Ep.257: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Steuart Botchford (@Botchford) and Sam Hyde.

In this episode, I sit down with Sam Hyde and Steuart Botchford to dive into their journey of acquiring and growing Northstar Fertility, a leading surrogacy and egg donation agency. Sam and Steuart share their insights from building and managing the business, including how they identified value levers early on and prioritized investments in sales and marketing to drive growth. They also discuss their innovative pricing model, which offers clients greater certainty and simplifies the surrogacy journey.

We explore the challenges of balancing long-term and short-term initiatives and the lessons learned from experimentation. Sam and Steuart candidly share stories of successes and missteps, including how they refined their strategies by embedding themselves in the sales process, adapting to client needs, and fostering a culture of transparency and growth within their team.

Whether you're navigating the complexities of business growth, considering acquisition opportunities, or looking for leadership insights, this episode provides a thoughtful and engaging discussion on creating value through experimentation, client focus, and dynamic organizational culture.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Northstar Fertility - https://www.nsfertility.com/

Steuart on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/botchford/

Pacific Lake Partners - https://www.pacificlake.com/

Trilogy Search Partners - https://trilogy-search.com/

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:04:34) - Steve and Stu's acquisitions

(00:11:31) - Spending time in Sales and Marketing

(00:15:48) - Experimenting with new concepts

(00:27:08) - Working with the board to make decisions

(00:31:07) - Dealing with failed experiments

(00:37:30) - Implementing systems

(00:40:57) - Designing incentives

(00:46:11) - Employee rating scales

(00:49:47) - Team management principles

(00:53:50) - Balancing short and long-term payoffs