The Business Growth Podcast

In a high-touch service business, growth breaks when the owner has to remember every conversation, follow-up, and next step. That problem shows up long before the firm runs out of demand. It shows up when client work, sales activity, contracts, invoicing, and relationship management all depend on the owner keeping the details straight. Salvatore Tirabassi from CFO Pro and Analytics has built syste...

Most firms treat AI implementation as a software decision. The real constraint is governance. Once AI starts influencing contracts, client work, internal decisions, or sensitive data, efficiency is no longer the only concern. The business also needs clear boundaries, accountability, and compliance built into the system from the start. Adam Wardel from Black Hill Law has seen why this matters, part...

AI can speed up finance work, but it still cannot take responsibility for the judgment behind it. Financial models, reporting, analysis, and forecasting can all move faster with AI. The risk is assuming faster output means better work. Varun from The Algebra Group has seen this firsthand while supporting fractional CFOs, investment banks, and family offices. Their approach combines AI-enabled deli...

Most firms treat AI as another productivity tool. The bigger shift is deciding which work still needs a person and which work should be handled by systems and agents. Jenna Pipchuk from Big Geo is building a growth function around that decision. Her team uses an AI-first operating model, evaluates agents alongside every new hire, and turns sales conversations into faster positioning and marketing...

In e-commerce, growth can look healthy while the business is quietly running out of room. Inventory gets too heavy. Fixed costs creep up. Marketing spend gets pulled back even when the returns are there. And every team ends up making decisions from a slightly different view of the business. This conversation with Matt Putra from ADEX shows why financial and operating systems become more important...

In a lot of family-run businesses, the problems are not obvious at first. People trust each other. Everyone knows the history. Decisions happen quickly because the business still feels personal. But that same informality can become the thing that slows the business down. Roles, money, succession, meeting notes, expectations, and personal tension all start blending together. What felt simple in the...

Growth is not always a sales problem. Sometimes demand is already there. The real constraint is whether the business can deliver without lowering quality, overloading the team, or putting unprepared people in front of clients. My conversation with Sonja Pomerleau from Next Level Now showed why specialization changes more than marketing. It affects hiring, training, systems, margins, and the speed...

A growing business can look healthy on paper and still be hard to run. Revenue is up. Reports are in place. Dashboards exist. But cash still feels tight, hiring decisions drag, and the numbers do not clearly show what to do next. In this episode, I speak with Umar Manzar, founder and principal of UM Advisory, about why fractional CFO work is shifting from reporting to execution. Umar explains how...

Most growing companies do not have a finance problem. They have a decision-making problem. As the business grows, owners spend more time inside operations and less time thinking about the financial decisions that determine what happens next. The challenge is not whether they need a full-time CFO. It is whether they have access to the right level of experience when growth creates new complexity. In...

Most people optimize for the next promotion. The best operators optimize for learning. A higher salary, a bigger title, or a safer role can look like progress. But the decisions that shape a career often come from taking responsibility before you're ready, stepping into uncomfortable environments, and solving problems that aren't technically yours. Marcelo Abeno built his career through large orga...

Most firms assume growth problems are execution problems. Often they're customer problems. A business can have a strong team, solid delivery, and a growing reputation, yet still become vulnerable if too much revenue depends on a single type of client. That was one of the key lessons behind the growth of Roundtable Strategy Advisors. After COVID wiped out most of the startup market they served, Gre...

For years, growing a company meant hiring senior executives. If you needed leadership, you hired a full-time COO, CFO, or CMO and hoped the business was large enough to justify the cost. That assumption is starting to change. In this episode, Corina Ludwig from Wolf's Edge Integrators discusses how businesses are increasingly accessing experienced leadership without making full-time executive hire...

Leonard De Beer and Brandon Kordower talk about the need to continuously refine what works and stay ahead of the competition to maintain a competitive edge.

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In this episode, Pat Odom explains why fewer hours can lead to better work and faster accounting firm growth. Pat is a Partner at Apple & Odom, a full-service CPA firm in Charleston, South Carolina. He breaks down how they built a 36-hour work week (even in tax season), grew to around 950 clients in about two years, and stayed focused on a high-service client experience. Key Takeaways: • Why a...

In this clip Leonard and David talk about chasing high paying careers when they were younger, ruling out doctors and lawyers, and landing on accounting because of a love for numbers. They also touch on a reality most people miss. Accountants often do very well financially but rarely talk about it.

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Leonard De Beer shares insights on running ads and testing different creatives. Even small tweaks like changing the hook, background, or outfit can make a huge impact in capturing attention and driving action.

Are accounting firms actually using AI or just talking about it? In this clip David Barbeito shares how his firm is using AI in real life, why they created an internal AI policy around privacy, and how tax software like BlueJay has been a complete game changer for efficiency and cost. This is what AI adoption really looks like inside a modern accounting firm.

Most business owners focus on taxes and profit. But cash is what actually keeps the business alive. In this episode, I sit down with Patty Santayana, founder of Delphi Advisory Services. She shares how CFO-level cash flow planning helps business owners grow, stay bankable, and increase the value of their business long before they think about selling. We talk about the 16 cash flow drivers, how to...

Most accounting firms try to bolt AI on top of broken systems. In this episode, you’ll hear what happens when you bring in an AI consultant, tear everything apart, and rebuild your firm for speed and sanity. I’m joined by Bette Hochberger, CPA, CGMA, owner of a boutique CPA firm in Miami serving real estate, service businesses, crypto/Web3 and tech startups. We talk about AI in accounting, time tr...

Most firms wait for referrals. Reuben Bergola built a data-driven marketing engine and is now using AI to systemise bookkeeping, BAS, and client acquisition at scale. In this episode, I chat with Reuben, Managing Partner at New Wave Business Solutions, a multi-service advisory firm that started in accounting and now spans law, financial planning, insurance, and digital marketing. We dig into how h...