How three co-founders saved their partnership and scaled to $145M

Executive overview

Growing fast without a shared operating system creates resentment, burnout, and nearly destroyed the ConEquip partnership. Al, Ben, and Ryan built a $145M heavy equipment parts business over 18 years — but the real challenge was keeping three very different people aligned while the company kept breaking their individual ceilings.

The solution was not a single framework but a layered discipline: core values as a decision filter, a test-before-you-commit approach to growth, and — when the partnership nearly collapsed — formal outside counseling from a peer CEO.

Hiring people smarter than you, in every function you can't let go of, is what unlocks the next level.

How the partnership formed

• Al and Ben were high-energy salespeople who had hit a ceiling they couldn't name
• They cold-called Ryan after hearing him on a business radio show
• Ryan joined as a monthly consultant, then five days a month, then full-time after ~2–3 years
• The three divided the business into three lanes: Al (marketing), Ben (sales/training), Ryan (finance/operations)
• Each brought a complementary skill set; together they describe it as "one well-rounded person"

Building the operating system early

• Ryan's first move: teach Al and Ben to work on the business, not just in it — one to two hours a week
• Core principle: document what you do that's special, then turn it into a process others can follow
• First hire felt terrifying; realising someone else could do it better changed their mindset on delegation
• Core values (wisdom, diligence, integrity, character, humility, grace) were observed, not invented — they waited a year before adding the sixth
• Values are used in hiring, firing, and daily decision-making; staff can cite a value to justify a decision without being questioned

Hitting individual ceilings

All three founders hit a personal ceiling at different times — never simultaneously, which is what kept the business alive.

• Al's ceiling: overwhelmed in marketing with no senior help; grew bitter toward partners; worked through it via spiritual counsel and adjusting expectations
• Ben's ceiling: same pattern in sales management — too many hats, not enough support
• Ryan's ceiling: refused to let go of finance even as the disorganised accounting department blocked the whole company from scaling; Al had to "yell at him for 20–30 minutes" before he hired a CFO
• The pattern in each case: caring too much → holding on too long → partners noticing and applying pressure → breakthrough hire

The near-dissolution and counseling

• Ryan sent his resignation notice to Al and Ben while they were on vacation
• His daughter worked in HR; the strain from his control issues had damaged that relationship
• Al's wife suggested business partnership counseling; they found a local CEO with family business experience and similar values
• Met weekly or biweekly for roughly a year
• The counselor asked questions "men don't normally say to each other" — forcing honest confrontation of individual fault
• Al's reflection: without that process, the business would not exist today

Decision-making under uncertainty

• Default rule: 60–75% confidence is enough to act — waiting for 100% always costs more than it saves
• Framework: treat most decisions like a scientific method — form a hypothesis, run a small test, scale what works
• Example: gave a customer-service employee part-time content work before hiring a dedicated content person; her memes outperformed expectations and proved the channel
• One-way door decisions (acquisitions) get more due diligence, professional advisors, and longer timelines; two-way door decisions get moved on quickly
• First acquisition was their clearest one-way door — scary even after signing

Building a leadership team

• Three and a half years ago, formalised a leadership team drawn from long-tenured culture-carriers plus new external hires
• Added department heads for marketing, HR, and finance (CFO); now transitioning to a second CFO as the first retires
• Eighteen months after forming the leadership team, all three founders moved to working 100% on the business
• Result: growth has accelerated faster than in the early years

Three-year picture and current risks

• Target: $145M → $250M+ revenue, 175 → 250+ employees, driven by organic growth and acquisitions
• Biggest internal risk: cascading core values and culture through second and third tiers of management as scale removes founders from daily contact
• Al's response: spends half each morning greeting every employee by name; aims to maintain personal touch even at 1,000 people
• External risk named: AI and automation — their industry runs 10 years behind, which is an opportunity if they lean in and a threat if they ignore it
• Philosophy on change: "I fear things when they don't change"

Advice for founders whose life is quietly falling apart

• Simplify first: break problems into processable pieces rather than trying to solve everything at once
• Set realistic, attainable goals — bitterness usually comes from wrong expectations, not wrong partners
• Protect personal time: enforce PTO, guard weekends, model the behaviour you want the team to follow
• Tell your people to find their own replacement — it forces them to develop others and reduces their own load
• Find a mentor 10–15 years ahead of you in life, not just in business; personal and professional health are not separate
• Lean on professionals (lawyers, accountants, advisors) for areas outside your expertise — it is a force multiplier, not a weakness