The Unsexy Operations Secret of Billion Dollar Companies

The hidden framework that keeps Silicon Valley’s code clean, pro athletes sharp, and bankers honest

I have built two billion-dollar businesses and had five decent exits.

I have not found a single secret that on its own creates a billion-dollar company. But I have discovered one thing that, if you leave it out, will guarantee you never build one.

I am going to breakdown this one thing… this unsexy mechanism for you.

Why this matters

Every business moves at the speed of human decisions.

Those same choices that fuel rapid growth can also trigger a company’s downfall.

Two threats loom largest for fast-growing businesses: errors and embezzlement.

• Errors damage your reputation:
  No one wants to work with a partner who is sloppy or makes careless mistakes.

• Embezzlement happens more often than you might expect:
  In fact, it happened to me too. In our first company that we grew to $3.4 Billion, the founder was embezzling and we caught it by accident. Meaning, we were lucky that we even noticed. After buying him out, we piled on rigid policies to protect us from something like this ever happening again. Looking back, those controls felt like punishment and irritated our A-players.

Introducing controls only after a crisis creates massive friction.

It’s a PTSD-driven response.

Instead, I have learned that its better to build a lightweight system of checks and balances while you are still small.

That way it grows with you and never feels like a burden.

The Big Idea

Think of controls as insurance for your business.

They require a little effort to set up, but once in place they run quietly in the background and protect you when you need them most.

Lesson from Silicon Valley

Early in my career I was a nerd-dragon software engineer in Silicon Valley.

Every line of code I wrote needed a second pair of eyes before it was pushed live. We did “code review” not to play gotcha but to prevent one person’s mistake from crashing the entire system.

By building that habit when our team was five people, the process scaled naturally as we grew to hundreds of engineers and was a foundational control when we sold the business.

Easy Implementation

Use the Pitcher and Catcher framework to make approvals a smooth play:

1. Pitcher
   Anyone who wants to spend money, sign a contract, hire a vendor, issue a refund, wire funds, change critical CRM data, or add legal signatures completes a brief “what I want to do” request. (forms are really good for this)

2. Catcher
   A designated leader reviews the request using the RAD checklist:

   • Reasonable – Does this align with our goals and available resources?

   • Accurate – Are the numbers, assumptions, and data sources correct?

   • Done Right – What did we learn and how can we improve the process next time?

Store all requests and approvals in a searchable tool such as a dedicated Slack channel or project management system like Monday or Asana. Email threads work only in a pinch and make it hard to maintain an audit trail (meaning, it’s cumbersome to keep a searchable log).

Controls should touch every critical system: money flows, wires, hiring decisions, refunds, major CRM updates, legal signatures, or anything that affects your source data.

Here are three things to do today:

1. Map out your critical systems and list who currently makes decisions in each.

2. Create a simple “Pitcher” form covering those areas and test it with one small team.

3. Assign a “Catcher” for each system and run two pilot reviews using the RAD checklist.

A Culture of Controls

Controls succeed when people feel they support, not police, their work.

Controls aren’t about catching crooks. They’re about creating responsible people inside a system of accountability.

Teach the Pitcher and Catcher roles from day one and make it a part of the organization’s ethos. Automate approvals with lightweight digital forms or simple Slack channel processes.

The best part: You don’t even have to review the controls, the RAD framework is a self-licking ice-cream cone, it will review itself.

When you embed these elegant controls while your team is small, they become part of your company’s DNA. You protect your reputation, safeguard your cash, and keep your team’s trust… it’s probably the sexiest unsexy thing you can do.

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