Almost every business pursues growth, but growth alone does not guarantee a stronger, more valuable, or more sustainable company. The real challenge is knowing what you are building toward, understanding where your organization stands today, and making deliberate choices about leadership, strategy, people, capital, and execution along the way. In this conversation, we explore a framework for moving beyond reactive growth toward building a company with greater purpose, resilience, value, and optionality—whether the goal is to scale, raise capital, remain independent, or eventually pursue an exit. About the Guest Matt Andersen is the author of Intentional Growth: A Proven Guide to Higher Performance and Better Outcomes for Your Company. He is the CEO of Westlake Securities and one of North America's leading voices on growth, capital, and M&A. Over the past 27 years, he has worked on more than 175 completed transactions totaling over $5.7 billion in value. Since joining Westlake in 2014, Matt has advised companies with a combined annual revenue of over $4 billion in the areas of strategy, capital, finance, and M&A. He currently sits on the board of three companies. Matt is a two-time author including the number one bestselling Completing the Deal and his newest release, Intentional Growth, published by Fast Company Press. He speaks internationally on growth, capital, and M&A, holds an MBA in banking, and has attended executive programs at Harvard and the University of Chicago. Matt is the CEO of Westlake Securities, a middle-market M&A advisory firm with offices across the United States, including Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Greenville, and Tampa. Westlake advises founders and business owners on their most important growth, capital, and M&A decisions. Guest Social Media - - Website: http://westlakesecurities.com/ - - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61583561863523%20%20Instagram: - - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/westlake_securities?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw== - - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-andersen-8861811b/?skipRedirect=true - - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WestlakeSecurities Host Social Media -Website: www.siinda.org -LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberli-lewis-7a34053/?ppe=1 https://www.linkedin.com/company/search-and-information-industry-association/?viewAsMember=true -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/followsiinda/