I joined Quality Macs as its founding engineer and built the buyback and intake software the business still runs on. It cut operating overhead by 70%.
As Head of Engineering and then COO, I helped grow the team from 3 to 20+ people. I wrote the processes and led the platform relaunch that lifted conversion 60%. I also brought the business back through a pandemic closure and reopening.
Since then, I've spent 10+ years building production software, with consulting clients ranging from a Fortune 500 entertainment company to N2 Publishing.
Most growing businesses don't need a bigger company's playbook. They need someone who has been in the room at their size, can lead their people, and can still build the thing.
What I see in growing businesses
A business outgrows the way it's run long before anyone notices. It doesn't break all at once. Work gets typed into two places. A simple task waits because one person is out. The steps that matter live in someone's head. Then volume jumps or someone leaves, and things slip.
It's rarely the software. Most companies don't struggle because they picked the wrong tool. They struggle because nobody owns how work moves from start to finish, so it falls back on the owner.
That's what I learned running one. The common thread wasn't technology. It was ownership. So that's where I start: making it clear who owns what, getting the important steps out of people's heads, and automating only where it takes work off people instead of adding risk.
If something needs constant fixing, the design is wrong. I'd rather fix the design.
I do my best work with owner-led companies where mistakes are expensive, the owner's time is the bottleneck, and the team is ready to make decisions rather than shop for tools.