NEWS

Chris Schwalbach returning to AVL as CEO

As part of our ongoing evolution of AVL Growth Partners, we are pleased to announce that AVL’s Founder, Chris Schwalbach, will resume the position of CEO, effective September 1, 2024. As always, Chris brings a wealth of experience and a unique perspective as a fellow entrepreneur, which we believe will further enhance our services to you.

“After two years away from the CEO role, I am returning with tremendous energy and a fresh perspective on AVL,” says Chris. “I look forward to the opportunities ahead and am committed to leading AVL toward continued growth and success. I am excited to continue to promote our Mindful Growth message, to enhance our offerings in finance/accounting and human resources, and to expand into new markets. I’m honored to lead our committed and values-aligned team.”

Chris Schwalbach surfing

See Chris’s recent LinkedIn post

Our team will not miss a beat during this transition. If you have any questions or want to connect, please reach out to Audrey Geisman at ageisman@avlgrowth.com or Chris Schwalbach at cschwalbach@avlgrowth.com.

Thank you for your continued trust in AVL Growth Partners. Our team appreciates the opportunities, challenges, and dynamic leaders who we support every day!

INSIGHTS

Unlocking True Value: The Difference Between Strategy and Planning

As we hurtle toward the end of the year, the pressure to finalize year-end strategic planning mounts, all while juggling the holiday season and the looming expectations for 2025. It’s a whirlwind of activity, and in the rush, it’s tempting to shortcut our way through planning by focusing solely on the immediate tasks rather than the broader strategic vision.

But here’s a crucial insight: strategy and planning are not the same. “Strategy is not just about the plan; [rather], it’s about envisioning a future that compels action,” says Roger Martin, Professor Emeritus with the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management as quoted in A Plan Is Not a Strategy from Harvard Business Review. They complement each other, but they serve distinct purposes that are both vital for long-term success. Here’s what you need to know to be ready for 2025 sooner than later:

In Strategic Thinking vs Strategic Planning: Unveiling the Key DifferencesJake Brereton writes, “Strategic thinking focuses on where you want to go and why, while strategic planning focuses on how to get there.” While plans outline the steps needed to execute a strategy, without a clear and thoughtful strategy, steps alone lack direction and purpose. This is true for both business finance strategies and human resources strategies.

In addition, in Strategy vs. Planning: Complements not Substitutes, Martin of the aforementioned video adds, “Strategy and planning are not substitutes for each other; [instead], they are complementary activities that need to work in tandem.” Strategy sets the direction and defines the vision, while planning involves the logistics of reaching that vision. The former focuses on what and why, and the latter focuses on how. Effective leadership requires a balance of both: a well-crafted strategy provides the framework for planning, and robust planning ensures that the strategic vision is translated into actionable steps.

Two additional often conflated business activities are strategic thinking and strategic planning. Strategic thinking is a mindset that involves understanding and anticipating the complexities of the business environment, envisioning future possibilities, and creating a compelling vision. Meantime, strategic planning is the process of organizing resources and actions to realize that vision. The key difference lies in the approach: strategic thinking is about being innovative and forward-looking, while strategic planning is about executing and operationalizing those innovative ideas.

As we approach the year’s end and the start of a new one, it’s easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of planning. Yet, it’s crucial to first ensure our financial and HR strategies are sound and visionary. Investing time in strategic thinking on both fronts will pay dividends in launching a successful 2025 and beyond!

It can certainly be challenging to work on strategy, translate into a strategic plan, and further articulate in a budget. If you want experts on your side to help you build your organization’s muscle around strategic thinking, planning, and budgeting, the AVL team would love to hear from you. We have been there, done that.

Get access to more insights articles.

THE VC MINUTE

AVL is a proud sponsor of the VC Minute. Rich Maloy and his guests provide founders with amazing and efficient nuggets of wisdom in just a few minutes!

For example, in Episode 209 they discuss the importance, cadence, and structure of great stakeholder updates. Allyson Plosko covers four key components of a great update including:

  1. At the very top, remind the reader what your company does.
  2. Clearly share your company’s North Star and what aim at as well as key metrics updates.
  3. Include asks. As Allyson shared, “Asks increase the odds of serendipitous wins.” So make sure to include the things that will really support your company!
  4. Keep it succinct. Short and sweet is best. Two-minute reading time is your target.

And in Episode 242, Jeff Gardner talks about how to hire the best people for your company. Jeff states, “Part of the [interview] process is that you are constantly peeling back the onion. You are seeing what makes them tick… When we are very disciplined with [our interview] process, we are finding our success rate is above 90%.” The time and energy for following a disciplined process is high, but the cost and lost time from a mishire is way higher.

Whether it’s helping you execute stakeholder updates or build a robust talent interview process, consider letting AVL be Pivotal to Your Growth. We would love to hear from you.

A SUCCESS STORY:

Client:

Joshin is an inclusive support solution for employers to access disability and neurodiverse coaching, training, and personalized navigation.

Issues:

  • The company was at a point in projected revenue and fundraising that warranted a strategic, executive-level viewpoint on the storytelling of the growth.
  • The founders sought to readily tell the company story in a quantitative and qualitative language that appeals to venture capitalists.
  • They knew they needed a much more advanced solution than just the typical accounting firm.
  • As a highly technical growing company, they wanted to find a partner who really understood the growth and potential of the organization.

“We need alignment with our vendors, who we consider partners, in understanding what growth means to us and how to best support that growth. Michelle, our AVL CFO, does a great job in that regard.”

–Melissa Daniels, CEO, Joshin

Explore more success stories. 

How We Helped:

Joshin’s founders partnered with their AVL team: a Chief Financial Officer, controller, and accountant.

As the company heads into Series A in the coming year, now all three experts are in the trenches with the Joshin team to document the financial story and set them up for successful pitches.

“When you have fractional support and you are a fast-growing company, it can be hard for them to keep up and feel like part of the team. And yet, we knew we needed to level up without hiring. AVL does a great job of being there, knowing the priorities and how best to allot the contract hours.”

Results:

  • Enacted a 30- 60- 90-day approach to a thorough and efficient cleanup of the existing books.
  • Stepped in with the executive point-of-view the client needed, making the financials clearer and more streamlined to be reported to the board and potential investors.
  • Established a fine-tuned machine where the founders and AVL experts operate as one team.

“The experience has been amazing. AVL does such a good job of always being there without always being there. Michelle gives us 10 to 15 hours weekly, but the whole AVL team is really good at identifying the priorities within that time. That’s hard to do, and AVL nails it. On top of that, they are good people who care about what we are doing. It’s not a transactional thing. It’s a relationship.”

Level up your company. 

MIX + MINGLE AT UPCOMING EVENTS

Denver Startup Week | September 16-20

It’s that exciting time of year again! Beyond attending with fellow entrepreneurial spirits, AVL will participate in Denver Startup Week specifically with the September 17 podcast with Denver Founders. Get details

Seed Angel Forum | October 16

We hope to see you at Seed Angel Forum, a private pitch event hosted quarterly in Denver or Boulder to connect active, early-stage investors with notable ventures in Colorado. The event takes place October 16 with applications due September 24. AVL is a long-time sponsor and wishes all the pitching companies success! Get details

Venture Atlanta | October 8 & 9 

This vibrant event, a favorite of AVL’s, supports the Southeast’s most promising tech companies by connecting founders and funders through one of the nation’s largest venture capital conferences and communities. We are talking about 834 alumni companies, $7.7 billion in capital raised, and $17 billion in exits. See you there! Get details