One of our taglines at Objective Brand is “Design your dream business.”

I remember talking with our first client when Objective Brand was still in its infancy. He asked how I thought about growth and whether I actually wanted to scale the company.

We both had reservations about “too much” growth and whether it was worth it.

I had just left a company that grew from 1 to 200+ people in a few short years. I wanted to slow down. At that stage, Objective was in a great spot; it was just me, a tight roster, and work I enjoyed. There wasn’t much need to grow.

A few years later, both our companies have more than quadrupled in size.

So clearly, we leaned in.

Objective is still relatively small, but we’ve accomplished a lot in a short period of time. We have clients we love, work that’s challenging and rewarding, an ultra‑talented team, and a deep enough bench that we don’t rely too much on any one person or client. The systems and processes we’ve built give me the flexibility to step away and enjoy a week in paradise (where I started thinking about this).

Now, months later, I’m finishing this on my couch at home during a busy season. Here’s the flip side:

Size will always come with a cost.

Things often feel harder than they used to. More people depend on the company’s success, and I don’t take that lightly. That translates into more stress and working more than I’d like. And the truth is, the business generates less profit for me personally than when it was a smaller team.

At this growth stage, I often step back and ask the hard questions:

Is it worth it? What’s it all for?

Thankfully, the answer I keep coming back to is yes.

One of the best feelings is creating excellent opportunities for great people—especially when they’re people you genuinely like and care about. Our team is amazing. We truly have the best time creating, conniving, and collaborating together.

It reminds me of the line at the end of Into the Wild, when he has his epiphany in the wilderness:

“Happiness is only real when shared.”

When we talk about building your dream business, we’re not just talking about profit.

Profit probably feeds into your dream company. It does for me. But if I had to guess, most entrepreneurs are similar: the joy is in building something you’re proud of. Something that can be admired: a place where others are excited to work, and a business that does work you actually stand behind.

In a world often focused on extracting value, we’re aiming to create something that injects value back into it—into clients, into the team, into the people and purpose we serve.

So while Objective Brand might not always feel like a dream in the tough moments, designing your dream business is less about aiming for a single moment or expecting a certain outcome. 

It’s a process. It’s the act of dreaming itself. It’s a set of choices you make over and over again about:

• Who you work with
• How you treat people
• What you optimize for beyond your own paycheck

That’s the work we do with our clients, too.

We help the folks in founder‑led financial services and fintech companies dream bigger about what’s possible, define what success actually feels like, and craft a brand and story that match the quality of what needs building. 

Once you’re clear on that, it’s surprising how neatly the pieces start to fall into place: processes, pricing, team structure, even what you say yes and no to. 

I love talking to people who are hungry to dream bigger and grow with intention. Reach out.