110: From Napkin Scribble to $90 Million Business with Lisa Rosenthal, CEO of Mayvin

Andrea interviews Lisa Rosenthal, CEO of defense and intelligence consulting firm Mayvin. Starting from just a concept scribbled on a napkin, Lisa grew Mayvin from zero to $90 million in revenue with 500 employees in just over 10 years. She shares her journey of entrepreneurship, overcoming challenges, and leading with integrity. Lisa offers insights on topics like company culture, work-life balance, making tough decisions, and always putting people first. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Starting a successful business takes drive, integrity, and surrounding yourself with the right people who share your values and work ethic. Don't let inexperience hold you back if you have a strong mission-driven purpose.
• Work-life integration is more realistic than work-life balance. Be present wherever you are, and don't feel guilty about shifting priorities day to day.
• Hire carefully, fire quickly. Keeping someone who is no longer a good fit for the company culture hurts you and them. Have the courage to make needed changes.
• As a leader you will have to work with individuals who have had very different life experiences, it’s important to tailor your narrative and decisions to suit multiple generations.
• Communicating with your leaders is key, they can’t implement change or address things they do not know about.
• Leading means making tough calls that won't always please everyone. Stay focused on the greater good while still showing that you care about people.
• Listen to employees and keep communication open. Provide training budgets, meaningful mental health support, and show you care in tangible ways.
• Foster a growth mindset in your team. Believe abilities can be developed with effort. Surround yourself with people smarter than you.

BEST MOMENTS
"I quickly discovered that supporting The U. S. government, as well as now NATO and NATO countries, was my calling."

"The struggle is constant. And you want to put people over profits, but at what point does it end? How do you do the right thing all the time?"

"Careful to hire quick to fire. You have to know when the person is no longer right for your stage in your company or that stage in your life."

“We’re [CEOs] doing the best we can with what we have”

"I'd like to have a life. Please don't call me at 10 o'clock at night. I enjoy spending time with my significant other."

“You know how to get ahead, you work for it”

VALUABLE RESOURCES
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ABOUT THE GUEST
Lisa Rosenthal is the CEO and co-founder of Mayvin. Through her focus on innovation in corporate culture and strategic leadership, Mayvin has achieved significant growth by penetrating new and emerging markets through a diversified client base CONUS and OCONUS supporting the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Justice. 

Prior to starting Mayvin, she provided analytic, management, and operations support to DoD, DoE, the Intelligence Community, etc. etc.  Now, she hires the best and the brightest to serve national security interests at home and abroad.

ABOUT THE HOST
My name is Andrea Petrone. I'm a Human Performance and Leadership Advisor, Executive Coach and International Speaker. I help leaders and their teams to change their mindsets and master their leadership capabilities so they can achieve extraordinary performance. I've been in the corporate world for more than 20 years working globally - in 6 countries and 3 continents - for medium-large companies.