ScaleHQ Podcast

This week, Sean interviews Ryan Robertson, to discover his secrets to scaling Bittn to over 60,000 customers in 10 years.

10 years ago, Ryan Robertson created Bittn. With a vision to revolutionise the pest control industry, Ryan has built a business that makes the job far simpler, safer and more enjoyable for customers than it has ever been. In the last decade, he has scaled Bittn to become a top player in the pest control industry in Australia.

In this episode, Ryan shares with Sean how Bittn has developed smarter and safer science-based approaches to pest control and serviced 60,000 customers over the past 10 years.

Here are the highlights of this weeks episode:

05:25 How Ryan’s vision changed over 10 years

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If you got value from today’s episode, you can subscribe, or review us on Apple Podcasts.

Watch or listen to full episodes on:

Spotify: https://loom.ly/NuK50WA

Apple: https://loom.ly/-oy8jL4

YouTube: https://loom.ly/u_vibuw

You can reach out to connect with Sean directly via:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seansteeleprofile/

Website: www.seansteele.com.au

Bittn: www.bittn.com.au

Do you need to raise some cash to fund your next level of growth? 

Then listen up as Sean shares 14 ways you can raise capital for your business in this weeks episode of the ScaleUps Podcast.

Today, we're focused on capital.

If you're in need of some cash to fund your business growth, dreams and big hairy audacious goals, then you are in the right place. 

This week, Sean shares 14 different ways you can get access to some growth capital to help you go to the 'next level' in your business.

Grab a pen and some paper, and get ready to learn.

Some of the highlights of this week's episode include:

02:14 - “Free” sources of capital 

03:33 - Debt options 

05:03 - Equity options 

10:30 - Debt & equity blends 

12:13 - Early-stage options 

14:55 - A thought provoking question

If you got value from today’s episode, you can subscribe, or review us on Apple Podcasts.

Watch or listen to full episodes on:

Spotify: https://loom.ly/NuK50WA

Apple: https://loom.ly/-oy8jL4

YouTube: https://loom.ly/u_vibuw

You can reach out to connect with Sean directly via:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seansteeleprofile/

Website: www.seansteele.com.au

Survival as a business often means getting paid FAST. In this episode, Sean shares 14 of the most important strategies for 7-figure companies to survive.

Sean interviews Brian Wills, high school dropout turned Founder, CEO and multi-millionaire who shares lessons learned on the journey.

Brian created seven successful companies in four different industries over the last 35 years. His journey to success is filled with lots of lessons and in this episode he goes deep into sharing his experiences and philosophies on burnout, taking and managing risks, when and how to pivot and how to put your ego aside (and that is just the start!).

Some of the highlights this week include

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If you got value from today’s episode, you can subscribe, or review us on Apple Podcasts.

Watch or listen to full episodes on:

Spotify: https://loom.ly/NuK50WA

Apple: https://loom.ly/-oy8jL4

YouTube: https://loom.ly/u_vibuw

You can reach out to connect with Sean directly via:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seansteeleprofile/

Website: www.seansteele.com.au

Brian's Website: www.brianwillmedia.com

Brothers and co-Founders of The Back Room, Wayne & Scott share how they have scaled to 500 without losing their team culture.

In this episode Sean interviews two brothers, Wayne and Scott Findlay, co-Founders of The Back Room. The Back Room has had an incredible growth trajectory by supplying skilled accounting, marketing, legal and sales professionals to other companies across ANZ, USA and the UK. They've grown to over 500 team members in just 5 years!

The interview covers some broad ground including culture, delegation, cashflow and capital, all of which have played a part in their rapid trajectory since launch. Add to the mix the diversity and cultural challenges that come from operating across continents, you'll find their story resonates with many barriers that you might face in the future.

03:09 - How the boys built The Back Room

08:33 - How to lead teams across cultures

12:42 - The key decisions that enabled scale to 500 in 5 years

18:29 - Biggest challenges

31:23 - Getting the best talent for your business

43:39 - The importance of finding a Mentor

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If you got value from today’s episode, you can subscribe, or review us on Apple Podcasts.

Spotify: https://loom.ly/NuK50WA

Apple: https://loom.ly/-oy8jL4

YouTube: https://loom.ly/u_vibuw

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seansteeleprofile/

Website: www.seansteele.com.au

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-back-room-outsourced-professionals/

Website: https://thebackroomop.com/

For the past 15 years, data suggests that companies who’ve had a clear ESG focus have materially outperformed their competitors. And it makes sense right? They’re creating positive impacts in the world so they’re the ones we want to do business with!

Does your business have a strong understanding of its impact on others? Do you have a framework or policy that articulates your approach to ESG (Environmental Social and Governance)?

As we move into the future, more and more people and investors are putting their support behind businesses with a greater environmental or social impact. If you want to make your business model more sustainable and stay relevant in the world post-pandemic, then you might want to tune in this week.

In this episode, Sean interviews Natalie Simmons from Barefoot Citizens Consulting. She helps businesses get clear about how they can create a longer-term, positive and more sustainable impact in the world. If you are curious how your business model could become a more sustainable, then Natalie has the answers you are looking for.

05:26 - What is a Corporate Social Responsibility? 

09:31 - Why giving through to your ESG stance and standards is important 

15:24 - How the desire for purpose in the workplace has changed 

22:37 - How you can create a more meaningful and sustainable business 

28:21 - How your business can contribute to a bigger goal 

32:55 - How to get started

If you got value from today’s episode, you can subscribe, or review us on Apple Podcasts.

Further resources to help you scale:

What is a “sticky business”, why should you want your business model to be stickier and how can you implement switching costs to achieve that?

A stickier business has customers who stay longer and/or spend more. Cashflow become more predictable, your competitive moat widens and your business becomes more attractive to potential investors or buyers.

In this episode Sean shares valuable lessons on how to make your business more valuable by implementing switching costs. Tune in to learn how implementing switching costs can improve your customer lifetime value, cashflow predictability, competitive moat and valuation.

00:39 - What helps a business model to become “sticky”, and why should you care 

01:04 - Three ways you can implement switching costs 

04:31 - The benefits of building switching costs into your business model

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‍If you got value from today's episode, please remember to:

‍You can reach out to connect with Sean directly via:

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Further Resources to help you scale: 

• 8-Steps to Fast-Tracking Growth and Valuation checklist: www.SeanSteele.com.au/checklist‍

• Weekly ScaleSmart editions: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/scalesmart-7025214107435876352/‍

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It takes more than just planning to master strategy, you need to be able to execute it properly, and motivate your team. These things are crucial if you want your strategy to perform how you’d envisioned.

In this episode, Sean interviews John Spence, a top 100 Business Thought Leader, and top 500 Leadership Development Expert.  John shares his key frameworks, which he has developed over three decades of experience, as CEO of six different companies.

This episode is packed with insights for leaders who want to execute their strategies but ensure their team is on board with the vision.

Have a listen to this week’s ScaleUps episode:

6:45 - The importance of change as a founder

13:32 - The three quotients for leadership

16:40 - The importance of accountability as a founder

24:11 -  How to encourage growth in your employees

38:28 -  The biggest problems John has faced as a CEO

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If you got value from today’s episode, you can subscribe, or review us on Apple Podcasts.

Watch or listen to full episodes on:

• Spotify: https://loom.ly/NuK50WA

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seansteeleprofile/

• Website: www.seansteele.com.au

• LinkedIn: John Spence

• Website: johnspence.com

Leading strategist Rosie Yeo shares the alchemy needed to uncover bold ideas and build a powerful business strategy.

Nicola Fowkes, General Manager of Operations at #EdventureCo, shares💡 the best way to merge teams 🎳 and manage people in an acquisition 🤝, and the mistakes leaders tend to make.