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Episode 24: Your Strength Becomes Your Bottleneck | Troy Schroeder
Troy Schroeder built Clutch from a couple of people to just shy of 60, doubling the business several times in nine years. He was also the firm's best salesperson. Which made him, in his words, the thing standing in the way.
In this conversation, Troy sits down with Glen Dall and John Ninkovich to talk about the trap most growing-company CEOs fall into. The skills that get a company off the ground are the same ones that cap it later. The generalist who has to do everything early becomes the bottleneck who can't stop doing everything later.
Troy is candid about carrying the entire revenue forecast on his own back until he couldn't, and what changed when he finally let his team in. He gets into why focus beats diversification, how "new business is everybody's business" actually works in practice, and why a great hire outperforms an average one by a factor most owners underestimate.
If you run a company between $10M and $100M and you've ever felt like every decision is life or death, this one will land.
In this episode:
- Why the best thing you had early becomes the worst thing as you scale
- Carrying the revenue number alone, and what it costs you
- "New business is everybody's business," and the system behind it
- The three paths to new revenue, ranked by what actually works
- Why focus and category expertise beat trying to serve everyone
- Profit sharing and transparency without breaking the team
- Separating your identity from your business so the weight doesn't crush you
Connect with Troy Schroeder:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/troymschroeder
LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE
New here? Follow the show so the next conversation finds you.
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BuyVhr8BcMKpzfodvzCwc?si=e0d5d03780d74147
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/escape-the-ceo-doom-loop/id1810542775
ABOUT THE PODCAST
Escape the CEO Doom Loop is honest conversation about what it takes to lead a growing company without losing your mind. Each episode, Glen and John sit down with CEOs, the advisors who work alongside them, and the authors who shaped how they think.
The through-line is the Doom Loop. The cycle where capable CEOs carry too much, solve instead of lead, and feel responsible for everything while trusted with nothing. The show is for owners and presidents running companies between $10M and $100M who feel some of that and rarely say it out loud. No theory, no hype. Patterns you'll recognize, and the moves that break the loop.
PODCAST HOSTS
Glen Dall is the founder and CEO of Apex North Business Coaching. He works with growth-stage CEOs on the leadership and structure it takes to scale, using the Apex North Star Way, powered by Metronomics.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glendall
John Ninkovich is a principal at John Ninkovich Coaching, based in Detroit, and has spent his career leading and advising growing companies.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-ninkovich-398640
THE CEO PLAYBOOK
The show grew out of a research project. Glen and John interviewed 72 CEOs to understand why capable leaders get stuck as their companies grow. What they found became The CEO Playbook, a short read on the fears and patterns that stall growth, and what to do about them.
If anything in this episode hit home, the Playbook is your next step. Message us!
Send us Fan Mail
View all episodes
By Glen Dall & John NinkovichTroy Schroeder built Clutch from a couple of people to just shy of 60, doubling the business several times in nine years. He was also the firm's best salesperson. Which made him, in his words, the thing standing in the way.
In this conversation, Troy sits down with Glen Dall and John Ninkovich to talk about the trap most growing-company CEOs fall into. The skills that get a company off the ground are the same ones that cap it later. The generalist who has to do everything early becomes the bottleneck who can't stop doing everything later.
Troy is candid about carrying the entire revenue forecast on his own back until he couldn't, and what changed when he finally let his team in. He gets into why focus beats diversification, how "new business is everybody's business" actually works in practice, and why a great hire outperforms an average one by a factor most owners underestimate.
If you run a company between $10M and $100M and you've ever felt like every decision is life or death, this one will land.
In this episode:
- Why the best thing you had early becomes the worst thing as you scale
- Carrying the revenue number alone, and what it costs you
- "New business is everybody's business," and the system behind it
- The three paths to new revenue, ranked by what actually works
- Why focus and category expertise beat trying to serve everyone
- Profit sharing and transparency without breaking the team
- Separating your identity from your business so the weight doesn't crush you
Connect with Troy Schroeder:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/troymschroeder
LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE
New here? Follow the show so the next conversation finds you.
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BuyVhr8BcMKpzfodvzCwc?si=e0d5d03780d74147
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/escape-the-ceo-doom-loop/id1810542775
ABOUT THE PODCAST
Escape the CEO Doom Loop is honest conversation about what it takes to lead a growing company without losing your mind. Each episode, Glen and John sit down with CEOs, the advisors who work alongside them, and the authors who shaped how they think.
The through-line is the Doom Loop. The cycle where capable CEOs carry too much, solve instead of lead, and feel responsible for everything while trusted with nothing. The show is for owners and presidents running companies between $10M and $100M who feel some of that and rarely say it out loud. No theory, no hype. Patterns you'll recognize, and the moves that break the loop.
PODCAST HOSTS
Glen Dall is the founder and CEO of Apex North Business Coaching. He works with growth-stage CEOs on the leadership and structure it takes to scale, using the Apex North Star Way, powered by Metronomics.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glendall
John Ninkovich is a principal at John Ninkovich Coaching, based in Detroit, and has spent his career leading and advising growing companies.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-ninkovich-398640
THE CEO PLAYBOOK
The show grew out of a research project. Glen and John interviewed 72 CEOs to understand why capable leaders get stuck as their companies grow. What they found became The CEO Playbook, a short read on the fears and patterns that stall growth, and what to do about them.
If anything in this episode hit home, the Playbook is your next step. Message us!
Send us Fan Mail