The Scaling CFO

In this episode of The Scaling CFO, host Mark Stiles, CPA and founder of MASCPA, sits down with Karl Hughes, founder of Draft Dev and advisor to service business CEOs. If you've ever felt trapped being the expert who built the business but can't step away from it, this episode is your roadmap out.

Karl breaks down how to move from "chief everything officer" to holistic CEO—someone who builds systems, delegates with confidence, and creates a business that generates cash flow without constant founder input. From time audits to transferable value, this conversation is packed with frameworks for founders ready to stop owning an expensive job and start running a real company.

Topics include:

• What most technical founders get wrong about delegation

• The E-Myth principle: building your franchise prototype from day one

• Why tracking your time in buckets changes everything

• How to price for margin so you can actually hire people

• The fear barrier that keeps founders from letting go

• Why message clarity beats volume every time

• How to know when you're ready to step back from client work

• The "who not how" framework for every business decision

• Why energy—not money or status—should be your optimization metric

• How to take a full month off and have the business still run

• What makes a business attractive to buyers beyond revenue

• The cash cycle mistake that almost killed Draft Dev

If you're the best at what you do but exhausted from doing all of it, this conversation will help you engineer your way out.

TIME STAMPS:

00:00 Introduction to the Scaling CFO

00:34 Meet Carl L. Hughes: From Engineer to CEO Coach

02:14 The E-Myth and Building a Scalable Business

03:41 Tracking Time and Outsourcing Tasks

04:46 The Box Method: Balancing Business Quadrants

09:18 Pricing Strategies and Market Focus

15:15 The Holistic CEO: Confidence and Clarity

21:50 Leveraging Time for Maximum Impact

26:54 The Value of Virtual Assistants

27:46 Who Not How: Delegating Effectively

28:28 Balancing Business and Personal Life

30:14 Optimizing for Energy and Fulfillment

33:57 The Importance of SOPs and Documentation

39:22 Building a Business That Runs Without You

47:12 Rapid Fire Questions and Final Thoughts

Follow Mark and Karl:

Connect with Mark: 

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

Website: markstilescpa.com

Connect with Karl: 

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

Website: https://www.karllhughes.com/

In this episode of The Scaling CFO, host Mark Stiles, CPA and founder of MASCPA, sits down with Vivian Chen, founder and CEO of Rise Data Labs. If you've ever wondered how to invest in people while embracing AI without losing the human element, this conversation is essential listening.

Vivian shares her unconventional journey from L'Oréal marketer to self-taught coder to AI founder—a path that mirrors the adaptability required in today's business landscape. She breaks down her B-to-AI-to-B model, revealing how to bridge human judgment with machine scale, and why the highest ROI often lives in human capital, not just technology.

From time audits to 10X goal-setting to knowing when AI helps versus when it hurts, this episode delivers a masterclass in building teams that thrive in transformation.

Topics include:

• From marketing to coding to founding an AI company: Vivian's unconventional path

• Why the Abacus-to-AI story matters for change management

• The B-to-AI-to-B model: bridging human judgment with machine intelligence

• How time audits reveal your team's zone of genius

• Why unconventional hires often become your strongest performers

• The 10X framework: setting stretch goals that motivate without burning out

• Where to embrace AI and where to resist automation

• Intrinsic motivation vs. external rewards: what really drives performance

• Communication as the #1 non-financial skill every leader needs

• Why the biggest waste of human capital is people doing work they don't love

If your team feels stuck, your scaling strategy unclear, or your AI adoption uncertain, this conversation brings clarity to all three.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
• 00:58 Vivian Chen's Unconventional Journey
• 02:37 The Immigrant Founder Experience
• 04:47 Change Management and Founder Fears
• 07:15 AI and Human Collaboration
• 09:43 Maximizing Human Capital
• 17:07 Setting and Achieving Goals
• 21:22 Embracing AI with Discipline
• 25:46 Rapid Fire Questions and Conclusion

Follow Mark and Vivian:

Connect with Mark: 

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

Website: markstilescpa.com

Connect with Vivian: 

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

Website: joinrise.co

In this episode of The Scaling CFO, host Mark Stiles, CPA and founder of MASCPA, sits down with Christopher Nault, founder of Growth. If you've ever wondered how to turn early-stage chaos into predictable scale, this conversation is for you.

Chris shares the raw reality of building a business—from producing San Francisco's first-ever canceled St. Patrick's Day parade during COVID to becoming one of HubSpot's elite partners globally. This isn't a story about overnight success; it's about 20 years of reps, intentional fluidity, and building systems that actually work.

Topics include:

• The real story behind pivoting from events to growth operations during COVID

• Why investing in "adult software" earlier would have changed everything

• Rev ops, go-to-market strategy, and AI enablement defined (no fluff)

• How a 2% margin mentality and deal-by-deal iteration built elite status

• The power of CRM as infrastructure, not just a cost line item

• Why "your gut" is actually 20 years of pattern recognition

• Intentional fluidity vs. fixed mindset in scaling

• The leadership principles that create joyful accountability

• How AI is changing go-to-market (without changing the fundamentals)

• Why consistency beats silver bullets every single time

• What founders should never outsource too soon

• The 2026 go-to-market playbook releasing with Apollo and HubSpot

If you're tired of random acts of marketing and ready to build systems that compound, this episode delivers the truth about what it actually takes to scale.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to the Scaling CFO

00:41 Chris Nat's Early Beginnings and Vision

02:14 Defining Key Business Terms

03:50 The Inflection Point and Pivot

06:22 Building Systems and Processes

14:52 Investing in Software and Tools

21:22 Mindset and Leadership

23:22 Leadership Journey and Servant Leadership

23:59 Communication and Organizational Health

26:00 Go-to-Market Strategy Insights

27:22 Marketing Myths and Realities

29:29 AI's Impact on Marketing

34:05 Future of Go-to-Market Strategies

41:12 Joyful Accountability in Leadership

43:48 Rapid Fire Round and Conclusion

Follow Mark Stiles and Christopher Nault:

Connect with Mark Stiles: 

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

Website: https://www.markstilescpa.com/

Connect with Christopher Nault: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-nault-growth/

Website: https://www.growthoperationsfirm.com/

Most founders track KPIs religiously, but still feel disconnected from what drives their business forward. The problem isn't the metrics. It's the gap between measurement and action. In this conversation, Mark sits down with Mary Adams, co-founder and CMO of Insights7, to explore how the Work to Value framework turns strategic vision into aligned daily execution.

Mary brings 30+ years of experience helping founders move from reactive reporting to proactive alignment. She breaks down why your business exists as a value creation system, how to map your GL to actual operations, and why AI will make organizational clarity necessary. Whether you're struggling to align your team around shared goals, finding your KPIs live in silos, or preparing for the agentic workforce revolution, this episode reveals the framework that turns dashboards into decisions.

Time Stamps:

00:00 Introduction to Scaling CFO

00:29 Guest Introduction: Mary Adams

01:13 The Work to Value Framework

02:42 Aligning Passion, Problem, and Payment

04:11 Building a Unified System for Value Creation

06:59 Empowering Leadership and Teams

08:53 Tracking KPIs and Strategic Goals

11:01 Systemizing Business Processes

17:48 Mary Adams' Background and Insights

19:30 Understanding Financial Statements

19:46 Identifying Silent Drains

21:03 Cost of Value and GL Strategy

22:02 Aligning KPIs and Costs

23:09 Effective Communication and Accountability

24:14 Case Study: Medical Device Company

27:28 The Importance of Clarity

31:09 Leveraging AI for Business Efficiency

36:54 Rapid Fire Questions

38:07 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Follow Mark and Mary:

Connect with Mark: 

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

Website: https://www.markstilescpa.com

Connect with Mary: 

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

Website: https://insights7.com

Revenue growth without retention is just expensive churn. And sales strategies without financial grounding? That's a recipe for burning cash faster than you're making it.

In this episode of The Scaling CFO, Mark Stiles sits down with Jeff Kerchick, VP of Sales at Zorro, four-time startup veteran (three exits, one IPO), and author of Authentic Selling, to break down why the sales-finance relationship matters more than most founders realize.

Jeff shares why Net Revenue Retention (NRR) has replaced growth as the north star metric, how to build sales systems that scale without losing the human touch, and why AI might actually help you spend less on your tech stack instead of more.

Whether you're struggling with customer concentration, wondering how to justify your CAC to your CFO, or trying to figure out which tools to build versus buy, this conversation will help you align sales and finance so growth is sustainable, not just exciting.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Scaling CFO

00:38 The Box Method Framework

01:41 Sales and Finance Synergy

04:35 Jeff Kerchick's Journey

07:47 Sales Strategies and Metrics

12:14 Leadership and Customer Retention

28:00 Navigating the CFO-Marketing Relationship

28:32 The Role of Automation in Sales Outreach

29:32 Balancing Human Touch and Automation

30:36 Leveraging AI for Operational Efficiency

32:16 AI's Impact on Job Roles and Business Models

34:58 AI in Communication and Customer Relations

35:43 AI in Healthcare Benefits and Quoting

42:12 The Importance of Data Privacy in AI

44:41 ICRA: A New Model for Healthcare Benefits

46:07 Sales Strategies and Decision Making

51:23 Rapid Fire Questions with Jeff

53:21 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Connect with Jeff:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jeffkirchick

Website: https://jeffkirchick.com/

Connect with Mark:

Mark A. Stiles, CPA Founder, MASCPA [markstilescpa.com]  | Host, The Scaling CFO [LinkedIn] 

📅 Book a free consult with Mark → https://calendly.com/mark-stiles-markstilescpa/new-meeting

Most founders think the answer to cash crunches or stalled growth is simple: more sales. But more revenue without systems is just chaos with bigger numbers.

In this episode of The Scaling CFO, Mark Stiles sits down with Brett Fritz, seven-figure sales strategist, fractional VP of Sales, and founder of Two Ones, to unpack why founder-led sales often fail—and what to do differently.

Brett shares the biggest misconception about sales, why internal buy-in matters more than external tactics, and how to connect sales with finance so growth is sustainable, not self-destructive.

Whether you’re stuck in founder-led chaos, struggling with CAC, or wondering how to align your sales and operations, this episode will help you move from duct-tape tactics to clarity that scales.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Welcome + guest intro

02:00 – What “sales clarity” really means for founders

04:43 – The biggest misconception about sales

07:00 – Founder guilt, fear, and performance pressure

10:43 – Why human connection beats automation

14:48 – Why internal buy-in matters more than external tactics

18:45 – The founder’s time management crisis

23:00 – Breaking silos with the Box Method

25:44 – The “Two Ones” framework: treating clients as equals

29:47 – Sales vs. finance: the CAC reality check

33:43 – Why humility is a sales superpower

35:12 – What clarity in sales actually looks like

37:00 – Rapid-fire round: Brett’s sales lessons

39:00 – Where to find Brett + closing thoughts

Connect with Brett:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettfritz/

Website: https://2ones.com/

Connect with Mark:

Mark A. Stiles, CPA Founder, MASCPA [markstilescpa.com]  | Host, The Scaling CFO [LinkedIn] 

📅 Book a free consult with Mark → https://calendly.com/mark-stiles-markstilescpa/new-meeting

Most business owners hit a wall around $1-2 million in revenue, not because of market conditions or cash flow, but because they can't transition from doing everything to leading effectively. In this conversation, Mark sits down with former Stetson University basketball player Dr. Nefertiti Walker to explore what real leadership looks like when you're scaling a business.

Dr. Walker, now a senior executive at UMass and nationally recognized expert in organizational culture, shares hard-earned lessons about the difference between delegation and empowerment, why psychological safety isn't "soft skills" but competitive advantage, and how the generational shift in the workforce is changing everything about how we need to lead.

Whether you're struggling to get your team to think strategically, wondering why good people keep leaving, or trying to figure out how to lead the next generation of workers, this episode breaks down the leadership evolution every scaling CEO must make.

Timestamps:

00:00 From Basketball Courts to Boardrooms

01:41 The Positional Power Problem

03:59 Stop Delegating, Start Empowering

08:29 The Real ROI of Inclusion

16:39 What Sports Teaches About Scaling Teams

23:34 Leading Through Organized Chaos

24:57 The Strategic Thinking Crisis

28:21 The "Only I Can Do" Filter

31:50 The Workforce Revolution

34:32 Leading the Therapy Generation

40:14 The Skills Gap Nobody Talks About

44:50 Lightning Round: Leadership Lessons

Connect with Nefertiti: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nefertiti-walker-5338a943/

Connect with Mark:

Mark A. Stiles, CPA Founder, MASCPA [markstilescpa.com]  | Host, The Scaling CFO [LinkedIn] 

📅 Book a free consult with Mark to explore your own Marketing & Sales Quadrant → https://calendly.com/mark-stiles-markstilescpa/new-meeting

In this episode of The Scaling CFO, host Mark Stiles, CPA and founder of MASCPA, sits down with Ronald Berry III, founder of Flywheel Consultancy. If you’ve ever felt like your marketing was in motion but not moving the needle, this episode is for you.

Ronald breaks down how to translate brand into systems, message into money, and awareness into ROI. From defining your ICP to the rise of "allbound" marketing, this conversation clarifies how to build a scalable marketing machine, without selling your soul or spamming your audience.

Topics include:

• What most founders get wrong about their ICP (ideal customer profile)

• The difference between messaging and medium

• Why "founder-led" and "leader-led" marketing outperform generic brand campaigns

• How many brand impressions it really takes to convert a lead

• Signal-based campaigns and why they lower CAC

• When to know your message isn’t resonating

• Why message clarity beats message volume

• How to use AI to scale content without losing your voice

• What founders should never outsource too soon

If your message isn’t converting or your leads are stalling, this is the reset worth listening to.

Timestamps:

[00:00] Welcome to The Scaling CFO 

[01:05] Marketing noise vs. marketing systems 

[02:15] TAM, ICP, and the power of precision 

[04:45] Messaging vs. Medium 

[06:30] Allbound marketing explained 

[08:50] Signal-based campaigns & data-driven outreach 

[11:40] Founder-led marketing & leader-led impact 

[15:00] Aligning message with internal leadership 

[18:10] When your messaging isn’t working 

[21:20] Why short-form > long-form (at first) 

[24:30] AI + authenticity = marketing leverage 

[28:10] Delegation, SOPs & founder capacity 

[32:15] Scaling without losing your voice 

[36:45] Marketing ROI: signals, systems, and strategy 

[39:30] Rapid fire round

Connect with Ronald:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronald-berry-iii/

Website: https://www.flywheelconsultancy.com

Connect with Mark:

Mark A. Stiles, CPA

Founder, MASCPA [markstilescpa.com]  | Host, The Scaling CFO [LinkedIn] 

Book a free consult with Mark to explore your own Marketing & Sales Quadrant → https://calendly.com/mark-stiles-markstilescpa/new-meeting

Too many founders treat marketing like a box of disconnected tactics—random ads, inconsistent emails, a logo refresh here and there. But real growth doesn’t come from dabbling. It comes from system-building.

In this episode, MASCPA founder Mark Stiles, CPA sits down with Cassidy Lewis—CMO of Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers and founder of the CMO Academy—to unpack how founders can move from reactive marketing to a scalable system that drives conversion and clarity.

Cassidy shares hard-won lessons from 16+ years in service-based marketing, including:

• Why marketing without sales alignment is wasted effort

• How to turn your database into a revenue engine

• The psychology behind trust-building in professional services

• And why "done is better than perfect" might be your new marketing mantra

  
  

Timestamps:

[00:00] Welcome to The Scaling CFO

[01:06] Cassidy on 16 Years in Service Marketing

[02:30] Why Tactics Without Systems Fail

[05:37] Your Ideal Client Isn’t a Demographic

[09:04] The Million-Dollar Bottleneck

[12:21] From Chief Everything Officer to Evangelizer-in-Chief

[15:47] Marketing-Sales Alignment: One Voice, One Brand

[20:28] Your Database as Your Gold Mine

[22:49] 60% Referral Rate? It Started with Systems

[24:05] You Don’t Own Social. Own Your List.

[26:47] CRM + Simplicity = Scale

[32:10] Don’t Let Perfect Block Progress

[34:36] Final Word: Start Today, Even If It’s Small

Connect with Cassidy:

Cassidy Lewis Chief Marketing Officer, Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers [LinkedIn] | Founder, The CMO Academy [thecmoacademy.com]

Connect with Mark:

Mark A. Stiles, CPA Founder, MASCPA [markstilescpa.com]  | Host, The Scaling CFO [LinkedIn] 

📅 Book a free consult with Mark to explore your own Marketing & Sales Quadrant → https://calendly.com/mark-stiles-markstilescpa/new-meeting

Host Mark Stiles, CPA and founder of MASCPA, sits down with power couple Nate and Liz Lenz, co-founders of Concurrent and Lenz Insights, to unpack what it really takes to scale a business with your spouse, your values, and your people intact.

They reveal how to lead through blurred lines of personal and professional life, what scaling looks like beyond $1M in revenue, and why building human capital is the real unlock for margin and momentum.

From SOPs to surprise-and-delight client moments, from Widget frameworks to preparing for generational wealth transfer, Nate and Liz walk us through the kind of intentional leadership today’s founders need to build a durable business that runs without losing its soul.

Whether you're at the $1M inflection point or thinking about succession, this episode offers a front-row seat to what smart scaling actually sounds like.

Timestamps:

[00:00] Welcome to The Scaling CFO

[01:20] Nate & Liz on Merging Marriage with Mission

[04:15] The Truth About Balance, Boundaries & Clarity

[06:10] From Chief Everything Officer to Chief Evangelizing Officer

[08:30] Human Capital as the True Scaling Engine

[11:45] Clarity, SOPs, and Letting Leaders Lead

[14:30] Using the Widget Framework to Unlock Team Strengths

[17:05] Building Culture as an Output, Not Just Input[20:00] Operationalizing Your Values in a Scaling Firm[23:10] Coaching Advisory Firms Through Inflection Points

[26:20] People, Process, and Technology, In That Order

[31:00] Scaling the Advisory Experience: From Personal to Repeatable

[35:40] “Look for Lemons”: Creating Client Wow Moments[38:15] How Pareto Principle Shapes Smart Scale[42:00] Tech, Talent & the Future of Wealth Management

[47:40] AI, Validation, and the Human Side of Strategy

[50:30] Asking Better Questions = Better Client Retention

[53:10] Succession as a Process, Not an Event[57:20] Rapid Fire: Productivity, Resilience & Real Life

[59:30] Final Word: Be Honest with Yourself First

Connect with Nate & Liz:

Nate Lenz CEO, Concurrent

poweredbyconcurrent.comLinkedIn

Liz Lenz Founder, Lenz Insights & Practice Synergies Lead at Concurrent

lookforlemons.comLinkedIn

Connect with Mark:

Mark A. Stiles, CPA

Founder, MASCPA | Host, The Scaling CFO

markstilescpa.com

LinkedIn