Scaling Isn’t Sexy—But Here’s How To Build Great Startups

I think we can all agree—startups get glamorized. Social media makes founder life look effortless. Making your own hours? Working from the beach? Making enough money to do both of those things? It sounds amazing.But most of what it takes to actually get to that point is not sexy. It’s hard conversations, long hours, scary choices, and a whole lot of rolling up your sleeves to do the work no one else is willing to do.In this episode, I sit down with Wade Lowe—a seasoned operator, founder, and fractional executive—to talk about the early-stage decisions that make or break a business. One of the biggest questions we tackle is what the heck is a fractional exec, and when should you actually bring one in?From landing your first enterprise customer to hiring your first leadership team, we unpack what founders tend to overlook when chasing growth—and how to avoid the most common (and expensive) missteps.Wade’s got receipts from building and scaling early stage businesses across industries—and he’s refreshingly honest about what you need to build a high-performing team and a culture that prioritizes growth, trust, and people are excited to be a part of.In our conversation we also cover:Why being respected is your most valuable KPIWhat culture is not (ahem, snacks or unlimited PTO)And the mindset shift every founder needs to grow with their companyIf you’re scaling—and want to protect what makes your startup special—this one’s for you.Connect with Wade:LinkedInWebsite