Girdley Enterprises, Inc.

Holding company for numerous business interests. Strategies include incubation and acquisition across broad domains from software to real estate to online media.

Chairman and CEO

Scalepath

Scalepath is a leading CEO peer network for small business operators that want to scale themselves and their business. It is the only platform that is both virtual and includes actionable playbooks for the most common problems faced daily by CEOs and their teams.

Chairman and Cofounder

Sea Machines Robotics

Board member, investor and representative for the Geekdom Fund this innovative marine autonomy company.

Board Member

CyberFortress

CyberFortress is a San Antonio-based technology company that is the largest private tech company in San Antonio. It is the backup and restore partner of choice for the MSP cybersecurity framework. I serve as Chairman of the Board for the company.

Chairman

Dura Software

Dura is the Hyper-Niche software company. We are specialists in hyper-niche software products that fit narrow but mission-critical use cases for business customers. We buy software products with no intention to sell and let the owners move on. Sellers know we’ll protect their employees, customers, and reputation. Dura operates 9 businesses currently, Moki, 6Connex, Lane Telecommunications, Vertex Systems, NordicIT and others.

Dry Line Partners

Dry Line Partners is a private equity firm based in San Antonio, TX, formed to acquire middle-market, B2B IT and infrastructure businesses. The CyberFortress business is our first transaction.

Partner and Cofounder

Geekdom Fund

The Geekdom Fund is a venture capital fund that invests in early-stage Internet tech startups at the Seed, Seed+ and pre-seed stage. We are based at the heart of the startup ecosystem in San Antonio, Geekdom, but invest throughout North America.

HireWithNear

A 360 solution to find, hire, onboard, pay, and retain top Latin American talent. Fill open positions in under 21 days.

Board Chair and Cofounder

Alamo Fireworks, Inc.

As CEO, oversaw strategy and operations of multi-state consumer fireworks retailer and wholesaler with over 150 locations.  Hire and manage full-time staff of 25.  Order, select and manage the supply chain for fireworks from China.  Supervised all aspects of business including regulatory compliance, materials handling, governmental relations, marketing, site acquisition and management, legal disputes and go-to-market strategy.  Doubled revenue over five year period from 2006 to 2010.

Chair of the Board (former CEO)

Chili's

Brand Evangelist (Volunteer)

(I don't answer LinkedIn messages anymore. But if you want to reach me, my email is Michael at sign girdley.com.)

I work at the intersection of investing and operations. This means helping to start, fund, launch, and then serve on the boards of companies where I have a very deep level of involvement.

I spend my "give-back" time helping make San Antonio a startup city. I think the best path to accomplish that is by giving time and money to activities at the intersection of downtown and startups.

I am tired of everyone talking about generational wealth like they are doing their children and grandchildren some huge favor. 

It is a two-edged sword at best. 

The objective is enabling kids to be amazing adults.

Michael Girdley

Working on a deal, and the other side goes quiet. 

Time to break out the nuclear option. 

A simple email: 

"Have you given up on this project?" 

100% response rate. 

Seriously.

I am trying to do business beautifully. Your internet uncle who loves business but only buys Subarus. CEO of an 11-business holding company. Fireworks, software, +9.

When I was young, my parents took us to a timeshare sales pitch. 

"Will we buy one?" I asked. 

"No. You're going to see how people will try to get you to do dumb things," they answered. 

I'm thankful for the gift of having great parents every day.

Every company’s Slack needs a “wins” channel. 

Everyone invited to share when good stuff happens. 

It’s like steroids for culture.

Always. 

Call. 

To. 

Verify. 

Wire. 

Instructions. 

(That's it. That's the tweet.)

Our video business clipt.co was gonna go bankrupt
 
Our videos would have gone to 0 with it

See, Dylan Jardon and I are really good at the 0-1 of business — going from idea to something real people use

✅ We built clipt.co that does $1.5M/yr
✅ We built an audience of 2.5M subscribers and 1,600,000,000 views
✅ We launched the SmartNonsense newsletter to 55k organic subs in 6mo

But we slammed into a ceiling

This was the max 2 people could do

We only had so many hours in the day

We became the bottle neck for EVERYTHING

And everything was starting to break

So Michael Girdley sat down to coach us:

Girdley: do you guys like running the business?
Us: no
Girdley: the business makes your eyes bleed?
Us: yes
Girdley: what do you like?
Us: content
Girdley: do that
Us: that’s an option?

Okay

We HAD to hire a CEO to run Clipt 🎥

And a producer to run SmartNonsense 🌈

We’ve done both

They’re studs that are BETTER than we were at those jobs

And Dylan and I get to head back to doing what we do best — scrapping, hustling, experimenting, marketing, and launching

It feels good to be back. Time to go from 1-10 🫡❤️

BTW you’ve never been in better hands if you need a 
clipt.co video editor. The team - lead by my brother Jack Belcaster - is firing on all cylinders

clipt.co • 1 min read

Clipt | Hire Video Editors

Life hack I learned too late: 

Friends will ask for recommendation letters, testimonials, etc. 

I used to write them myself, spending hours on them. 

Now I say, "Write the letter and I'll sign it."

Hard truth:

Your crappy business partner relationship will keep sucking.

Success comes from the start.

- Finding the right person
- Setting it up properly

Answering these questions BEFORE you partner with someone: 🧵

* Does each partner bring complementary things?

Partnerships are about 1+1=3.

If you’re both excellent at the same things, that’s not helpful.

You need partners bringing what you don't.

* Do we have aligned desired outcomes and lifestyles?

For example, if one partner wants to get rich quickly and the other doesn’t –

It’s going to end poorly.

* Can we both put mission ahead of personal interests?

Every partnership I’m in has required me to give more than I wanted on occasion.

Why? I placed the mission ahead of me (within reason).

* Do I enjoy spending time with the other person?

Business partnerships last longer than the average marriage.

Divorce is even more problematic in business.

You better like the person – a lot to get through, thick and thin.

* Are we comfortable planning for potential breakups?

I noticed a pattern in my long-time married couple friends:

Those comfortable talking about divorce had stronger marriages.

This reflected a “we’ll do the hard stuff” mindset.

Something essential for business partners.

* Do I love this person’s work style?

I have learned this: partnerships finish how they start.

If the other person’s style turns you off now a little.

It’s going to be hell in a decade.

* Does each partner have skin in the game?

My “hit rate” with partners who sacrifice cash/time/status to start a venture is 100%.

My sample size is limited, but enough to look for this every time.

* Are our partnership roles/terms clearly defined in writing?

Who is doing what? For how long?

It’s never fun to discover your partner is also working in 4 other businesses.

* Is my partner a missionary or a mercenary?

This is my style.

Mercenaries are in it for the money/glory.

I care about the mission and want partners to be the same.

* Have I planned for all the possible partnership outcomes?

What if they steal?

What if we're a wild success? A failure? Or a "meh" outcome?

Crazy spouse? Health problems? Etc.

* If I was hiring them, would they be a “hell yes”?

In practice, I'll run a mini-hiring process with potential partners.

Sometimes with trial periods.

Or, at minimum, with reference checks.

* Do I know this person well enough?

Are our values aligned?

Do I understand their drive/motivation/desires?

If I don't, I slow down to know them better.

Before leaping.


I am so terrible at big conferences.

It's like galactically so bad I get zero out of them.

For a long time, I felt terrible.

There was something wrong with me, right?

--

I'd watch my friends go in and kill it at them.

At every party, scheduling coffees, making deals.

Like ballers.

--

Meanwhile, I'd be in the corner asking the hired A/V techs how the lighting controls work.

Or quietly sitting in the audience of talks, wanting to argue with the presenter.

Or ask them to stop simplifying so much.

--

After years:

I came to be at peace with this.

We all, including me, have big-time weaknesses.

I just suck at some things.

--

I'm better off investing time in other ways.

That's why I'm here writing tweets.

And skipping all those stupid conferences and big meetups.

Most managers do regular 1-on-1 meetings with employees.

But few do them well.

11 things good managers do that bad managers don’t in 1-on-1's:

—

✅GOOD MANAGERS focus 1-1 meetings on the most critical items on the report’s mind. They ask questions, probe, and coach.

❌BAD MANAGERS think 1-1 meetings are “more is always better." They focus on surface stuff but avoid real issues.

—

✅GOOD MANAGERS encourage reports to cancel 1-1 meetings sometimes. Best to focus on the mission.

❌BAD MANAGERS want employees in their office kissing the ring. They focus on activities rather than results.

—

✅GOOD MANAGERs make the 1-1 meeting the EMPLOYEE’s meeting. The manager focuses on helping the employee achieve their mission.

❌BAD MANAGERS make the 1-1 meeting about themselves, gossip, set the agenda, and do all the talking.

—

✅GOOD MANAGERS shut out distractions and give 100% of their attention during 1-1s.

❌BAD MANAGERS repeatedly glance at their phones or email during the 1-1. Some do other work or take calls, showing what they really think of the report.

—

✅GOOD MANAGERS mix up the 1-1 meetings by making them sometimes walking meetings, in-person, or even voice-only phone calls.

❌BAD MANAGERS insist that reports come to their office or Zoom and sit at attention.

—

✅GOOD MANAGERS know 1-1 meetings aren’t all about business. They care about what’s going on in and out of the office for employees.

❌BAD MANAGERS only talk about the mission. They say, "Leave your feelings and ambitions at home! And no fun!"

—

✅GOOD MANAGERS take notes. They remember details for follow-ups and the next 1-1. This shows care for the employee.

❌BAD MANAGERS say “Send me this or that from this meeting." They forget what they hear week after week.

—

✅GOOD MANAGERS prioritize 1-1 meetings as standing meetings. They know Tuesdays or Monday afternoons are best, so people are fresh.

❌BAD MANAGERS make an employee stumble into their office on Friday (before lunch) to report what they did for them this week.

—

✅GOOD MANAGERS ask open-ended questions in 1-1s like “What’s on your mind?” and “What could be going better?” They look for what's not being said and try to help.

❌BAD MANAGERS worry about unimportant details or company politics and forget the big picture in 1-1s.

—

✅GOOD MANAGERS celebrate wins in 1-1s. They know that reports are working hard and benefit from acknowledgment.

❌BAD MANAGERS never say “Nice work!” or "Thanks!" They don’t build the trust needed when it’s time for honest criticism.

—

✅GOOD MANAGERS make time in 1-1s to talk about the work: Are you happy here? What are your dreams or ambitions? How can I help?

❌BAD MANAGERS hope that not talking about growth, salary, or even finding another job will make those things disappear.

—

What did I miss? Add it in the replies!

One of the top questions I get:

How do you structure compensation for a small business CEO?

Here’s how we do it:

⬇️

First, quick thoughts on this topic.

CEO compensation must align with the owner's goals.

That might be “grow fast no matter what” or “profitable growth.”

Or it could be “max cash flow.”

Whatever your goal, the comp structure must:

· Work for the CEO
· Work for the owners

Some people like complicated.

I have a crappy memory and am lazy, so I want simple.

So we do simple.

Here is a screenshot of the structure we use in Excel.

(link to download it at the end)

Let’s walk through it.

We have the CEO’s name, Jane Smith, at the top.

Each year we update this comp plan for the coming year.

It has two parts:

· Financial – what are the numbers saying?
· Objectives – what are the biggest essential goals?

We do a mix of the two for Jane.

In this case, her bonus is 70% financial and 30% objectives.

Jane's OTE (On Target Earnings) salary plus bonus is $150k.

If she hits her goals, she gets that.

And no matter what, she gets her base salary each pay period.

Next, we enter the EBITDA and Revenue targets.

The sheet then updates the table below.

On the vertical axis, we have revenue.

On the horizontal, we have Profitability (which you can make EBITDA, Profit, NOI, or FCF – up to you.)

If the CEO hits 16.1% profits and $15.5mm revenue, she gets 100% bonus.

It scales up or down from there.

What I love about this is:

No matter your goals as an owner, it works.

Change the numbers, and you’re aligned with the CEO.

Next, an optional step to include MBOs (management by objectives).

These are goals important to you, the owner.

We set goals each quarter.

If met, a quarterly bonus gets paid.

And that’s it.

This matches my style:

· Easy to understand
· Easy to remember
· Creates alignment
· Versatile
· Pays for overdelivering / underdelivering
· Results matter

Your style may differ, but this is mine because I (a) like to achieve and (b) I'm lazy.


No alternative text description for this image

Life changed for me when I realized: 

There would be ~10 decisions in life that would be actually important. 

The rest were just noise.

How I get customers for ANY new business:

The Bullseye Framework.

(Bookmark this!)

This is a stupidly simple system I’ve used for lots of companies.

It’s 5 easy steps.

At the end, you’ll have your pipeline for customers figured out.

And if it doesn’t work… 

the problem won’t be your marketing.

STEP 1: BRAINSTORM

The Bullseye Framework is about narrowing down your marketing options.

So first, you go wide.

Brainstorm at least 1 marketing idea for each of these channels.

Define “success” for each idea (Leads? Sales? “Buzz”?)

STEP 2: TRIAGE 

This is where the “bullseye” comes in. See the picture.

All the ideas you just came up with start in the outer ring.

Now get 10% more realistic. Which ideas are most likely to work?

Look at your competition. Read up, or ask around.

You don’t have to get this perfect.

STEP 3: CHEAP TESTS

Pick 3 to 5 of your “probable” ideas, and run some experiments.

Each test should cost $1,000 or less and take at most a month.

Make sure your tests are set up to collect good data. 

If none of the tests are successful, pick new ideas and try again.

Each test must answer at least these 3 questions:

- How much does it cost to acquire a customer through this channel?
- How many customers are available through this channel?
- Are those the kind of customers we want right now?

This data informs the next step.

STEP 4: LASER FOCUS

Most times, 80% of customers come from a single marketing channel.

Pick the most successful test and explore it completely.

Wring every customer out of it:

Iterate your message, time of day, customer profile. 

Make sure you keep collecting data:

- How many prospective customers are landing on my site?
- What are the demographics of my best and worst customers?
- Are customers who interact with staff staying longer?

STEP 5: CLOSE THE LOOP

Many businesses don’t finish the job:

Use what you learn to guide your business.

Your marketing data should inform the product you’re building.

At the best companies, sales and product development have a symbiotic relationship.

Thanks for reading!

All your marketing sends people to your website.

So a quick shout-out for my friend Sam:

I just redid my website girdley dot com.

His team did a great job: https://lnkd.in/dNzsanBW.

Give them a holler and tell them I sent you.

The Bullseye Framework comes from a fantastic book:

Traction, by Gabriel Weinberg.

One of the best books I’ve ever read on marketing for early-stage companies.

---

What's worked for you? Am I crazy? 

Let me know in the replies!

Want to start a company but not run it yourself?

I’ve done it a bunch.

Some have gone great, like @dura_software. 

Others kind of sucked.

Here are 10 ways I learned to incubate companies better:

* Nobody wants to work on my sh*tty ideas.

I believed I could get great people to believe in my ideas.

I was wrong.

The only sure way to get someone bought in is to develop the idea with them.

When they talk to genuine customers, they get the fire.

* Recruit only at inflection points

Don’t hire with a half-baked idea and one customer.

The only windows that work for me:

- Before you have an idea (cofounder)
- After light product-market fit (CEO buys in)
- Scale after full product-market fit (experienced operator)

* Adverse selection is your biggest problem

Number one ask from people incubating companies:

“How do I hire an operator for my idea?”

They want senior folks who can move mountains.

But this 1% performer you want, they don’t need you.

* Find win-wins

E.g. your co-founder/operator may want security, and you have capital.

Otherwise, it’s not true partnership.

Launching @joinScalepath, Sam (CEO/cofounder) wanted to de-risk the venture.

I brought street cred, knowledge, money, and an active board member (me!).

* Find "entrepreneurs within"

Most people will never be entrepreneurs.

Others just need a nudge to unlock the entrepreneur within.

They’re the sweet spot.

Find them. Help them. Push them.

I use my associate program to find those people. (I’m not hiring now!)

* Start with trends

First, I find the obvious trend.

Then I look at the 2nd/3rd order effects.

1st order: “People can’t hire in the US.”
2nd: “American companies want to hire overseas…”
3rd: “They’ll need someone to help them.”

→@hirewithnear came from that.

* Make your geography an asset

I once tried to play the Silicon Valley game in San Antonio. I got hosed.

There’s a reason YCombinator moved to SV from Boston: that’s the center of tech.

I learned: Don’t play on hard mode just because it’s sexy.

No bonus points for difficulty.

* Play to your strengths

What am I the best in the world at?

What is our team the absolute best in the world at?

What are our unfair advantages?

Scalepath @joinscalepath only started because I have cred as a serial SMB owner.

* Start with the end in mind

I keep a checklist now of the company types I want to incubate.

If the idea doesn’t meet those, I’m out.

Here’s mine:

* Too much capital is a curse

I used to think more money = better chance of winning.

But I learned a thin budget is much better. 

It makes you tackle problems creatively.

Run it like a real business.

* Kill your darlings

This is a great line from Stephen King.

When a company “works”, you get a feel for those rare moments.

Otherwise, I’ve learned to quit them ASAP if it’s not working.

Companies finish as they start.


Today, we are launching a new Real Estate podcast called “Real Estate Anonymous.”

The format is the same if you’re familiar with our Acquisitions Anonymous podcast, in which Bill DAlessandro, Heather Endresen, Mills Snell and I examine one business for sale in each episode.

Just with a different set of experts. And about a REAL ESTATE deal each week.

This is the perfect podcast for people curious about real estate development, investing, and thinking.

-

As someone with mild real estate experience, I join in on the recordings. Frankly, most of my value-add is jokes or asking dumb questions since my cohosts are so strong.

They are Elliott White, Brett Moss, and Eric Weatherholtz.

If you’re on Twitter, you know who these guys are, and their reputations reflect their knowledge and ability.

I’m learning so much in the room and am excited for you to do the same by listening to the podcast.

We have recorded episodes on a covered landplay, the former Snapchat HQ for sale in Venice Beach, and a Jacksonville suburban apartment building.

We get to hear how real estate pros think about each of these.

I love it and think you will, too.

–

So, my ask:

Listen to one episode (search Real Estate Anonymous on your favorite streaming platform)

If you like it, please follow/subscribe.

If you have suggestions on how to make it better, email me, and we’ll work on it.

If you really like it, share it with a friend or on social media.

Businesses die when they run out of money.

There is one tool to survive a cash crisis.

The 13-week Rolling Cash Flow Forecast 🧵:

It is a simple spreadsheet.

To forecast your cash precisely by the week.

For 13 weeks -- a short enough time to be precise.

And just enough time to get ahead of problems.

Here’s the Excel template I’ve used (link at end):

Step 1: Start with this week.

Enter this Monday’s date.

We have a column for this week and the next 12.

Step 2: Income

Fill in your current starting cash on hand.

Then the cash coming in this week.

Step 3: Expenses

List the cash that’s going out from operations.

Like rent, salaries, fees, or loan payments.

Step 4: Ending cash position

Each week, start with the cash on hand.

Bring in some more cash.

Spend some.

Then see what's left for next week.

We want our cash to stay above zero.

No cash = no business!

Steps 5 & 6: Accounts Receivables and Payables

Receivable = money owed to us (suppliers)

Payable = money we owe (vendors)

These are often on terms (like net 30), so we want to forecast when they must be paid

We enter current & new ones, and due dates

That’s the basic idea.

You update things for the next week and beyond.

Revise each week and delete the first week.

So it’s always up to date for the next 13 weeks.

And you can now try to avoid running out of cash.

Usually, you're here because your bank account is nearly empty!

So now…

Your job as CEO is to stretch your cash:
•Delay payments
•Renegotiate w/ vendors
•Expand borrowing
•Raise cash
•Get paid early
•Etc.

Buying time to fix the problems that got you in this mess!

I am using this spreadsheet format now.

In real businesses.

As the economy gets worse, more of us will need it.

You can find the spreadsheet free on my site at:

girdley dot com slash 13weeks


“Entrepreneurship through apprenticeship”

Or  how a friend of mine became CEO of a $60M company for $0 out of pocket.

Here’s the 4 steps he used: 🧵

Some context:

This is a long-game approach. It took my friend 10 years.

But he was strategic.

And he was picking up transferable skills all the way along.

So it was a safe path.

Step 1: He picked an industry

He looked  for an industry where selling a business is difficult.

E.g. 
- Contracting: hard to forecast project work
- Consulting: business is built on relationships

Industries where owners often struggle to find someone to hand off to.

Step 2: He found the right owner

My buddy opted for construction.

While he learned the ropes, he looked for someone approaching retirement age, with no succession plan.

He found a guy who owned a boat, but had no time to spend on it.

Step 3: He joined the business

My friend didn’t go in saying, “I want to take over your business.”

He focused on learning everything inside and out.

And became an expert in how the business ran.

For the first few years, he worked his butt off building trust with the owner.

Step 4: He became the succession plan

About year 4, my friend sat down with the owner and said he’d like to own the business someday.

He’d put in the time, and was like a son to the guy.

They figured out a win-win scenario:

- My buddy became a partner, and took on most of the work.

- The owner took on less and less each year.

- A chunk of the business’s annual profits went to buy out the shares of the original owner.

- Eventually, my friend owned 100% and the old owner had a nest egg.

Entrepreneurship through apprenticeship has its downsides:

It’s not fast.

And it’s not risk-free.

My buddy was lucky the owner didn’t pull a bait and switch on him.

But even if it didn’t work out, he had become a construction expert.

The upsides are great:

You don’t need investors or even an SBA loan.

You learn the ropes from a mentor who’s been there.

And it’s win-win: they get to retire, and you become the kid they never had to take over the business.

People their life’s work to be in good hands.

girdley.com • 1 min read

Michael Girdley | Newsletter

We went on a tour recently. 

They have 997 reviews on Google. 

All perfect with 5 stars. 

The power of free alcohol + a QR code at the end.

Many open jobs are getting 1,000s of applications now.

It’s rough out there!

Made worse that almost all resumes look the same.

I should know — I've reviewed 25,000+.

Put these 8 rare things on your resume to be in the top 1% of candidates: 👇

1/ You were recruited by former coworkers to another job.

It's a sign they think you’re a badass.

They know you from real work experience… which is better than any interview.

2/ Show what you made happen.

Define each role with a narrative like this:

• Challenge: “We had NPS of 0.”

• Activity: “I built a cust sat team and deployed best practices.”

• Results: “NPS went to 80.”

3/ Say clearly what you want.

Many resumes say, “OBJECTIVE: Any job.”

That’s too vague.

And looks lazy.

Great candidates say what they want.

4/ Up and to the right.

Your career grows with greater impact at each step.

You’re taking on more.

Asking for new challenges.

And building on successes.

When faced with adversity/bad bosses/etc., you’ve made changes.

And kept grinding.

5/ Known & trusted referral.

This is a tough one.

It ONLY works if these two things are true:

• The referring party has worked with you AND…

• The hiring manager knows they are a badass.

Otherwise, some rando calling on your behalf is not as helpful as they say.

6/ You were promoted.

Did you get promoted at your company?

Quickly?

Did it happen multiple times?

A good sign you’re making things happen on the job.

7/ You avoid basic mistakes.

Too many people are winners – but blow it by screwing up the basics.

Don’t:

• Multi-page resumes

• Education listed at the top (unless you’re a fresh grad)

• Too many words

• Omit contact information

• Misspellings/grammar errors

8/ It all makes sense.

You did appropriate tours of duty (not jumping around too quickly).

You left jobs for good reasons.

You looked for win-wins with bosses/you/employers.

It all lines up to show you move mountains.

Finally:

Not every resume can or will have these things.

These are uncommon for a reason.

And factors like privilege, situation, and luck contribute to you having any at all.

But if you can include them or plan your career for them, they will set you apart.

tl;dr:

Include these 8 things in your resume (if you can) to stand out:

1. Recruited by former coworkers

2. Resume shows impact

3. Say what you want

4. Up and to the right

5. Trusted Referral

6. Promoted Internally

7. Avoid common mistakes

8. It makes sense

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