Case Study: Andrew Krebs-Smith
Here’s Andrew:
When I first read the book Traction (the book that outlines the Entrepreneurial Operating System®), I said Amen the whole way through.
At the time, my co-founder and I were just reacting; the business was running us. Both of us love to move fast and go for things with a lot of energy. Sometimes that wasn’t the right move. Not everything is an emergency, but we had no way to prioritize or systemize our actions.
Onboarding EOS
Before we hired an Implementer, we used a couple of tools, like the L10 agenda, that sold us on the system. It was helpful for me and my partner to adopt the Visionary/Integrator split for our roles at the company.
I wanted to do full-scale EOS from the beginning—but like most entrepreneurs, I started and quickly got excited about other things. We needed help if we wanted to run a true EOS process.
Eric Crews was the second EOS Implementer we tried out. He had facilitated a planning session for EO Boston, and seeing him in action, I felt like he could succeed with our firm. So I reached out and we got started.
Our Focus Day, which is the first full session in the EOS process, was really tough. People were crying when we realized how much work we had to do and how big our gaps were. It was painful to go through, but it showed us how much we needed EOS if we wanted to succeed.
Favorite EOS Tool:
Aspirationally, I think the scorecard is my favorite tool, especially if you can get it right. It gives you such a clear picture of the health of your company.
Rocks are not sexy, but they’ve probably got the most obvious impact on the business.
Biggest EOS Challenge:
When we first started EOS, I didn’t even know what a strong leadership team looked like. Through the process, I started to understand who I was working with and how to identify people who were really willing to be part of the team.
Process was definitely a challenge for us; we were always a people-centric company. That affected our scorecard and created some inefficiencies, but EOS motivated us to keep working on our systems.
Results with EOS:
During the time we worked with Eric and implemented EOS, our revenue grew 150% and our profitability increased by 467%.
Our annual EBITDA went from low six figures to healthy seven figures.
And when the company sold in 2019, it was for 7x the bottom line.
EOS helped us build a company that was ready for sale: the process from the first call with the buyer to getting signed documents took less than 90 days. The acquiring company liked EOS, and the fact that we used it was one of the factors that got the deal done.
Those are the quantifiable results, but they’re the outcome of all the skills we learned during the journey.
Why EOS:
Once we got into the EOS process, our communication changed dramatically. Discussions were easier; issues that would have taken multiple quarters of painful digging were resolved more easily. As a team, we got better along the way.
The success we had at Social Fulcrum is really what motivated me to become an EOS Implementer. I want to help other business owners find the clarity that I got from this system. I want them to have better teams, smart priorities, and great execution. And that’s what you get when you successfully use EOS.
Want to talk directly with Andrew about his journey with EOS? Contact him today to get connected. If you haven’t met Andrew Krebs-Smith yet, this guy has an amazing story. Andrew co-founded Social Fulcrum, a marketing agency that scales Facebook advertising campaigns for retail and eCommerce brands. In 2019, Andrew sold Social Fulcrum; in 2020, he joined our team of consultants. He now helps other business owners implement EOS and increase the revenue, profit, and salable value of their companies.
