because they’ve been careless.

But because responsibility kept compounding while clarity didn’t.

So the income grew… and the weight grew with it.

That’s not a spending problem.
That’s not a discipline problem.

That’s success that never got organized.

And when structure lags long enough, even very high income stops feeling reassuring.

Most people don’t realize how heavy success can feel...
until it’s theirs.

This post discusses the emotional and financial pressure experienced by senior law firm partners who have achieved high income and professional success but still feel constrained due to a lack of financial structure and clarity. It reframes the issue as an organization and planning problem rather than a spending or discipline issue.

Finally making 7-figures doesn’t create clarity...
it masks it.

I see this all the time.
Especially when sitting across the table from successful lawyers who feel they are doing everything right — on paper.

They earn well.
They save some.
They invest “enough.

From the outside, it looks solid enough.

But underneath?

Too many open questions.

• What’s the money actually for?
• When does work ease up... if ever?
• What happens if life interrupts the plan?
• Is this building freedom… or just momentum?

Most don’t have bad habits.
They have unexamined ones.

Money flowing everywhere,
but no clear structure holding it together.

And that’s where the stress comes from.

Not a lack of income.
A lack of intention.

Real progress starts when someone pauses long enough to ask:
“What do I actually want this to do for me?”

Because once that’s clear,
decisions get simpler.

Not easier.
Just cleaner.

And cleaner decisions compound faster than hustle ever will.

Without clarity, effort just compounds noise.

👉 What question about your money have you been putting off answering?

Helping Lawyers Build Long-Term Wealth — Without Sacrificing Life Today| Founder, The Wealthy Lawyer

Senior law firm partner standing in a high-rise office, looking out over the city during a reflective moment. Image represents high-income professionals facing complex financial decisions, long-term planning questions, and the need for clarity, structure, and intentional wealth strategy.

And one day, the weekends aren’t crazy or hectic anymore.

Yesterday, I went to the hockey rink.

Not for my kids...
they’re all away at university now.

But to watch my young niece,
and then my even younger nephew play.

Standing there, coffee in hand, it hit me how much I quietly miss the hustle.

The early mornings.
The away tournaments.
Going from rink to rink…
or rink to (indoor) ball practice…
living on a diet of too much coffee and fast food on the weekend.

Busy weekends had a rhythm to them.
Exhausting... but full.

Now the house is quieter.
The calendar is lighter.
And the noise has been replaced with space.

At first, that space feels strange.
Then it starts to feel… intentional.

This stage comes with more room to think.
More room to build.
More room to focus on work that feels meaningful... not just busy.

For me, that means continuing to grow Lamont Wealth Strategies,
helping lawyers bring structure and clarity to their financial lives.

And leaning further into The Wealthy Lawyer Podcast, creating conversations and resources that support lawyers wherever they are in their careers.

Different season.
Different kind of fulfillment.

Today will be quieter.
Some planning.
Some preparation for the week ahead.

And a little gratitude for the seasons that shaped us —
even the ones we didn’t realize we’d miss until they were gone.

A quiet moment at a youth hockey rink, viewed from the stands, with a coffee cup in the foreground and young players skating in the background. The scene reflects a reflective life transition, as a parent watches extended family play hockey after their own children have grown and left for school. The image and post explore changing seasons of life, quieter weekends after years of hectic sports schedules, and finding meaning, clarity, and intentional focus in midlife. Written by a financial advisor who helps lawyers bring structure and clarity to their financial lives through Lamont Wealth Strategies and The Wealthy Lawyer Podcast.

And like that…
the house is quiet again after the holidays.

No bags by the door.
No criss-crossing schedules.

Just Colleen and me...
and the three dogs (can't forget them).
A slower rhythm than we’ve had lately.

The kids are back at university after the Christmas break, and life is settling into a familiar kind of normal.

Not empty.
Just… calm.

There’s room to think.
Room to breathe.
Room to move into the year without forcing it.

It’s not about adding more.
It’s about being more intentional with what stays.

There’s plenty to plan this year.
Plenty to work toward.

But not all at once.

There’s time to ramp up.
Time to build momentum.

Hope your weekend has a bit of that quiet in it too.

Enjoy.

Helping lawyers turn high income into clarity, structure, and calm decision-making

Quiet weekend morning at home with coffee in hand, newspaper open, feet up in slippers, and a calm living room after the holidays.

Most partners earning $1M+ aren’t short on money.
They’re short on structure.

Income grew.
The plan didn’t.

I’ve spent the last 28+ years helping lawyers build wealth.
And I’ve seen what happens when momentum replaces structure.

Decisions get heavier.
Clarity gets delayed.
And nothing feels urgent...
until everything does.

That’s why my work today lives in two places:
Lamont Wealth Strategies
and The Wealthy Lawyer Podcast.

Because more lawyers are realizing something important:

It’s not their income that’s the problem.
It’s the lack of structure around it.

I work with lawyers across every stage of their career:
partners, associates, founders, solos, in-house.

Different roles.
Same pattern.

From the outside, things look fine.
Underneath, there’s weight.

• Money without a clear job
• Cash flow that feels harder than it should
• Tax decisions made reactively
• Protection gaps no one wants to think about
• And the quiet question that never quite goes away:
“Is this actually building what I want it to?”

That’s where the work starts.

Together, we simplify:
• cash flow
• savings and investments
• tax complexity
• insurance and income protection
• corporate structure
• long-term planning

Not to chase perfection.
But to create clarity.

The outcome isn’t flashy.

It’s calm.
Confidence.
And the moment someone says,
“I finally feel like this makes sense—and my family will be okay.”

That’s the work.


────
If any part of this felt familiar,
you’re not behind.

You’re just carrying more than the structure you were given.

And that’s usually where one good conversation starts to lift the weight.

No pitch. No pressure.
Just a chance to talk things through.

You don’t have to solve anything today.

Awareness counts.
Space counts.
Rest counts.

Monday can wait.
You've earned that.

No one tells you this about becoming a partner.
It doesn’t create clarity.
It creates consequence.

This is the time of year when firms start announcing new partners.

More control.
More certainty.
More confidence.

That’s the expectation.

What usually happens is quieter.

I’ve watched this shift show up again and again for years.

The work isn’t new.
But the decisions start to linger longer.

Because now:
Your name carries weight.
Your choices ripple further.
And there’s less room for “we’ll fix it later.”

Nothing’s wrong.
This is just the moment where responsibility shows up differently.

And it’s usually where the conversations start to change.

Nothing urgent.
Just important.

2025 gave me clarity...
2026 gets the work.

I’ve spent the last few weeks reflecting on last year,
and thinking carefully about what I want 2026 to look like.

The truth is,
I have a five-year plan.
And it’s ambitious.

There’s a lot I want to build.
Not just for me… but for my family, and for the clients who trust me.

I’m genuinely excited about what the next few years can bring.
But I also know this part matters:

I can’t get ahead of myself.

This week, I had conversations with two friends and confidants...
Anthony Vicino and Jodi Wilding.

Different conversations.
Same underlying theme.

Not motivation.
Not shortcuts.

Structure.
Standards.
And living the traits now,
that the future version of you will require.

Progress doesn’t come from urgency.
It comes from consistency.
From systems.
From showing up...
even when no one’s watching.

The reflection phase mattered.
It created clarity.

Now it’s time to roll up the sleeves
and do the work:
calmly, deliberately, and without drama.

Clarity first. Let the work begin.

Most partners don’t feel stressed because of the 80-hour work weeks.

They feel stressed because the money side never quite settles.

High income creates options.

But without structure, it also creates decisions that never stop competing for attention.

That’s why things feel heavier,
even when nothing is “wrong.”

This doesn’t get fixed by earning more.
It gets fixed when the financial side finally has a clear job.

That’s the shift most lawyers eventually need to make.

A senior male professional sits forward on a couch in a modern living space, hands clasped, looking thoughtful and composed. The setting is calm and uncluttered, suggesting a moment of quiet reflection rather than crisis. The image represents a high-income professional or law firm partner carrying the weight of financial decisions, long work hours, and unresolved money structure — not stress from workload, but from clarity gaps, competing priorities, and the need for a more intentional financial plan.

High income doesn’t build wealth.

It just makes the gaps harder to see.

Most people think wealth is built by earning more.
The people who actually build it know that’s only part of the story.

Over the last 28 years, I’ve worked with families across the spectrum...
including a handful with 9- and 10-figure net worths.

What stood out was never what they invested in.
It was how they behaved.

The habits that create generational wealth aren’t exclusive, exotic, or complicated.

They’re structural.
And they’re available to anyone.

There are three quiet behaviours that separate people who accumulate wealth from those who simply cycle through income.

First: they give their money a job.

Not “invest because I should.”
Not “park it somewhere safe.”

Every dollar has a role:
– growth
– protection
– flexibility
– future income

Idle money is expensive.
Even when it feels comfortable.

Second: they don’t try to avoid risk.
They manage it.

That means diversification that actually works.
Protection against what would derail the plan.
Insurance where it matters.
And fewer emotional decisions when markets — or life — wobble.

Wealth isn’t about avoiding risk.
It’s about surviving it long enough for compounding to matter.

Third: they think in decades, not quarters.

The real advantage isn’t access to “better investments.”
It’s patience.

They let time do the heavy lifting.
They reinvest.
They stay disciplined.
They adjust without panicking.

Most people interrupt compounding right before it starts to work.

Here’s the part no one loves to hear:

High income helps.
But structure is what turns income into wealth.

So if you’re earning well but still thinking,
“Why does this feel messier than it should — given how well I’m doing?”

That’s not failure.
It’s usually just missing structure.

A composed professional seated at a desk in a modern office at night, city lights visible through the window, looking thoughtful and focused. The image supports a LinkedIn post about wealth building, emphasizing that high income alone does not create wealth. The post explains that long-term wealth comes from financial structure, disciplined behavior, risk management, patience, and giving every dollar a clear role for growth, protection, flexibility, and future income. The message highlights that feeling financially “messy” despite earning well is usually a sign of missing structure, not failure.

He made $1.6 million last year and has no plan.

Not because he’s lazy.
Not because he’s careless.

Because no one ever stopped to ask:
“What’s important to you?”

Just before Christmas, a 45 year old partner reached out to me.
His income for 2025 was going to be just north of $1.6 million.

When I asked about his planning for the future…

He kind of shrugged and said:

“I don’t know. Just keep working until 60–65, then retire, I guess.”

Let that sink in.

He’s optimized everything in his practice.
Except the one thing that actually determines how this all turns out.

His future.

When we dug a little deeper, it wasn’t complicated.

He didn’t actually know where his money was going.

Not in detail.
Not intentionally.

A lot of income…
but no clear job for each dollar.

And he’s not alone.

High income doesn’t create clarity.
It delays the moment you’re forced to confront the absence of it.

Income hides messy strategy.
Until one day, it doesn’t.

Wealth isn’t income.
It isn’t assets.

It’s clarity.
Giving every dollar a job,
in service of something that actually matters.

It’s knowing what you’re building toward,
and having the freedom to make decisions without fear.

Most people don’t feel behind.
They just feel unsure what they’re actually working toward.


If that resonates, send me a DM.
Let’s talk about what clarity could look like for you.

Law partners don’t have a money problem.
They have an order problem.

After 28 years of watching this play out, the pattern is hard to miss.

By the time income peaks,
structure often hasn’t been built.

Instead, people skip ahead.

Straight to:
• investing
• optimization
• tax tactics
• “what should I do with this money?”

Before they’ve protected the one thing everything else depends on.

Income.
Liquidity.
Decisions without pressure.

That’s what this framework is meant to show.

Wealth isn’t built by starting at the top.
It’s built by getting the foundation right first —
and letting everything else sit on something solid.

Most people don’t realize where their foundation is exposed...
until life tests it.

If this resonates, you’re probably already further along than you think.

You’re not behind.
You’re just missing a bit of structure behind the scenes.

Most conversations start with a simple virtual coffee.
No pitch. No pressure. Just clarity.

Illustration titled “The Wealthy Lawyer Foundation” showing a layered financial framework built from the ground up. The foundation begins with Income Protection (disability insurance and proper life insurance), followed by Cash Flow & Liquidity (emergency funds and accessible savings), Tax Strategy (compensation planning and corporate vs personal decisions), Investing with Intention (long-term, risk-aligned strategy), and Legacy, Flexibility & Optionality (estate planning, family protection, freedom of choice). The image emphasizes that real wealth is built from the foundation up, not by starting with investing or tax tactics. Designed for law partners and high-income professionals who earn well but lack financial structure, clarity, and decision-making flexibility.

Most pressure doesn’t come from making the wrong move.

It comes from knowing the right one,
and holding it quietly for too long.

Thinking it through.
Researching it.
Talking around it.

Until doing it feels heavier than it should.

Sometimes the cleanest move
is letting someone else see the map.

Minimal illustration comparing overthinking and preparation versus taking action, showing that progress comes from doing the right thing rather than endlessly discussing or researching it.

Most progress doesn’t come from big breakthroughs.

I’ve seen this moment show up again and again with the lawyers I work with.

It shows up quietly.

• When fewer decisions follow you home.
• When the money side stops competing with everything else for attention.
• When you’re not trying to “optimize” — just making clean, calm choices.

Nothing dramatic.
Nothing urgent.

Just a bit more margin than last week.

That’s enough for today.

No one warns you about this part of becoming a partner.

The title arrives.
The expectations change.

And suddenly, the decisions multiply.

Not just files.
Life ones.

Money.
Time.
Risk.

Nothing is on fire.
But everything feels heavier.

Most new partners don’t feel behind.
They feel unsure.

And they assume everyone else has it figured out.

They don’t.

This is the point where working harder stops helping.
And structure starts pulling its weight.

Nothing to fix.
Nothing to panic about.

Just a new season...
and a new way of thinking.

Most partners I talk with aren’t struggling with money...

They’re struggling with capacity — time, energy, bandwidth, and the creeping feeling that they’re one busy season away from burning out.

But the issues almost always fall into one of these buckets:

→ Lifestyle creep
→ Tax drag
→ Cash-flow confusion
→ No real structure behind the scenes

What I’ve noticed is this:
the same few questions come up again and again.

1. If you took two weeks fully off…
would your financial life keep moving without you?

Or would everything stall until you got home?

If you can’t answer “yes,” that’s a structure problem — not an income problem.


2. If your savings only happen once everything else is paid for…
does anything actually get saved?

That’s a cash-flow timing problem.


3. If you’re earning more than you’ve ever earned…
but you still don’t feel ahead…
where is the gap coming from?

That’s lifestyle expansion without intention.


4. If you feel like you’re always “figuring it out later”…
is it because you don’t have clarity,
or because you’ve been too busy to stop long enough to get it?

That’s a planning bandwidth problem.


5. And if taxes feel like the single biggest line item in your life…
what are you doing (today) to control the future ones?

That’s a missed-opportunity problem.

Here’s the part most partners never admit out loud:

You don’t need to work harder to fix any of this.
You need visibility, structure, and a plan that actually fits the way your life moves at 40+.

It’s not a lack of money that keeps you feeling stuck…
it’s that everything still depends on you.

From the outside, things look like success:
• strong income
• growing responsibility
• more control
• more autonomy

This is what it’s supposed to feel like.

But underneath, something else starts to form.

A bottleneck.

Not because anything is wrong.
But because everything still runs through you.

Here’s the part no one warns you about:

As income rises, decisions don’t disappear.
They multiply.

More money means more choices.
More consequences.
More “I’ll deal with this later” moments.

And when structure doesn’t evolve at the same pace as income…
those decisions quietly stack themselves on one person.

You.

At first, it feels manageable.

You’re capable.
You’re disciplined.
You’ve always handled things.

So you carry it.

• Money decisions
• Protection gaps
• Tax choices
• Cash flow timing
• Long-term tradeoffs

Nothing is broken.

But nothing moves…
unless you touch it.

So things don’t get avoided.
They get postponed.

And postponement feels harmless…
until it starts to feel heavy.

This is where high earners get confused.

Because they’re doing “everything right.”

They’re earning well.
They’re responsible.
They’re saving.

Yet progress feels slower than it should.

Clarity always seems one season away.

There’s always one more thing to clean up later.

That’s not a motivation problem.
And it’s not an effort problem.

It’s a capacity problem.

There’s an invisible ceiling most high earners hit…
and it has nothing to do with income.

At a certain level, income stops being the constraint.

Mental load becomes the constraint.

Too many open loops.
Too many decisions living in your head.
Too many systems that pause when you do.

Your financial life slows down when you slow down.

That’s the tell.

The people who build lasting wealth don’t eliminate responsibility.

They redistribute it.

They stop being the system,
and start building systems.

Not to step away from their lives,
but to stop carrying everything personally.

Income gives you options.
Structure determines whether you can actually feel them.

And here’s the quiet truth:

If decisions feel heavier than they should…
If progress pauses when you do…
If clarity always seems just one season away…

You’re probably not behind.

You’ve just reached the point where effort stops helping
and structure starts to matter.

That’s not a problem.

It’s a signal.

A high-earning couple at home having a quiet, unresolved conversation at the kitchen counter, symbolizing how financial pressure and decision-making responsibility can quietly build even when income is strong.

Too many people mistake preparation for progress.

It feels safer.

Cleaner.

But clarity doesn’t arrive before movement.

It shows up after.

You don’t actually need the breakthrough you think you do...
you need a clean landing.

When partners tell me a week felt “heavy,” it’s rarely about workload.

It’s usually about:
• Too many open loops
• Money decisions lingering
• No clear system behind the scenes

That’s the part I help with.

Not motivation.
Not hustle.

Structure.
So fewer decisions follow you home.

If this week felt lighter than most, that’s usually not luck.

It’s what happens when the financial side stops competing with everything else.

Take the win.
Enjoy the weekend.
We’ll build from here.

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

undefined undefined

cruzgamboadrive

patagonia-solar-llc

Your First Product Is Not Your Last

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

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

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?

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

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

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

The Real Reason Teams Don’t Execute!

Most businesses don’t have a strategy problem.
They have a focus problem.

Everyone is busy.
Everyone is “working hard.”
And somehow… nothing meaningful gets finished.

That’s exactly what Rocks fix.

Rocks are the 3–5 outcomes that MUST get done in the next 90 days for the business to move forward.

Not tasks.
Not habits.
Not “stay consistent.”

Outcomes.

If you complete these Rocks, the quarter is a win.
If you don’t, the quarter failed, no matter how busy everyone was.

Why Rocks are non-negotiable:

Most teams run on to-do lists.
To-do lists reward activity, not progress.

Rocks:

➡️ Force leadership to choose what actually matters
➡️ Eliminate distraction disguised as “work”
➡️ Create alignment across teams
➡️ Make execution visible and measurable

If a company has more than 5 priorities, it has zero priorities.

How to implement Rocks the right way (no shortcuts):

1️⃣ Limit them aggressively
3–5 Rocks per quarter.
More than that means you’re avoiding hard decisions.

2️⃣ One Rock = One Owner
If two people own it, no one owns it.
Ownership creates accountability.

3️⃣ Write Rocks as finish lines
Bad Rock: “Improve marketing”
Good Rock: “Generate 500 qualified leads by March 31”

If it’s not measurable, it’s not a Rock.

4️⃣ Review weekly, not quarterly
Rocks die in companies that “set and forget.”
Weekly check-ins expose excuses early.

5️⃣ Protect Rocks from urgency
If a task doesn’t move a Rock forward,
it’s noise, no matter how loud it sounds.

Execution doesn’t fail because people are lazy.
It fails because leaders refuse to choose.

Scaling starts when focus becomes a discipline.

Are you ready to implement the same operating system Fortune 500 companies have used for decades, and today’s fastest-scaling founders rely on to grow?

DM CLARITY, lets talk about what's going on in your company.

#scalingup #CEO #growth #founder

taplio

The Battle

Jeffery M. Lamont

Cruz Gamboa

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreJeffery M. Lamont's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreCruz Gamboa's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Jeffery M. Lamont

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);}Jeffery M. Lamont's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreCruz Gamboa's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJeffery M. Lamont's LinkedIn Performance