Growing a Billion-Dollar Company: How People Powered Our Journey

By Ricky Sevta

At Mountain Club's recent Industry Leaders talk, I reflected on the journey from Simpro’s humble beginnings to becoming a global leader with hundreds of employees, $100M USD in recurring revenue (ARR), and a valuation well over a billion dollars. One key takeaway stands above the rest: people were at the centre of everything we did.

Scaling at this level isn’t easy - it’s chaotic, exciting, and full of unforeseen hurdles that require constant adaptation. Through it all, we never lost focus on ensuring that our people remained the foundation of every decision, every pivot, and every success.

Here’s how we kept people at the core while scaling rapidly:

1. Culture as a Strategic Asset
   From the outset, we were intentional about building a culture that wasn’t just words but the driving force behind how we operated. Values like collaboration, curiosity, and ownership weren’t mere statements; they were the backbone of our success. As we grew, our culture scaled with us, ingrained in every team, every office, and every new hire.
   
   
2. Developing Leadership to Grow With Us
   Scaling a company requires scalable leadership. We invested heavily in developing our leaders to equip them for the challenges of managing increased complexity. By promoting from within and providing leadership resources, we avoided many common growing pains that accompany rapid expansion.
   
   
3. Going Global While Staying Local
   Expanding internationally was a natural progression, but we stayed grounded in our roots. As we entered new markets, we ensured our original values and culture travelled with us. This consistency allowed us to thrive globally while maintaining the essence of where we began.
   
   
4. A Clear Vision with Flexible Execution
   Our long-term vision was unwavering, but we remained flexible in how we executed. Whether launching new products or breaking into new markets, our mission provided clarity while our adaptability allowed us to excel in an ever-changing environment.
   
   
5. Employee Experience Drives Customer Experience
   It’s simple - happy employees build better products. We invested in our team’s growth just as much as in our product. Career development, work-life balance, and a healthy work environment were critical to our success, ensuring we retained top talent who were passionate about what they did.

While financial metrics like revenue and valuation are important, the true driver of our success was always our people. It’s this people-first approach that propelled us to new heights and created a sustainable business.

As I continue building new ventures with VentureOn Partners and at Deep Space, the same principle remains at the forefront - putting people at the centre of everything. Whether scaling a new startup or delivering cutting-edge solutions in the construction industry, our people will continue to be the key to our success.

See Ricky's Linkedin Profile here.

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