Strategy at Scale

Dwayne J. Clark is the founder of Áegis Living, known for building a hospitality-first approach to senior care and a culture-led operating system. In this conversation, he shares the “black box” method he used to turn rejected ideas into real differentiation—and how purpose, community, and people practices became his growth engine. This episode is a practical playbook for leaders who want durable...

Brett Hickey is the Founder and CEO of Star Mountain Capital, a multi-billion-dollar private investment firm focused on the U.S. lower middle market. Over more than two decades, Brett has built a specialized platform spanning private equity, private credit, and secondaries—backed by a clear philosophy: align incentives like owners, run strategy through probabilities, and build value where markets...

Steven Gaffney is a leadership advisor and author who helps teams perform under pressure through honest communication, change management, and practical leadership tools. Having advised leaders across Fortune 500 companies as well as government and military teams, Steven has seen firsthand that strategy doesn’t fail because teams lack intelligence—it fails because they operate in the wrong “mood,”...

Bill George is the former CEO and Chairman of Medtronic and a longtime professor at Harvard Business School. Starting from an early conviction that leadership had to mean more than chasing titles, he helped transform Medtronic from a 4,000-person medical device maker into a 30,000-person, purpose-driven global leader. Along the way he codified a playbook for “True North” leadership that combines c...

Andrea D’Amico is the CEO of WeRoad, one of Europe’s fastest-growing travel companies, and former regional VP at Booking.com. After nearly two decades helping scale Booking.com from a 100-person startup to a 20,000-person global giant, he stepped back post-COVID to rethink what he actually wanted to build next. That reflection led him to WeRoad, now a €100M-revenue, pan-European community that has...

When growth gets real, strategy has to scale with it. In this conversation, we unpack a practical playbook with Brad Stevens—founder of Outsource Access—on turning constraints into capacity, and values into velocity, using a global-talent model anchored in culture, systems, and smart economics. From bootstrapping through a prior business crunch to building a Philippines-based team of full-time, be...

What does it take to build—and sell—a thriving business born from resilience and clarity of purpose? Few stories capture it as powerfully as Shirin Behzadi’s. At 17, Shirin fled Iran alone during the revolution, arriving in the U.S. with little money and no family. She started as a gas station cashier—and eventually rose to become CEO of Home Franchise Concepts, the parent company behind Budget Bl...

What does it take to transform a small supplement company into a global wellness powerhouse valued at over $1 billion? Radek Sali has the answer. As CEO of Swisse Wellness, Radek led the company through one of Australia’s most remarkable growth stories—turning a niche vitamin brand into a household name through intuition, bold marketing, and a people-first culture. Where others focused on health c...

Most founders obsess over the spark of an idea—but the real test begins after the idea. Julia Austin knows this better than most. As an operator at Akamai, VMware, and DigitalOcean, an advisor to hundreds of startups, a faculty member at Harvard Business School, and now the author of After the Idea , she’s seen what truly drives sustainable growth. In this episode of Strategy at Scale , Julia chal...

What does it take to build not just a successful business, but one that leaves a lasting impact? Brian Brault has done it multiple times—scaling, exiting, and reinventing ventures while staying anchored in purpose. A seasoned entrepreneur, former Global Chair of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), and founder of Legacy of Significance, Brian has guided leaders across industries to align vision,...

What does it take to build a firm that grows without losing its identity? Kurt Miscinski, co-founder and CEO of Cerity Partners, believes the answer lies in clarity of purpose, disciplined reinvestment, and redefining what partnership truly means. What began as a bold vision—to bring McKinsey-style professionalism and global scale to the wealth advisory space—has evolved into one of the industry’s...

What if the key to scaling impact isn’t one bold idea—but a clear understanding of who you are as an entrepreneur? Lori Rosenkopf, Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship at the Wharton School, has spent decades mentoring more than 20,000 students, guiding startups, and redefining how we think about entrepreneurial success. In her new book, Unstoppable Entrepreneurs , she challenges the myth of the lone gen...

“Rule number one is: never give up. Success is always there. It’s just on a certain timeframe.” That’s the mindset behind Shaun Noorian’s journey—and it’s what powered the rise of Empower Pharmacy from a 100-square-foot rented exam room to a 340,000-square-foot, FDA-registered pharmaceutical operation with national reach. As founder and CEO of the largest 503A compounding pharmacy in the U.S., Sha...

What does it take to build a $2 billion business—not from scratch, but from inside a legacy corporate giant? Tushar Amin has the answer. A seasoned strategy executive, Tushar led a transformative initiative within one of IBM’s most traditional business units—a flat-growth, high-margin division many saw as a cash cow. Where others saw constraints, he saw opportunity. By reframing IBM’s aging global...

Dave Whorton has spent decades at the highest levels of Silicon Valley—working alongside industry legends at Kleiner Perkins, co-founding pioneering companies like drugstore.com and Good Technology, and eventually charting a different course with Tugboat Institute. His focus? Evergreen businesses—companies built to last, guided by purpose, and driven by sustainable growth. In this episode, Dave sh...

Many founders dream of turning a big idea into a lasting company. Sabrina Herrera has done it—again and again. As part of the founding leadership at Genomma Lab, one of Mexico’s most successful pharmaceutical and personal care companies, she helped shape a brand known for category-defining products and direct-to-consumer innovation. Under her leadership, Genomma became the first in its industry to...

In this episode of Strategy at Scale , we sit down with Matt Wallach , co-founder of Veeva Systems , one of the most successful enterprise software companies in the life sciences industry. While many companies craft visionary strategy statements, Matt reveals why execution—not strategy—is what truly sets high-growth companies apart . You’ll hear how Veeva redefined cloud-based solutions for pharma...

When I asked Verne Harnish, who he recommended we interview to gain insights into effective scaling strategies, Steve Hall was one of the first names he mentioned—and for good reason. As the founder of driversselect , Steve transformed the used car retail industry through innovative business practices and a strong organizational culture that drove exceptional performance. His journey culminated in...

Selling a business is one of the most significant strategic decisions an entrepreneur can make. But how do you ensure that you're maximizing your company's value when it's time to exit? David McCombie , founder of McCombie Group and author of Selling Your Business with Confidence: A Practical Playbook for Mid-Market Owners , has spent the last 15 years advising business owners on st...

Charlie Horn’s journey from entrepreneur to industry disruptor is a masterclass in strategic scaling. As the founder of ScriptSave , he revolutionized consumer access to prescription drug savings, transforming a simple idea into a billion-dollar business . Today, through 5Lights Group , he continues to champion emerging ventures that challenge the status quo. A core challenge in scaling any busine...

Julie Copeland’s journey to becoming CEO of Arbill is one of transformation, resilience, and strategic reinvention. Founded in 1945 by her grandfather as a laundry business for industrial gloves, Arbill evolved into a leader in workplace safety solutions. Julie grew up witnessing both the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship, with her father navigating a difficult path and her mother c...

Brian Scudamore is a founder, serial entrepreneur, and pioneer of the professional junk hauling industry. As the founder and CEO of O2E Brands - which stands for Ordinary to Exceptional – he's built not just one successful company, but three: 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, WOW 1 DAY PAINTING, and Shack Shine. A recipient of Fortune's Small Business Best Bosses Award and a three-time winner of their Be...

Many rapidly scaled companies won through channel strategy – finding or creating a new path to customers. Consider:  Dell – Sold directly to consumers, bypassing traditional retailers.  Salesforce – Delivered CRM via the cloud, avoiding on-premise installations.  Apple – Opened its own stores, reducing dependence on third-party retailers.  Amazon – Created an online marketplace, disrupting physica...

In 1978, Neil Balter was a 17-year-old carpenter with a knack for building things, but what he would end up building was an entirely new industry. As the founder of California Closets, Neil transformed the way we think about organizing spaces, pioneering an industry that didn’t even exist when he started. But while his story begins with some shelves in a neighbor’s closet, what truly set him apart...

Naomi Simson is a corporate marketer and the founder of RedBalloon , an online powerhouse – the largest experience network in Australia and New Zealand. Think Amazon or Etsy or Alibaba but not just for physical things, rather for experiences. She was also a judge on the Australian version of Shark Tank and is the author of Live What You Love: When Passion And Purpose Change Your Life.  Her insight...