Scaling a Business Like Clockwork: Leadership, Systems and Clarity with Sam Goodner

About this episode

Sam Goodner shares leadership principles for sustainable business growth based on his extensive entrepreneurial experience.

TL;DR: Sam Goodner is a Swiss-American serial entrepreneur who co-founded Catapult Systems in 1993 with just $17,000 and scaled it into Microsoft's number one global partner — before later growing Flash Parking from 12 employees to unicorn status. In this episode, Sam joins Phil Rose to share the leadership principles behind sustainable business growth, drawing on three decades of entrepreneurial experience and his time as a Swiss Special Forces officer. You'll come away with a fresh perspective on clarity, culture, and the power of building systems that outlast any single leader — what Sam, drawing on Jim Collins, calls moving from "time telling" to "clock building." His book Like Clockwork is essential reading for every founder who wants their business to run with the reliability and precision of a Swiss watch. Full shownotes: In this episode of Sparks by Ignium, Phil Rose sits down with Sam Goodner — serial entrepreneur, author of Like Clockwork, and one of the most compelling voices on leadership and operational scalability in business today. From founding Catapult Systems on a shoestring in Austin, Texas, to scaling Flash Parking to unicorn status, Sam's story is a…

People in this episode

Host: Phil Rose

Guest: Sam Goodner

Topics covered

• business growth
• leadership
• entrepreneurship
• systems thinking
• organizational culture
• decision-making

Keywords

• scaling business
• leadership principles
• entrepreneurial experience
• clarity
• culture
• systems
• unicorn status
• Swiss Special Forces

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Catapult Systems, Microsoft, Flash Parking, Ignium Consulting Ltd

Books & works: Like Clockwork

More episodes of Sparks by Ignium

• The Secret to Getting Further, Faster (and Having More Fun While You're Doing It) with Dana Theus · June 3, 2026 · 58 min
• When purpose is a superpower: a journey from writing club to global ecosystem with Shraddha Varma · May 19, 2026 · 58 min
• Stop Doing What You Love (and Fix What You Hate): Lessons in Relevance with Richard Mulholland · April 14, 2026 · 1h 6m
• Confidence in Transformation: Mastering Change Management Techniques with Karen Ball and the ADKAR Advantage · March 24, 2026 · 1h 22m
• Don't Grow Broke; Grow Focused – How to Scale a Business Sustainably · March 10, 2026 · 1h 14m
• Enough is enough: Breaking Free from the Emptiness of Success with Dr Sharon Spano · February 24, 2026 · 1h 17m