Very few founders can grow a company from idea to over $100 million since each stage and challenges they face require different skills. Despite these odds, my guest on The Small Business Radio Show this week has done exactly that.

As Keap’s CEO, Clate Mask leads the company’s vision, strategy and growth. His entrepreneurial spirit sparked early in his career while he was at About.com, fueling him to ultimately co-found Keap (formerly Infusionsoft). Since its founding, Clate has grown Keap from a struggling startup to an eight-time Inc. 500/5000 winner.

He is a national speaker on entrepreneurship and small business success, and co-author of the New York Times bestseller “Conquer the Chaos: How to Grow a Successful Small Business Without Going Crazy”. Clate also writes regularly for media like Fast Company and BusinessWeek.

Clate discussed:

The checklist for each stage of businesses and what each should do to prepare for this economic uncertainty. Clate says that last year saw a record of new small businesses with over 5 million new business applications. “Since the start of the pandemic, the gig economy turned from side hustles for extra money into the majority of people’s incomes. Now we’ve seen the evolution go further into the ‘expert economy,’ where higher-paid experts in companies are leaving the stability and comfort to forge their own path as an expert consultant.”
How automation can still be personal – why not to be afraid of automation and how to use it to grow your business.
Why in business, trust through human connections is everything and how to stay true to who you said you would be, and what your company stands for.
His path to $120M where there is a lot of talk about the stages of revenue and what goes along with it: what happens at $1M, 10M and beyond.
Why Infusionsoft became Keap and the lessons learned from rebranding a 17-year-old company.
How to choose a business coach who will help you succeed.

Listen to Clate’s two-part interview on The Small Business Radio Show.

Image: Clate Mask

This article, “How the CEO of Keap Grew His Company from Startup to $120 Million” was first published on Small Business Trends