10 Pieces of Advice for Entrepreneurial Companies

CEOs of emerging growth and middle market companies have many ways to get advice. But most of these approaches such as courses at business schools or all day seminars require time away from the office that many CFOs can’t afford. Imagine that you could have coffee with a group of 10 CEOs who are ready to share some pithy, hard won advice based on their many years of experience leading and building companies. Newport Board Group asked a group of our CEO partners what advice they would offer in this situation. Here is what they said. 

Ted Parrish

Ted Parrish is a Newport partner in Dallas. His background in advisory services includes solving strategic and operating problems for banks, financial service companies, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and transportation companies.

“Most startups fail in the first year. Those that don't fail then normally get to the next opportunity to fail by paying attention to their customers and adapting to what they learn. Then they will have another opportunity to fail: to avoid doing so they must adapt their mindset to the new set of circumstances. It happens over and over. Successful companies learn how to manage that cycle.”

Ferey Faridian

Ferey is a Newport partner in Northern California whose experience, along with management consulting and investment banking, has served as president of a company that develops advanced optical sensing solutions for the aerospace, energy and medical devices markets.

“I would suggest that CEOs of emerging growth companies put what they are doing into the following context. Small businesses drive economic growth and job creation: 98% of US businesses have fewer than 20 employees with 55% of all jobs created from small businesses. Three percent of all US companies make up the middle market with $10 trillion in annual revenues, providing one third of U.S. jobs and 33% of private sector GDP. These 200,000 businesses are collectively the fifth largest economic power in the world. This is the group that most small businesses want to join.

Source: Babson Survey on Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses – Feb. 2014.”

Billie Otto

Billie is a Newport partner in the Pacific Northwest who has been Executive VP and CIO of TrueBlue Inc. (NYSE: TBI) the largest industrial staffing firm in the U.S.

“I believe that well managed entrepreneurial companies are a role model for more mature companies - their ability and mandate to fail fast and pivot is something that too often weakens or dies as organizations grow. Innovation is critical in any organization and it's easier to build it into your culture than to try to infuse it into an existing culture.”

Bill Heermann

Bill is a Newport partner in Denver who has deep expertise in building and running industrial manufacturing and construction companies.

“Only about 19% of high growth entrepreneurial companies succeed and achieve size or scale. Those that achieve that position of success are normally brutally honest in evaluating their weaknesses and adjusting to overcome the inhibitors, even if it means engaging someone else to help the CEO do his or her job.”

Enjoy these entrepreneurial insights? Learn how else Newport's experienced CEOs have helped businesses like yours. Talk with a partner from Newport today.
 

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