The Startup Was a Financial Success. I Am Not Building It That Way Again.

In 2007, my wife and I started Creed Interactive in our basement with a mortgage to cover, a lot of hustle, and no certainty it would become anything lasting. Over 15 years, we grew it exponentially and we built a strong business where we ultimately exited successfully to Delta Dental Insurance.

By most measures, it worked. We created opportunities and achieved the goals we set out to reach. But starting over today, I am not building my next start up the same way again.

In this talk, I’ll share what actually drove the company’s success: how we found the right markets, hired people who could grow with the business, used retainer work to reduce volatility, learned to say no to bad-fit projects, and got clearer about profitability and focus. I’ll also talk about the less visible lessons: the joy of building with your spouse, the emotional cost of growth, and why a successful exit can still leave you rethinking how you want to build.

In my next start up, I am changing my definition of what is worth building. I am creating something different and finding a new method on how quickly truth should surface, and what I’m no longer willing to trade for growth. This next company will follow a very different logic. I’ll end by sharing the shifts I’m making now, and why a successful first run can be the very thing that makes you question the whole playbook.

• All levels
• Startups
• Careers
• Marketing