Podcasts Business Onward Nation Scaling a Business, with Mike McDerment

Scaling a Business, with Mike McDerment

Published: Nov. 4, 2020, 9 a.m.

Scaling a business, a podcast episode with Mike McDerment. Experience a remarkable growth journey by learning the secrets to scaling a business.

Scaling a business\xa0means adapting to change while also learning new critical skills. Mike will guide you through how he and his team achieved this for their business.

Mike McDerment is the co-founder and CEO of FreshBooks, the world\u2019s #1 cloud accounting software for self-employed professionals. Built in 2003 after he accidentally saved over an invoice, Mike spent 3.5 years growing FreshBooks from his parents\u2019 basement. Since then, over 10 million people have used FreshBooks to save time billing and collecting billions of dollars. A lover of the outdoors, Mike has been bitten so many times it\u2019s rumored he\u2019s the first human to have developed immunity to mosquitoes.

What you will learn in this episode about scaling a business:
  • How mistakenly saving over an invoice led Mike to design the accounting software his business needed, leading to the birth of FreshBooks
  • How the company that started with six team members in his parents\u2019 basement now has millions of users in more than 160 countries
  • Why Mike was reluctant to raise outside capital and instead self-funded the business for a long time
  • Why Mike believes that accepting venture capital during the early days could have undermined the value of the business
  • What important lessons on\xa0scaling a business\xa0Mike learned growing FreshBooks from just six employees to more than 400
  • What key organizational growth breakpoints Mike identified on the journey, and how the company had to adapt to each new breakpoint
  • Why having shared values and alignment within your organization is the key to success, and why every problem in business is ultimately a people problem
  • How Mike addresses the difficult situation of a team member not being in alignment with their role in the company
  • Why Mike has chosen to dedicate time to his thought leadership efforts, and why he considers it to be \u201csoul food for entrepreneurs\u201d
  • Why shifting from time-and materials-based billing to value-based billing can be a powerful game-changer for your business
  • Why\xa0scaling a business\xa0is important for growth
How to Connect with Mike McDerment: Additional Resources: