Dan Englander on why "do you know anyone?" kills referrals, why 80% of agency sales hires fail, and the counterintuitive AI play that isn't about AI.

Ben Fox on the 13-year partnership that split, the $4 Cloudflare billing error that built ZeroArc, and why he's growing headcount instead of cutting it.

Sam built a high seven-figure agency almost entirely on project revenue, because MRR is a billing mechanism rather than a growth strategy. He has also never seen an agency P&L with correct gross margins, and thinks 50% is the floor before you spend anything on marketing.

Founders want to pay good people more and freeze on the question of when it's safe. James Kwon's answer is Slices: split every dollar that comes in into fixed percentages, so you see profit before you celebrate hitting a billable target on a project that blew up.

Most agencies lead with what they can do. Michael learned to lead with the problem instead, and Caxy went from selling apps to solving million-dollar inefficiencies. The bandwidth check-in with existing clients now drives more than half their growth.

Peter Kang on why deal flow matters more than recurring revenue, and how optionality, de-risking and a portfolio mindset make an agency worth acquiring.

Word of mouth and fast quoting got fjorge to about twenty people, then it stopped working. Joe Barsness on the outbound they had to build, why partnering with creative agencies that needed dev capacity carried them for years, and what follow-up looks like when it isn't asking for work.

Brien Gearin joined the local Chamber of Commerce, ran a Lunch and Learn, and taught instead of pitching. Fifteen people in the room turned into four clients. The unglamorous local play most agency owners overthink.

Kyle Bush on scaling a video agency with profit, process and a make-it-cool-to-care culture, and why retainers beat living on the project rollercoaster.

Kevin stopped scaling the team and built a deconstructed agency: he sells strategy and leadership, then brings specialists in without marking up delivery. Why selling advice and execution together quietly breaks trust, and how to phase it in without burning the ships.