Growing a company is hard. Growing it profitably and enjoying it is harder. But it doesn’t have to be.
The goals of your small to medium-sized business are always within reach – whether through the strategic guidance of an advisory council – a Compass Advisory Council – built around your specific challenges, or with Larry’s strategic and analytical help as your fractional Chief Financial Officer.
I know I can always rely on Larry to look after my best interests from a financial standpoint. I can trust the numbers, the advice and the ideas he puts together. He played a huge role in our growth from a little company that didn’t make any money to one that was very profitable.
What makes Larry irreplaceable is that he’s not just a CFO. He’s been very instrumental in many different areas of business – understanding problems, giving advice and pushing people in the right direction.
Larry changed the way I think about financials. He brought resources when necessary, trained people and gave me a completely different view on the business. Every time he made a recommendation and I made a decision based on it, it was a success.
When I have an issue that nobody else can resolve, I call Larry. He understands the problem in many different domains and figures out how to get it done. I honestly don’t know how I’d operate without him.
There is a point in any new company’s growth cycle when a founder realizes that exponential growth can’t be achieved without help from many different disciplines.
Few entrepreneurs realize this, staying content with what is often a significant accomplishment in its own right. However, to move to the next stage, the founder needs help in areas that are rarely their core competency.
That’s what I feel Larry brought to the table for us. The vision to see what our company could be with the same resources as the big guys.
You started your business because you saw something others didn’t, such as a better product or service, a smarter approach and an underserved market.
And your instinct was right. You’ve built something real.
However, you may have noticed that your business is beginning to plateau on many levels: Financially, operationally and directionally.
Revenue is growing, but profits don’t seem to follow.
You’re wearing too many hats.
You’ve got questions about cash flow, strategy or scaling that nobody on your team can really answer because, well, they’re looking to you for those answers.
All the while, it’s very difficult to be fully transparent with your leadership team about challenges. You don’t necessarily want to show investors that you’re unsure about something. And your friends who own businesses? Either you don’t want to admit the struggle or their experience just doesn’t match what you’re dealing with.
You didn’t start this company to feel stuck. You started it because you loved the work.
If it doesn’t feel that way anymore, that’s not a personal failing. It’s a signal that you need the right people around you.
That’s exactly where I come in.
I’ve been working with and for entrepreneurs my entire career of more than 40 years. While it didn’t start as a plan, I found my place in the business world early on.
“Entrepreneurs are a special breed. They have the vision and drive to do things most people won’t — starting their own company and building something from scratch. Unfortunately, vision and drive alone will only take you so far.”
The entrepreneurs I work with are typically great at creating the product, great at selling it and deeply committed to their business.
But when it comes to the nuts and bolts of running a company, several gaps tend to show up.
Financial strategy. Profitable growth planning. Knowing when and how to invest.
I’ve spent my career filling those gaps:
- CFO and COO of Marathon Media, where we acquired 95 radio stations across 40 transactions and raised $100 million in debt and private equity
- CFO of Devine Sports
- CFO and COO of Access One
- Over a decade running my own practice, CFO Options, Inc., providing strategic financial guidance to small and lower middle market companies
Someone once told me I have a rare quality: I genuinely care about the success of my clients. For years, I assumed everyone felt that way about the people they work with. Turns out, that’s not always the case.
For me, it shows up in two ways.
First, when I see something holding a company back, I speak up. Even if it’s not in my lane. I offer ideas, I make introductions and help find the right people to address whatever the issue is.
Second, I don’t accept “we can’t do that” as a final answer. Some of my best work has come from turning a “no” into a “yes.” I take real pride in that stubbornness.
Email: larry@larrylevy.co