Episode 193
What could a Swiss Army officer possibly teach you about building and selling companies worth hundreds of millions? Turns out – everything.
Today’s guest, Sam Goodner, took the discipline and precision he learned in the Swiss Army and applied it to entrepreneurship.
He founded Catapult Systems, scaled it through two major recessions, and eventually sold it after 20 years. Later, he helped take Flash Parking from a stuck $3M startup to $100M in revenue and a billion-dollar valuation.
Now a mentor at Capital Factory and author of Like Clockwork: Run Your Business with Swiss Army Precision, Sam distills 30 years of lessons into practical principles that help entrepreneurs scale businesses that thrive without them.
In this episode, Sam shares why scaling always begins with a sales playbook, how “cloud conversion therapy” won over 100% of skeptical customers, and why annual contingency planning can make your company recession-proof. He also breaks down what it really takes to prepare for a sale years in advance and how unforgettable first-day employee experiences can shape culture for decades.
If you’re ready to scale with Swiss Army precision and build a company that runs without you, tune in now.
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This episode is part of the 8FE (8-figure entrepreneur) series, where we talk to entrepreneurs who have already passed the million-dollar mark.
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Key Takeaways:
00:00 Intro
00:02:03 Running a business like clockwork in practice
00:17:00 Curated client experiences turned skeptics into loyal customers
00:25:33 Starting Catapult Systems
00:28:54 Recession-proofing strategies
00:33:49 Separate teams allow multiple ventures under one umbrella
00:38:54 Selling businesses: Define your number and prepare years before exit
00:43:07 Strong EBITDA and audited records maximize company valuation
00:48:17 Choosing investment bankers
00:53:45 “Like Clockwork: Run Your Business With Swiss Army Precision”
00:59:54 First-day experiences build culture and long-term loyalty
01:01:35 Advice to young entrepreneurs
01:05:09 Wrapup
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Additional Resources:
🔹 Sam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samgoodner
🔹 Sam on X: https://x.com/goodner
🔹 Sam’s book: https://samgoodner.com/
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➡️ Learn more at: https://beyondamillion.com/
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Published on 2 weeks ago
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