Podcast.

Jim Barnish and Orchid Black’s origin story continues on episode two of The Dirt Podcast, where Jim is asked questions as the first guest on the show about his company: its goals, its purpose, and why in the world it has a flower in its name. Tune in today to get key information on why Orchid Black focuses on accelerating growth for tech companies that are "in the black" (profitable), how they boil a growth strategy into five key elements, and how they've cracked the code on making growth-stage SaaS companies worth SO MUCH MORE!

3 Key Takeaways

• Five elements in all companies that need to be evaluated and optimized prior to an exit
• 3 key things that make a company grow stagnant
• When (and why) you should have a growth-over-profitability mindset

Show Notes

[0:24] Why Orchid Black?

• The Orchid Black vision
• “In order to really understand where our brand is headed, it’s important to understand what the brand represents.” -Jim Barnish
• The symbolism behind growing an Orchid [like growing a company]
• Black represents exclusivity
• Working with businesses that are profitable and in the black

[3:45] “We started Orchid Black to serve founders looking to get unstuck, grow, and create wealth.” -Jim Barnish

• Orchid Black's mission to help founders get unstuck and create an incredible legacy for themselves, their families, and their team
• They partner with the right founders so that they can continue serving more founders
• Their goal is to help founders "grow the hell" out of their business and then fuel their profits right back into the company afterward

[4:53] Why does Orchid Black choose companies that are already profitable?

• Growth mindset > profitability mindset

[5:10] “We help founders to create an incredible legacy and incredible exit for themselves, their family, and their team." -Jim Barnish

[8:15] Focusing on companies that are between $3 and $50 million in revenue

• The founders and companies who are a perfect fit for Orchid Black's growth program
• Working with people who are already hyperactive and looking for a solution

[9:45] How does Orchid Black set up an exit strategy?

• Value Creation Assessment (VCA)
• A diagnostic of thousands of data points to assess how the company can grow and what might stop it
• What you’re looking for in an exit expressed in five key elements
• Strategy
• Talent
• Product
• Revenue
• Operations
• Putting together an impact model to execute
• Working on a path towards exiting

[13:30] Focus on the little wins that count

• Building a better business, but also building a better founder with a positive mindset
• Jim’s example of a client who is scaling revenue predictably and already up 30% revenue in six months

[16:00] Some of the most common reasons Jim sees a business has stagnated

• “What gets me out of bed as early as possible is to problem solve with founders on how to take their level of growth and apply it as transferable value in that company.” -Jim Barnish
• Overcomplicating their menu
• Trouble nailing the niche that’s connected to their menu
• “Knowing who you serve and what the value proposition is to them is everything.” -Jim Barnish
• Misunderstanding the archetype of the founder that they need to serve
• Who is this person beyond the niche?
• Screen heavily for coachability
• Failing to understand that “Talent wins games but team and intelligence win championships.” -Jim Barnish

[21:00] Get out of the way and do what you do so you can celebrate the little wins!

[22:00] “You can still be the leader, but you don't always need to have the ball in your hands.” -Jim Barnish

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