Stories of Scale with Jonathan Herps

In this episode of Stories of Scale, host Jonathan Herps sits down with Zaki Ameer, Founder of DDP Property, to unpack the real story behind his 15-year journey building one of Australia’s most successful buyer’s agencies. Zaki reveals the truth behind scaling a business sustainably — from navigating compliance and hiring misalignment, to rebuilding culture, and creating a business that can run wi...

Are you still doing everything yourself — sales, delivery, and strategy — and can’t take a holiday without things falling apart? You’re not alone. Most founders hit the same growth ceilings — the “ones and threes” — where your leadership, systems, and team hit capacity.   In this episode of the **Scale Up Growth Podcast**, we unpack the **6 key triggers** to help you move from *firefighter* to *bu...

In this episode of the Scale Up Growth Podcast , Jonathan Herps dives deep into why building and keeping A-players is the ultimate growth advantage for CEOs. Discover how leading founders are creating workplaces that attract talent, boost performance, and scale sustainably — even in competitive markets. 💡 You’ll Learn: 1.  Use People & Culture KPIs that actually drive results 2.  Benchmark yo...

Perfection slows growth. Momentum scales it. In this episode of the Scale Up Growth Podcast , Jonathan Herps breaks down how growth-stage founders can take control of their business using leading vs. lagging KPIs , “Bare Ass Minimums” (BAMs), and a flywheel system that drives consistent performance. You’ll also hear real-world examples of businesses scaling from $3M to $17M — and what it really ta...

In this episode of the Scale Up Growth Podcast , Jonathan Herps explores how CEOs can harness AI, dashboards, and the power of a North Star metric to lead with more clarity and alignment. From using multiple AI tools for research and decision-making, to understanding why defining and tracking the right metrics drives real momentum, this episode is packed with practical insights you can apply today...

Most CEOs are drowning in numbers but starving for clarity. Without the right dashboard, you’re flying blind—reacting instead of leading. In this session,  Jonathan shared AI prompts to design your Leaders KPIs, company Evergreen KPIs & an AI prompt to help you identify your North Star metric. Whether you’re at $1M, $10M, or $100M in revenue, the principles are the same. If you can’t measure i...

Every founder dreams big, but too many stop at “vision” without turning it into an actionable plan. In this episode, Jonathan Herps breaks down how to take a 3-year vivid vision and transform it into a practical execution system that drives growth, profit, and freedom. Jonathan reveals the planning rhythms used by top CEOs to scale past the plateaus, align leadership teams, and free themselves fro...

Scaling isn't about more tactics, it's about more clarity. It’s about giving your team a vision so clear they can act without waiting for your permission. In this episode of Stories of Scale, Jonathan Herps shares why your team doesn’t need more direction and why they need a crystal clear destination. You’ll learn how to build a 3 Year vision that aligns your people, removes daily chaos,...

This episode is a masterclass in visionary leadership and practical execution. Jonathan Herps walks you through how to craft a 3-Year Vivid Vision - a clear and compelling blueprint for both your business and your life. He doesn’t just talk strategy. He shows you how to map your future and reverse engineer winning moves that will scale your company while freeing you from the weeds. If you're...

Most CEOs work their whole lives to build freedom, then wake up trapped in a business that can’t survive without them. Here’s how to break that cycle and finally build a company that creates freedom, not just more struggle. In this episode, Jonathan sits down with Richard Palmer, co-founder of Qurate Advisory. With decades of experience as a CEO, investor, and advisor, Richard shares raw insights...

Scaling doesn’t break at the money level. It breaks at the people level. And if you don’t fix that, you’ll stay stuck forever. Jonathan opens up about the real barriers leaders face when moving from survival growth into scalable success. You’ll hear how to shift from short-term hustling to long-term building, and why the way you think about people, money, and planning determines whether you stay s...

If you’ve ever felt trapped in your own business, unable to step away without everything grinding to a halt, this conversation will hit home.  Jonathan Herps, four-time CEO and seasoned mentor, shares hard-won lessons on breaking free from founder bottlenecks, smashing through revenue plateaus, and building a business that thrives without you at the center of every decision.  From overcoming the d...

Most CEOs grow too fast, and then watch everything crack. Learn how to scale smart, keep control, and create a business that thrives at any size. Parth Gulati, co-founder of Gather Wealth, shares his entrepreneurial journey - from childhood tinkering with tech to building a platform designed to simplify and unify the wealth management experience. Together with Jonathan, they dive into the leadersh...

If your team still needs you to run, fix, or finish everything, you don’t have a business. You have a bottleneck. Find out how to install the systems, structure, and leadership your business needs to grow without you. In this episode, Jonathan breaks down the core system behind how he helps founders go from scattered and stuck to focused and scaling. He unpacks the 5 essential pillars your busines...

If your growth has stalled, it’s not always a motivation problem. Sometimes, it’s a model problem. This episode will show you exactly what to stop doing, what to start delegating, and what to fix if you want a business that scales without burning you out. The CEO of Arvio Technology, Christopher Murray, joins Jonathan to unpack the often-ignored truths behind scaling a company that doesn’t rely so...

You built it. You grew it. You should feel proud. So why does it feel like you’re drowning in the very thing you created? In this episode, Jonathan gets real about the truth behind stalled growth. It’s not the market, your team, or even your cash flow. It’s you , still trapped in the founder seat, running on grit, trying to scale through sheer willpower. But there’s a way out. This episode unpacks...

You didn’t build your company just to feel buried by it. But here you are, stuck in the weeds, surrounded by chaos, carrying it all yourself because no one else gets it done right. This episode is a wake-up call for founders who know they’ve outgrown their old way of leading but don’t know how to break through the ceiling. You’ll learn the hidden patterns keeping you stuck, the roles you must fill...

If scaling feels chaotic, inconsistent, or like you’re constantly pushing uphill, it’s probably not your offer, pricing, or even your team. It’s who you’re selling to. In this episode you'll learn how to identify your core customer, the one who drives profitability, team alignment, and predictable scale, and how to stop wasting time on clients who drain resources, distract focus, and slow you...

Most CEOs scale stress. The smart ones scale clarity, culture, and control. In this episode, Jonathan Herps unpacks how Helder Klemp, founder of DNX Solutions, reshaped the future of his business, not by chasing numbers, but by committing to culture. His company now ranks among Australia’s best places to work, with 92% of employees genuinely excited to show up. But the win wasn’t just emotional. I...

Anyone can fill out an annual plan. But if you want to scale, you need a leadership strategy that actually moves the needle. This episode isn’t about filling out a worksheet. It’s about getting real with yourself as a CEO and creating a business that supports your life, not the other way around. Jonathan Herps walks you through the exact exercises he’s used to help hundreds of founders shift from...

You’re not lazy and you’re not doing it wrong. You’re just scaling on top of a system that’s already tangled, and this episode shows you exactly where to look and what to fix. In this episode, Jonathan sits down with Myles Henaghan, founder of Wires Uncrossed, to delve into the intricacies of software delivery systems. Myles shares his journey from experiencing recurring challenges in tech teams t...

people in your team. If you're still tolerating average performers, avoiding tough conversations, or hoping culture will fix itself, this conversation is your wake-up call. In this episode, Jonathan Herps walks through a practical playbook that every CEO should be using (but probably isn’t). Drawing from nearly a decade working alongside scaling CEOs, he breaks down what it really takes to bu...

If your calendar looks like a game of Tetris, you're not running your business. It's running you. In this episode, Jonathan gets brutally honest about a hard truth that most CEOs don’t want to admit: your calendar is a mirror. And what does it reflect? That’s what’s either scaling your business or strangling it. You’ll hear the story of Jane, a sharp agency founder who went from 70-hour...

If you’re tired of doing everything yourself, stuck in decision loops, and feel like real growth is always just out of reach, this conversation will hit home.  Antony Dutton took over a business he knew nothing about, built rock-solid leadership rhythms, empowered his team, and scaled a system that now runs without him. No hustle, no magic bullet. Just clear, repeatable growth, built with intentio...

What if the reason you're stuck isn't a strategy problem, but a structure one? In this episode, Jonathan shares Helder’s powerful transformation, from overwhelmed founder to hands-off CEO of a wildly profitable, self-managing business. You’ll learn the 5 practical shifts that helped Helder get out of daily firefighting, scale his team, and take real holidays (without things falling apart...