Chapter 21: Promote It

After proving your concept, the next step is to get out there and tell everyone about it. While many entrepreneurs fear promotion—thinking it’s “too soon” or “too salesy”—Verne Harnish cautions that promoting a product before it’s been validated is a mistake that can cost time, money, and credibility. The key isn’t whether to promote; it’s when and how.

Timing Is Everything

“There is a danger to order—promoting a product you haven’t yet proved.” That quote sets the tone for this chapter (Campbell, 2023, p. 169). Harnish shares how, in the early days at Hostopia, they made the mistake of spending on advertising too soon—before they were ready. Rather than spending time perfecting their product or getting more feedback, they burned resources trying to scale something not yet stable.

Build It, Then Promote It

This advice sounds obvious, but many entrepreneurs act on emotion instead of strategy. Harnish references the infamous Field of Dreams fallacy—“If you build it, they will come”—and counters it with examples of Hollywood flops like Waterworld and Hugo. These films had big budgets and marketing pushes but lacked strong products or audience alignment. When Warner Bros. canceled Batgirl after it was nearly finished, it reinforced a powerful truth: marketing can’t save a weak product.

The Four Scenarios

Harnish outlines four promotional outcomes to watch for (Campbell, 2023, p. 172):

• A – You have a bad product and promote it. Result: disaster. (e.g., Batgirl)
• B – You have a poor-quality product and over-promote it. Result: damaged brand. (e.g., Waterworld)
• C – You have a great product but fail to promote it. Result: missed opportunity. (e.g., Hugo)
• D – You have a great product and promote it effectively. Result: success. (e.g., Top Gun: Maverick)

The Right Promotion Multiplies Your Momentum

In the successful launch of .CLUB, Harnish’s team knew they had a validated product, so they invested in promotion confidently—and it paid off. Likewise, Top Gun: Mavericksucceeded not only because it was well made, but because it aligned marketing strategy with product value and audience expectation (Campbell, 2023).

💡 Final Takeaway

Don’t rush promotion. Make sure your product is proven, your audience is defined, and your message is clear. Then go big. That’s how you build momentum that lasts.

🔁 Coming Next

In Chapter 22, we’ll dive into branding and media outreach—what it really takes to craft a magnetic message that scales.

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References

• Campbell, C. C. (2023). Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. Lioncrest Publishing.
• Thean, P. (n.d.). CEO coaching insights on business strategy. Private communication, as cited in Campbell (2023).

Chapter 20: Prove It

You always need to be proving your business model—it’s not something that’s one and done. If we sold to a hundred customers, can we sell to a thousand? And then ten thousand? If we have sold into ten distributors, can we target a hundred?

Going back to the story of Facebook, they proved their concept by selling first at Harvard, then launching into other colleges, then into other cities, then into other countries, every step of the way proving they could grow in those markets (Campbell, 2023).

Not All Markets Are the Same

Every market has its own culture, and you have to really dig in to understand the needs of the new market culture you’re about to enter. When Hostopia came to the US, one of the big differences between us and our competitors was that we were already set up with a dual-language platform because in Canada, the law required us to be able to serve both English and French speakers (Campbell, 2023).

Speaking of other cultures, this also allowed us to tweak our platform to go into Brazil by adding in Portuguese. In the end, we included more than ten languages as we scaled to new markets, proving ourselves each time, which eventually set us up for our IPO.

Understand the Culture of Your New Markets

It’s easy for your market research to look only at bottom-line issues like projected costs to acquire new customers, overhead, distribution, and so on. While all those are important, it’s more important to understand the cultural preferences of your market: “How do they like to pay for things? What language are they most comfortable in? What are their expectations for communicating problems?” (Campbell, 2023).

As we discussed in Start, you don’t want to go into a new market expecting a change in the human behavior there. Instead, you need to adapt and mold your business practices to meet the preferences of that market. The more you can culturize your product to your new market, the better success you’ll have at scaling.

For example, when we set up Paw.com, we originally designed it as a US-based business, even though the founder and I are Canadian. When it came time to scale, it was only natural for us to look north to our homeland. But simply buying up ads in Canada and adding Canadian distribution was not going to be enough to make it successful there in the same way that it was in the US.

Sometimes this need to prove your concept again and again in new markets is the reason entrepreneurs stop scaling and get comfortable with the market they already have. Launching into a new market and proving it can be as stressful as launching the company itself.

“If you’re not growing, you’re dying.”

And that’s a lifestyle choice—because once again, to prove yourself over and over is a deep price. But if you fail to continue proving, you stop learning valuable lessons that can help you be prepared for the unexpected.

💡 Final Takeaway

Success in one market does not guarantee success in another. Don’t assume culture, language, or consumer behavior will translate directly. Prove it. Again and again. That’s how you scale responsibly and sustainably.

🔁 Coming Next

In Chapter 21, we’ll explore how to build a world-class sales team—from incentive structures to playbooks that scale with you.

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References

• Campbell, C. C. (2023). Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. Lioncrest Publishing.

Chapter 19: Find Your X Factor

Finding your X Factor is tough—there’s no denying it. In fact, many entrepreneurs only discover it through failure, grit, and iteration. In this chapter, Verne Harnish challenges us to discover the one thing that sets our business apart in a way that’s nearly impossible to copy. This “X Factor” isn’t just a brand story—it’s the painkiller that solves a nearly unbearable customer frustration that no one else is addressing.

What is the X Factor?

The term X Factor goes back decades, referring to that mysterious quality that makes someone or something stand out. In business, it's the element that gives you a 10x competitive edge. Author and coach Jim Collins (Collins, 2001) emphasized the importance of identifying what makes your company truly great, and Harnish builds on that by explaining how to operationalize your X Factor into a core strategy (Merriam-Webster, 2022).

Creating vs. Discovering Something Special

CEO coach Patrick Thean reframes the X Factor as not something you're born with—but something you create. It’s what makes your solution indispensable. Thean’s advice: “Give your customers a 10X advantage.” This isn’t fluff—it’s about crafting offers and experiences that eliminate risk, ease stress, or make customers heroes in their own right (Thean, n.d.).

Connect Your X Factor to Your Brand Promise

Harnish recommends tying your X Factor directly into your Nearly Unbearable Brand Promise (NUBP)—a concept introduced earlier in the book. For example, when Hostopia migrated 75,000 websites for EarthLink without losing a single one, they weren’t just fulfilling a contract—they were proving their X Factor in action.

Failures Often Reveal the X Factor

Hostopia didn’t stumble into their X Factor on a good day—it came after a disaster involving thousands of lost email settings. But instead of folding, they leaned into the failure, learned fast, and reengineered their process. This journey became the path to their 10X strength: bulletproof migrations.

Look for the Bottlenecks

What are your customers struggling with that no one else is solving? That’s where the gold is. Harnish highlights examples like Tiff’s Treats and Tesla—companies that found their edge by eliminating friction. For Tesla, the bottleneck wasn’t the car; it was the dealership experience. By removing the dealership, they reshaped the industry.

Try These X-Factor Discovery Steps:

• Ask: “Where do things slow down for customers in my industry?”
• Audit what legacy practices cause frustration—then do the opposite.
• If entering a new market, look at the blind spots “old-timers” have ignored.

Use the X Factor to Scale

As Harnish explains, “At this stage of the process, your X Factor isn’t optional. It’s a must-have in order to really scale.” If you can’t pinpoint what makes you exceptional—or if your business is flatlining—it’s time to return to this question and dig deeper.

The X Factor isn’t just a tactic. It’s your dragon-slaying sword, your secret weapon, your moat. When paired with your story, your systems, and your people, it becomes the defining trait that drives sustainable, rapid growth.

💡 Final Takeaway

Don’t wait to stumble into your X Factor—hunt it down. Look for friction. Embrace failure. Examine bottlenecks. Then reframe those pain points as the foundation of your competitive edge. That’s how legendary companies are made.

🔁 Coming Next

In Chapter 20, we’ll explore how to build a successful sales team—and why it might not be who you think. From cultural fit to incentive structures, the right team will amplify your X Factor and convert it into real results.

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References

1. Collins, J. (2001). Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't. HarperBusiness.
2. Thean, P. (n.d.). CEO coaching insights on the X Factor. Private communication as cited in Harnish, V. (2022).
3. Campbell, C. C. (2023). Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. Charleston: Lioncrest Publishing.
4. Merriam-Webster. (2022). X Factor. Retrieved October 19, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/X%20factor

Chapter 18: Scale in Zeros

Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. Blog Series

Author: Brent Parker, Resilience Repurposed LLC

📘 Scaling Begins in the Mind

Chapter 18 of Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. is titled "Scale in Zeros" and introduces a deceptively simple concept with transformative power: to scale, you must think, plan, and act in zeros. It’s a mental model that pushes entrepreneurs to visualize growth from 10 to 100, then 1,000 and beyond. Each zero added isn’t just an increase in number—it’s a radical shift in mindset, systems, and operational capacity.

🔁 Think in Zeros

One of the earliest keys to Hostopia’s success, as retold by author and entrepreneur Walker, was his ability to break away from incremental thinking and adopt a 10X approach. Instead of merely aiming for modest growth, Walker asked, “How do we serve 100 times more people?” This question forced strategic decisions, like upgrading team capabilities, breaking into the U.S. market, and investing in scalable systems. This aligns with Grant Cardone’s concept of the “10X Rule,” which teaches that exponential goals demand exponential effort (Cardone, 2011).

🧠 Plan to Scale in Zeros

Visualization isn’t fluff—it’s a strategic tool. Chapter 18 links your company’s story (the WHO you serve) to how big you're willing to think. SMART goals—specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound—are essential, but Walker says they should also be built around a 10X mindset. From human resources to funding, every element of your company must be aligned with scaling.

🚀 Act to Scale in Zeros

The chapter drives home that scalable action follows scalable thinking. By hiring top-performing salespeople and investing in team growth, Hostopia created a replicable path to expand. Walker didn’t start with the entire path figured out—he made bold decisions aligned with future potential. This courage to act on a vision larger than the present moment is what distinguishes startups that scale from those that stall (Ismail, Malone, & van Geest, 2014).

💡 Final Takeaway

Scaling starts internally. By thinking in zeros and visualizing exponential growth, you force your business to evolve—first in mindset, then in planning, and finally in execution. Your X-factor—the part of your story that makes you stand out—becomes your competitive edge in a crowded market.

🔁 Coming Next

In Chapter 19, we dive deeper into the real metrics that drive scale—what to track, why it matters, and how to know when it’s time to pivot or press forward.

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Chapter 17 Breakdown: Scale Quickly, Kill Quickly

Reflections on Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. by Brent Parker – Resilience Repurposed LLC

⚙️ Post Intro

When entrepreneurs think about scaling, they often imagine hockey-stick growth and viral success. But in Chapter 17: Scale Quickly, Kill Quickly, author Colin C. Campbell flips that fantasy on its head. Scaling, he argues, is not a reward — it’s a test. And sometimes, the best way to win is to quit. This chapter dives deep into how to identify what’s working, kill what isn’t, and scale with ruthless efficiency. For builders like me, this was a wake-up call: grow fast, but never blindly (Campbell, 2023).

🔍 Key Takeaways from Chapter 17

1. Scaling Isn’t Success — It’s a Spotlight

“Scaling isn’t something that happens to you. You decide to scale.”

Campbell (2023) emphasizes that scaling doesn’t guarantee success — it amplifies whatever’s already happening. If you have a flawed product or inefficient system, scaling will expose it. If you’ve found product-market fit, scaling will validate it. But in either case, scale shines a light on reality.

2. Kill Fast, So You Can Scale What Works

The ability to “kill quickly” is what separates entrepreneurs from dreamers. If it’s not growing, it’s dying — and the longer you drag a failing product, service, or offer, the more resources it consumes. Campbell's own stories about sunsetting tech products and pivoting based on early signals reinforce this (Campbell, 2023).

3. The Faster You Can Move On, the Faster You Get to Your Real Success

This one hit home. I’ve had prototypes, marketing ideas, even collaborations that showed promise — but not performance. This chapter gave me permission to admit defeat faster and reinvest that energy into more scalable, defensible wins (Campbell, 2023). In fact, it inspired me to review my current product lines and run stress tests on their scalability.

🧠 Brent’s Reflections as a Veteran Founder

From the battlefield to the boardroom, decisiveness is a survival skill. “Scale Quickly, Kill Quickly” resonated with me because I’ve seen how indecision drains energy, resources, and morale. As the owner of Resilience Repurposed LLC, I have to make hard calls — whether that means scrapping a filament product that underperforms or doubling down on HueForge prints that consistently sell.

Reading this chapter reminded me that entrepreneurship is war — and your greatest ally is clarity.

💡 Final Takeaway

Growth without wisdom is just expensive failure. Use your early traction as a test. Scale what works. Kill what doesn’t. And never fall in love with a strategy just because it took effort to build — fall in love with outcomes.

🔁 Coming Next

Chapter 18: People Don’t Scale — Systems Do
We’ll explore why your best employee can’t be your growth strategy, and how systems are the real engine behind a sustainable scale-up.

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📚 References

• Campbell, C. C. (2023). Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. Plain Sight Publishing.

Chapter 16 Breakdown: Why Startups Fail — And How You Can Avoid It

Series: Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. Reflections | Author: Brent Parker, Resilience Repurposed LLC

Let’s face it—no founder likes to talk about failure. But as Colin C. Campbell points out in Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat., understanding why startups collapse is one of the fastest ways to avoid joining that statistic. In Chapter 16, he peels back the layers of bad hiring, flawed product-market fit, ignored warning signs, and poor funding decisions that quietly sabotage good ideas.

This post isn’t about doom and gloom—it’s about decoding failure so you can design your business to be more resilient from day one.

🚫 Failure Happens—But It’s Not Random

Campbell opens up about his own failed venture in blockchain tech, sharing how a combination of Silicon Valley hype, the wrong hires, and skipped systems led to a shutdown. He takes ownership of what went wrong—not just emotionally, but operationally. This isn’t just storytime; it’s a template for recognizing structural cracks before they become fatal flaws (Campbell, 2023).

🧩 The Six Hidden Reasons Startups Fail

• The company doesn’t solve a real problem. Like MoviePass, many startups create exciting features without validating if enough people care about the problem being solved.
• The wrong people are running the company. Even a great idea will crumble if led by mismatched leadership. Entrepreneurial vision can’t be outsourced.
• Red flags are ignored. Emotional investment makes it easy to overlook key warning signs. But those flags often predict collapse.
• They raise too little—or too much—money. Underfunding creates fragility. Overfunding can lead to waste, arrogance, or diluted control.
• There are too many cooks in the kitchen. Leadership confusion and partnership misalignment create internal gridlock that kills momentum.
• External forces strike. Even well-run companies can get crushed by outside events like the dot-com crash or COVID-19. But how you prepare can cushion the blow.

🧠 Human Error Is the #1 Culprit

Campbell doesn’t sugarcoat it: “The biggest factor in success and failure is human failure” (Campbell, 2023, p. 140). Whether it’s hiring too fast, scaling without systems, or ignoring your gut, most collapse points come down to judgment—yours or someone else’s. But that’s also where your greatest opportunity lies.

❤️ Failures Are Scars That Guide Us

From Walt Disney’s early cartoon rejections to Milton Hershey’s candy startup struggles, Chapter 16 reframes failure as a rite of passage. “Startup failures are the scars of our past that guide us forward in our new ventures” (Campbell, 2023, p. 141). You don’t have to fear failure—but you do have to learn from it.

💡 Final Takeaway:

Failure isn’t random—it’s a pattern. Chapter 16 teaches you how to spot it early, take responsibility when things go sideways, and turn losses into future-proof systems. Learn from Colin’s scars so you don’t have to earn your own the hard way.

🔁 Coming Next: Chapter 17 – How to Vet a Business Idea

We’ll dive into the checklist that separates ideas from real businesses and walk through the rigorous testing process Colin Campbell uses before he bets on anything new.

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📚 References (APA Style)

Campbell, C. C. (2023). Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. Wiley.

Bryant, S. (2022, November 28). How Many Startups Fail and Why? Investopedia.

Mitchell, B. (2022, November 22). 82% of Small Businesses Fail Because of Cash Flow Problems. U.S. Bank.