S Brian Smith 🪜

I free founders from ops, sales, & management | Founder @ Strategy Ladders | Coached 1000s of B2B and Agency owners | Stop struggling, start enjoying business ownership 🏖️

Most founders of 7-figure B2B service companies reach a point where growth plateaus—and freedom remains a mirage.

They’re still in sales calls. Still solving client fires. Still holding the business together.

That’s where we come in.

At Strategy Ladders, we help founder-led B2B service businesses—agencies, development shops, consulting firms, and more—scale from $2M to $30M+ in annual revenue while removing the founder from daily operations.

We don’t do theory. We do results.

Every advisor on our team has built and scaled 8-figure businesses. We’ve been in your seat, broken through the same ceilings, and led teams to the next level.

What We Deliver:
Strategic clarity with a customized roadmap to scale

Execution firepower through world-class experts and operators

Freedom for founders through strong systems, teams, and leadership

We don’t stop at advice. We help you implement.

Whether it’s building out your sales infrastructure, overhauling project management, optimizing financials, or replacing yourself as CEO—our team has done it before and does it with you.

Services We Integrate Into Our Work:
LATAM recruiting (our secret weapon)

Full-stack B2B marketing through our in-house agency, B2B Labs

Project management systems & leadership

Financial management—without a bloated CFO title

HubSpot CRM buildouts & automation

And more—all tailored for service businesses

We’ve helped clients:
✅ Scale from $150k to $4M ARR in under a year
✅ Slash founder hours by over 40%
✅ Grow recurring revenue from 2% to 50%
✅ Land Fortune 100 clients
✅ Build 65-person teams in two years
✅ Exit profitably and on their terms

We're not a coaching business.

We're not your podcast hero.

We're the serious team for founders ready to win.

If you’re running a 7-figure business and ready to scale to 8+—without grinding yourself into the ground—we should talk.


🪜 www.strategyladders.com

Founder & Head of Strategy

The Strategy Ladder Program delivers MASSIVE results to agencies, consultancies, and service businesses.

If your business is 25-85 employees, partially or fully remote, and you're stuck trying to "level-up," I will transform it with you.

The Strategy Ladder System will get you UNSTUCK. You'll develop a bullet-proof strategy that grows with your business, streamlines operations, scales your revenue, and sets your business up to continue to grow without you.

The Strategy Ladder System doesn't just change your business. It will transform YOU. You'll undergo a mental reset that frees you from the anxiety and beliefs that tie you to the day-to-day in your business. You're the leader of your business - if you don't change, your business never will.

The Strategy Ladder System has worked for over 400 entrepreneurs, delivering & implementing strategies that have:

💥 Scaled an agency from $150k to $4mil ARR in 10 months

💥 Increased a digital marketing agency’s productivity levels by over 450%, dramatically increasing profitability

💥 Streamlined a SaaS product’s roadmap, reducing development costs by 45% while increasing execution speed by over 25%.

💥 Developed and executing a repositioning strategy that landed a web development agency a long-term contract with a Fortune 100 company

💥 Repositioned of an app development agency that grew recurring revenue from 2% to over 50% of total revenue within three month

💥 Built a sales organization of 65 sales people in two years

💥 Orchestrated & executed a legal & and business strategy that lead to a sale of key assets of a SaaS platform for a significant premium over the market value of the company

Most founders hit the same wall. (and how to break through it in 90 days  🚀)

Revenue’s up. Team’s bigger.
And somehow… you’re working more.

Every decision runs through you.
Your calendar is a hostage situation.
And that “vacation”? You spent half of it on Slack.

Here’s what I’ve learned after helping 400+ B2B service founders break the cycle:

The problem isn’t your team. It’s your operating system AND decision delegation.

One client had 80+ employees… and the founder was still spending 6–10 hours/week reviewing dashboards, reports, and funneling decisions through himself.

Not leading. Not strategizing.
Just… reviewing.

We rebuilt their operating rhythm & assigned decision ownership.

90 days later: the team runs the reviews.
The founder gets a 15-minute summary every day. That’s it.

Here’s what a real 90-day shift looks like:

✅ Days 1–30: Clarity

- Map every decision that “requires you”
- Install a simple rule: reversible decisions don’t climb to the founder
- Assign ONE owner per function (Sales, Delivery, Ops, Finance)

✅ Days 31–60: Cadence

- Weekly leadership rhythm (same agenda, every week)
- Scoreboard + priorities (no vibes, no rambling)
- Problems get solved by owners… not escalated to you

✅ Days 61–90: Accountability

- Public commitments
- Misses get fixed, not explained
- You stop rescuing — and become the strategic leader again

One client went from a $1M to $4.5M run rate during this transition.

Not because they worked harder.
Because they built a business that didn’t need them in every room.

The real question isn’t “Can my team handle it?”
It’s: “Have I given them the system to win without me?”

What’s one decision you made this week that your team should’ve owned?

But be careful with one-size-fits-all approaches. Every operating business starts with its own unique set of challenges.

If you’re serious about getting out of the middle, DM me “90 DAYS” and I’ll send you a business audit to see where you need to focus first.

✌️🧡🌮

Multi-passionate creative human. Director, poet, storyteller, strategist, podcaster, content marketer.

I’ve never been the loudest person in the room. I’m the one listening for the aha moment. The one sentence in a messy transcript, the hidden angle often overlooked, the moment in a conversation when someone finally speaks the truth they didn’t even know they were holding.

That’s what I do. I help people and brands uncover the story that's been there all along, embody it fully, and share it with confidence. Because when you do, everything shifts. Your message lands. Your business grows. The right people find you.

For more than a decade, I led content, creative, and brand strategies within B2B SaaS companies like Vendavo, Optimizely, and TTEC Digital. Earlier in my career, I also worked agency side as a Creative Strategist. I built positioning and messaging frameworks, led creative production teams, and turned complex ideas into stories people could actually feel and understand. 

I climbed the ladder to senior director and realized the higher you climb, the further you get from the creative work that drew you in. So I went on my own.

Today, through Morgan Short Creative, I blend strategy, story, and soul to help:
-Founders and entrepreneurs clarify their message, build visibility, and attract ideal clients
-B2B SaaS teams translate complexity into human content that builds trust and generates revenue
-Creatives and artists bring their gifts into the spotlight in a way that feels human and true

I hope that after you work with me you'll walk away saying something similar to these amazing people:

"I see myself translating what I learned from Morgan directly into more clients and opportunities with my craft." -Dominick, Dance Choreographer

"Morgan creates a space for clarity and empowerment which is truly a gift." -Chelsea, Intuitive Healer 

"Morgan seamlessly bridges complex technology stories with compelling human narratives." -Joseph, Creative Director 

I also host a podcast called Art is the New Wall Street where I interview artists and creatives who stepped out of the old, achievement-obsessed life and into a path shaped by art, creativity, and honest expression.

If you're ready to step out of hiding and into full embodiment of your story and your expertise, let's connect. I'm here to help you see yourself clearly, tell your story confidently, and call in what's unmistakably yours.

Personality fun: 
Myers-Briggs: ENFJ 
CliftonStrengths: Strategic, Discipline, Individualization, Connectedness, Relator
Enneagram: Type 3 - The Achiever
Human Design: Manifesting Generator
Zodiac Signs: Scorpio Sun, Virgo Moon, Virgo Rising (yes it matters)

Morgan Short

I’m not okay today.

As a Minnesotan, I’m devastated and furious about what happened in Minneapolis. I keep trying to move through a normal day and failing. I’m distracted and angry.

Renee Nicole Good was a U.S. citizen. She was 37 years old. She was in her car, trying to leave a chaotic situation, when an ICE agent murdered her in broad daylight.

Within hours, federal officials rushed to justify it. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called it “domestic terrorism” and claimed Renee tried to use her vehicle as a weapon. The president, of course, reinforced that framing, claiming it was self-defense. 

But there is video. You can watch what happened. You can see her car moving out of the way. Her tires turned AWAY from the agents. The footage exists. And still, we’re being told not to trust our own eyes.

And then, inevitably, someone says the most insulting part.

“If she had just complied.”

This is not reasonable discourse. We have systems for this. We are supposed to live in a country where people can hesitate, panic, misunderstand, or make the wrong move without being shot in the face. I will not betray my own eyes. I will not stoop to that level.

Imagine if that was you. Imagine if that was your kid. Imagine trying to leave a situation you knew felt dangerous and being killed.

ICE’s mandate is immigration enforcement. Renee was a U.S. citizen. She was not suspected of an immigration violation. Why is ICE murdering a U.S. citizen? Why is ICE murdering ANYONE? What authority do they have? Why are they masked? How are we supposed to behave? Where are our rights? 

We collectively witnessed a federal agent kill a woman in broad daylight. Then the administration lied about the circumstances of her death. If this can happen in public, on camera, and be spun this easily, then we are all collectively in danger. But we have been in danger for a long time. ICE should be tried for human rights violations.

Check on your friends in MN. A lot of us are carrying this today. If emails are coming slowly or tasks seem to be taking longer that's why.

None of this is normal. I’m exhausted by the sanewashing. We are not angry enough.

Content Strategist for Founders and B2B SaaS | Host of Art is the New Wall Street Podcast | Poet

My word for 2026 is sovereignty. 

Lately, it feels like everything is asking for something from us. The news cycle is loud and polarizing. AI is moving fast enough to feel existential, and the decision to adopt it comes with a tradeoff every time. Everything is an ad. Social media is the ultimate breeding ground for comparison. Productivity is still the scoreboard. And burnout is the cost of participation. The pace keeps accelerating whether you consent to it or not.

That's the game. And when you're in it long enough it can almost feel like you're losing authorship of your own life. Your definition of success starts to feel inherited rather than chosen. 

On a personal level, 2025 forced me to confront all that. My nervous system couldn’t keep up with the pace I had been working and living. A scary diagnosis and major surgery put me on medical leave for the summer and removed any illusion that I could just push through. For a long time, I treated my body like an enemy. I beat it up and betrayed it. It would be shocking to tell you what I've said about it. I neglected it and didn't listen. Until eventually, it stopped cooperating.

I've played the game. I built my life around expectations I inherited without really questioning them. Get the degree. Get a steady job. Work harder than everyone else. Get the promotion. Put work at the center of your life. I measured my worth through productivity and usefulness. So much so that I thought I had to earn love by being useful to others. Other people’s approval of my decisions and my life's path have mattered more than I like to admit, especially my dad's. I followed a version of success that looked good and kept me busy. I overgave. I stayed available. I worked until I was sick. And I waited for permission to rest or to want something different. No one is coming to give you that permission by the way.

Stepping away from corporate work three months ago was one of my first real acts of listening. I made an intentional decision to stop negotiating on my values and start taking real ownership and responsibility for my life. 

That’s what sovereignty means to me. Being the final authority. Deciding how I work, what I build, who gets my energy, and what I no longer tolerate. Letting my body, recovery, and values lead.

I've made a vision board every New Year since 2016. Ten years in, this one feels fitting. 

I approve of my life. And that's the only damn approval I need.

PS: I see lots of travel in my future.

It feels weird to talk about work right now given ICE is terrorizing my community. But, I'm on month 3 of this whole solopreneurship thing and I have a bunch of random thoughts. Some about work, some not.

You can't reasonably ask yourself to bill 40 hours of client work a week. There's admin time, business-building time, and brain recovery time. Realistically, I can bill 25 hours right now before it starts to feel like burnout. Project pricing feels way better and I'm doing that with some clients. I also have a goal to set up a passive income stream this year. 

I'm paying two people for services I don't want to do. A tax person and a podcast editor. That's working well.

It feels really good for my soul to have made this decision. It took 3 years, 4 tumors, medical leave, and slowing down to finally find the courage to do it. I love the freedom and autonomy. It is real and felt.

Everyone wants to do a coffee chat. I have a boundary now: one per week. They were eating a lot of my time at the beginning. (I use Harvest to track it) But they're good for me. I always leave feeling better. 

I won't stay in content marketing forever. For now, I'm happy to have skills that add value for good people doing good things.

I have a strong aversion to niching down. I'm playing and experimenting right now. It's an energy thing. I'm doing content strategy, LinkedIn ghostwriting, narrative building, and verticalized content for my clients. None of them are in the same industry. 

Remember when Elon gave that salute a year ago?

I don't have a huge savings. I'm single. But I saved a small cushion of money and my parents would catch me if things got really bad. I know not everyone has that net. Grateful to them.

I'm actually enjoying the work again. It's fun to be a contributor and produce. It's fun to not sit in meetings all day.

Dr. Lawrence Britt wrote about the 14 characteristics of fascism in the early 2000s. The current admin checks every box. I don't understand how a reasonable person can't see the comparison to 1940s Germany. 

I've always loved the craft of writing. But I'm actually enjoying being a strategist way more at the moment.

Podcasting takes a lot of effort and commitment. Sometimes it feels like I'm shouting into the void and no one is listening.

I'm adjusting my relationship with AI. Now that no one is demanding I use it, I'm writing a lot more from scratch again. 

There is work time and there is me time. Right now I'm trying to fill the me time with as much low stakes art as possible. I started a polymer clay hobby. I'm enjoying it. My creations are bad. That's the point. 

Health insurance is insane when you're solo. My premium when I elected in Nov 2025 was $330 and it's $480 as of January 2026. 

Community really is everything. 

Rest is not earned. You need it. Get enough sleep.

Take 3 deep breaths. Remove your tongue from the roof of your mouth. Lower your shoulders. Tell someone you love them.

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The Battle

S Brian Smith 🪜

Morgan Short

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The Battle

S Brian Smith 🪜

Morgan Short

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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);}S Brian Smith 🪜's LinkedIn Performance

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