What if the thing holding your business back isn't a lack of opportunities but too many of them? In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur, Pat Miller sits down with Yarin Gaon, managing partner of Fractional Partners, a growth advisory firm for post-product-market-fit companies that aren't scaling cleanly. Yarin built his first company at 14, had two more by 22, and sold his last venture, Israel's largest e-commerce platform for military goods, in 2019.

Yarin shares how he spotted a gap at 14, taught himself to code from a book, and built a platform that helped small websites charge visitors by text message when carriers wouldn't work with them. He also explains how his time as a combat sergeant in the Israeli military led him to launch a hyper-specialized military gear store online. Today, drawing on work with more than 400 founders, he helps companies in the $5 to $25 million range get unstuck and grow profitably.

Chapters

0:00 Intro – Welcome Yarin of Fractional Partners
1:15 Starting a Business at 14
3:20 Building "SMS for Cash"
5:00 Why Not All Mentor Advice Should Be Followed
8:08 How to Mentor Without Pushing Too Hard
11:04 Building Israel's Largest Military Gear E-Commerce Store
17:04 Why Companies Stall Between $5M and $25M
19:13 Growth by Subtraction vs. Growth by Addition
20:22 Pat's Story: Scaling Back and Making More Money
22:07 Why Your P&L Doesn't Tell the Whole Story
24:27 Finding Profit by Revenue Stream
27:58 Why Your Accountant Won't Analyze Your Business
29:07 How Fractional Partners Helps Companies
33:27 The Growth Decisions Canvas
35:15 Free Profit Map Spreadsheet
38:45 Shifting From Operator to Resource Allocator
41:44 The Power of Saying No
46:45 Why Your Leadership Team Needs One Vision
48:36 Where to Find Yarin

Pat's new book — Underdog to Empire: Breaking Barriers and Building Businesses with Strength, Strategy, and a Sense of Humor — is available now.

The story of how a girl who ate last at the dinner table built a construction company from a $100 bill. How she lost her husband and still got back up. How every person who tried to hold her back ended up building her up instead.

👉 Get your copy now at: www.patmiller.net

Connect with Yarin Gaon.

Profit Map Spreadsheet

Discover opportunities to improve profitability by breaking down your business's revenue streams and understanding where your profits are coming from. Access the Profit Map Spreadsheet

Growth Decisions Canvas

Use the Growth Decisions Canvas to evaluate business opportunities, prioritize what matters most and make smarter decisions about where to invest your time, energy, and resources. Access the Growth Decisions Canvas

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaringaon