Scaling with Intention: Insights from the 2025 Pender Tech CEO Conference
Great companies don’t scale by accident — they do it with clarity, discipline, and the right partners in the room. This year’s Pender Tech CEO Conference convened public and private company leaders from across our portfolios to explore two essential topics for execs navigating growth: board effectiveness and financial clarity.
Board Effectiveness in Practice
Moderated by Maria Pacella, Managing Partner at Pender Ventures, this session brought together three seasoned board directors — Keith Spencer, Natascha Kiernan, and Damir Hot — to share insights on how CEOs can influence board operations effectively and leverage the board as a tool for scaling.
Best Practices for Effective Board Meetings
The panelists shared several impactful best practices to help CEOs maximize the value of their boards:
- Prepare strategically – Send materials in advance (as early as possible) and avoid surprises — good or bad. Hold one-on-one discussions with directors in advance to identify questions or concerns that can be addressed in the meeting.
- Use time intentionally – Separate operational updates (to be read in advance) from strategic dialogue. Focus each meeting on one current issue and one long-term strategic topic.
- Be clear on your objectives – CEOs need to approach each meeting knowing what they want to achieve — whether insight, feedback, or alignment.
- Adopt a collaboration mindset -CEOs of earlier-stage private companies need to shift their mindset from “pitching” to “partnering” with the board. Directors are trusted advisors who work with the leadership team through challenges and opportunities.
- Build relationships beyond the boardroom – Board dinners or informal gatherings give directors the chance to get to know each other — and the CEO — personally, fostering the trust and rapport needed for productive discussions when stakes are high.
Board Composition and Evolution
Careful attention to board structure and development is critical for long term success:
- Stage-appropriate structure – Ensure your board is appropriately sized for your company’s stage. In early stages, a small, committed team is most effective. As the company grows, board composition should evolve from angel investors, to VCs, to strategic independent directors with strong networks.
- Ideal board members – Look for directors who are great listeners, have relevant skills and experience and who are willing to offer hard truths. It is highly valuable to include someone who represents the voice of the customer.
- Board seats are “sticky”, especially when you may not want them to be. Set a high bar for who joins and manage turnover deliberately by establishing clear expectations.
Role of the Board Chair
A strong Board Chair can be a game-changer:
- Easing the CEO’s burden – The Chair helps to coordinate communications, aligns the board and serves as a sounding board or coach through complex challenges.
- Navigating difficult conversations – When issues arise with a board member, it is typically the Chair — not the CEO — who is best positioned to intervene constructively.
Understanding Your Economic Engine with Greg Crabtree
In a session that combined financial rigor with entrepreneurial insight, Greg Crabtree — author of Simple Numbers 2.0: Rules for Smart Scaling — helped attendees understand how to scale with clarity and intention by focusing on the right financial metrics.
Crabtree emphasized the importance of distinguishing growth from scaling. Scaling means your revenue is not just growing, but increasing at a faster rate than your costs.
Key Metrics for Smart Scaling
At the heart of Crabtree’s model are four critical metrics (and recommended targets) that define a profitable and sustainable business:
- Return on Invested Capital (ROI) – >50%
- Profit to Gross Margin (GPM) – >20%
- Labour Efficiency Ratio (LER) – total, direct and management
- Core capital target (CC Target) – equivalent to two months of operating expenses
Crabtree highlighted the Profit to Gross Margin ratio as the “cleanest economic metric” of a business. He encouraged leaders to target a 20% ratio, while managing fluctuations intentionally:
- Up to 25% during periods of high efficiency
- As low as 15% when investing in growth
Labour Efficiency Ratio: Your Guide to Smart Hiring
- Total LER (Gross Margin / Total Labor Expense) – a benchmark of 2.0 (industry dependent) provides a top-level view of whether your workforce is scaling efficiently.
- Direct LER – measures the productivity of margin-generating staff. Are your frontline teams delivering sufficient value?
- Management LER – assesses whether your overhead structure is lean or overbuilt. Strong businesses maintain effective support teams that enable rather than slow growth.
How to Read Your Financials Like a CEO
Crabtree recommends reviewing financials through three time-based lenses for smarter decision-making:
- Monthly View – detects short-term issues and seasonal trends.
- Rolling 12-Month View – smooths out fluctuations and reveals growth trajectory. This should be your primary view for profitability and capital planning.
- 3-Year P&L View – offers strategic context and long-term visibility, helping you evaluate sustainability, not just growth.
For a deeper dive into these principles, we highly recommend Greg’s book, Simple Numbers 2.0: Rules for Smart Scaling — a practical guide for entrepreneurs looking to grow with discipline and clarity.
Looking Ahead
The key takeaway from this year’s CEO conference? Scaling effectively takes more than vision. It demands consistent communication, mastery of core financial drivers and the collective wisdom of a strong leadership network. From frameworks that sharpen strategic decision-making to stories that sparked reflection, the day was rich with insights for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
We’re grateful to our speakers for their candor, to the attendees for their engagement, and to our friends at Deloitte for once again offering a welcoming space for connection. As always, our goal is to foster meaningful relationships and practical learning that equip company leaders to navigate growth with clarity and confidence. We look forward to continuing these conversations and supporting the companies in our ecosystem as they grow and scale.
