Practical Founders Podcast #165: How to Enjoy Being the CEO as Your SaaS Business Grows Bigger - Brett Gilliland
Define Purpose, Values, Mission
- Co-create a clear Purpose, Values, and Mission with your team to set vision.
- Use those to guide disciplined execution through planning and meeting rhythms.
Shift From I To We
- The founder mindset focuses on "I" and tactical growth like sales and marketing.
- The CEO mindset shifts to "we," leadership, and making a clear plan visible to everyone.
Leadership Team Is The Multiplier
- Passing from $1M to $10M usually requires forming a bona fide senior leadership team.
- Functional leaders (product, success, finance) let the company scale beyond founder capacity.
Brett Gilliland, founder of Elite Entrepreneurs, joins Greg to discuss how they help ambitious founders navigate the tough leadership journey from $1M to $10M in revenue. Brett shares how co-creating a clear, practical Purpose, Values, and Mission form the foundation of scalable organizations.
He explains why moving from founder-led chaos to aligned leadership teams is the critical step that separates $1M experiments from $10M companies. With clear meeting rhythms, disciplined execution, and strong hiring practices, Elite Entrepreneurs has helped hundreds of founders become happy CEOs and build companies that run without constant founder involvement.
Brett reveals the personal transformation required for founders to evolve into true CEOs who can enjoy their business more as it grows. You can reduce chaos, scale your teams, and rediscover the fun of running your business once you shift focus from “I” to “we.”
Key Takeaways
- Growth Brings Freedom: Founders who learn let go in the right way often rediscover fun, profit, and time.
- Leadership Teams Required: Scaling past $3M–$10M depends on building a capable senior leadership team.
- Meeting Rhythms Drive Scale: Annual, quarterly, monthly, and weekly cadences keep teams aligned.
- CEO Core Roles: Set the vision, build the team, and secure resources—everything else gets delegated.
- Hiring as Marketing: Culture-fueled job postings act like a “bat signal” for the right candidates.
This Interview Is Perfect For
- SaaS founders at $1–5M in ARR
- Business owners feeling “stuck” at their current stage
- CEOs ready to build their first real leadership team
- Entrepreneurs who want growth and a life
Quote from Brett Gilliland, founder of Elite Entrepreneurs
“All of us get stuck in some way. We know there's a better way. We see other people figuring it out. I should be able to do this, we say, but we just didn't know what to do.
"You have to do work on your business in a deliberate way. And those who do the work consistently make progress. We help them lay out the path from $1 to 10 million. Here are the things that you do. It's proven, it's practical.
“Whoever has been consistent with it, quarter after quarter, month after month, week after week, doing the things that we're talking about, they start stacking wins.
“Then all of a sudden, 18, 24 months later, we're at a place where we've tripled in revenue, we've doubled in team, it's fun, I've got some time back in my life. It does take time, but it's totally doable. I've seen it over and over and over again.
Links
Podcast Sponsor – DesignliThis podcast is sponsored by Designli, a digital product studio that helps entrepreneurs and startups turn their software ideas into reality. From strategy and design to full-scale development, Designli guides you through every step of building custom web and mobile apps. Learn more at designli.co/practical.
The Practical Founders Podcast
Tune into the Practical Founders Podcast for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our YouTube channel.
Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at practicalfounders.com.
Practical Founders CEO Peer Groups
Be part of a committed and confidential group of practical founders creating valuable software companies without big VC funding. A Practical Founders Peer Group is a committed and confidential group of founders/CEOs who want to help you succeed on your terms. Each Practical Founders Peer Group is personally curated and moderated by Greg Head.