David McFarland - Founder and CEO of Coterie Insurance: Building the Initial Team, Mitigating Hiting Mistakes, and Stage Fit

David McFarland 0:00

Someone once told me—and maybe I took it too much to heart—they said, “If you can’t convince someone to work for you for free, then why should an investor invest money in you?” And it makes a lot of sense. If an investor is going to put in a million dollars, or five million, or ten million, and you can’t convince someone who makes $150,000 a year to work for you, even just for a few months, then is your idea that good? That was humbling because it’s really difficult to do. It’s difficult for someone to risk their family’s welfare to take a shot on your harebrained idea, especially when there are so many startups that fail.

Callan Harrington 0:34

You’re listening to That Worked, a show that breaks down the careers of top founders and executives and pulls out the key insights that led to their success. I’m your host, Callan Harrington, founder of Flashgrowth, and I couldn’t be more excited that you’re here.

Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of That Worked. This week, I’m joined by David McFarland. David is the founder and CEO of Coterie Insurance. Coterie Insurance puts agents and brokers first, delivering instant business insurance across the United States. Since 2018, Coterie has raised over $100 million in funding and partnered with over 10,000 insurance agencies and brokerages across the country.

Prior to leading Coterie, David was the Chief Actuary at Clearcover, a personal auto insurance startup in Chicago. David is also a fellow in the Casualty Actuarial Society and has extensive experience in creating and managing insurance programs.

I really enjoyed this conversation. David is a fantastic storyteller with a gift for breaking down complex subjects into simple ideas. We covered a lot of ground in this discussion. David talked about how to evaluate a potential co-founder, how having a strong and quick offboarding process can mitigate hiring mistakes, and how he used a consult-to-hire model to build his initial team. I thought this part was particularly interesting. You hear so much about hiring processes—things like scorecards and structured interviews—but not nearly as much about what happens when you realize someone is not a good fit. Anyone who has managed a team knows that’s a tough situation, and I loved the way David broke it down.

We also explored the concept of stage fit and how critical it is to have the right team members for the current stage of your business. It’s a mistake that happens all too often. It’s easy to think that someone coming from a larger company with a great resume will succeed in an earlier-stage business, but that’s not always the case. Scaling-stage companies require a very specific type of fit, and I think this part of the conversation will resonate with anyone who’s building or leading a fast-growing company.

So with that, let’s get to the show.

David, one of the places I thought we could start is that you have a big passion for numbers and also creativity, but I’d love to begin on the numbers side. How did you get into mathematics?

David McFarland 3:47

I’d love to say that I kind of took the normal route—fell in love with mathematics at an early age, got into the gifted programs, and just kept going—but that definitely wasn’t the case. I don’t think anyone thought I was a very gifted child. I avoided math for as long as I could, especially once I got to college. I was a history major, actually, and then it turns out that in college, they make you take math.

So I took the least math-sounding math class I could find. It was called formal logic, which I later realized is probably one of the most math-intensive classes you can take as an elective. And I just loved it. It was a lot of proofs and problem-solving. I asked the teacher, “What do I have to do to do this every day for the rest of my life?” He said, “You either need to become a lawyer or a mathematician.” And I said, “Well, there’s no chance I’m becoming a lawyer because that requires more school, and I don’t want to do school anymore.”

So I went over to the registrar and switched my major to mathematics. They asked, “What track do you want to go on?” I said, “Whichever one gets me to graduate the soonest.” And they told me that was the actuarial track. I didn’t know what that word meant, but I said, “Sure, sign me up.”

I started taking every math class I could, from high school algebra all the way up to calculus, because I hadn’t done a lot of it before. I was taking 16 credit hours of just mathematics—24 credit hours total—and set a record. One day, a girl came up to me because we were in some of the same classes, and she asked me, “Are you taking the actuarial exams?” Not knowing what that meant, but wanting to sound cool, I said, “Absolutely, I am.” And that’s how I became an actuary.

Callan Harrington 5:27

That’s amazing. So each step along the way, did you just fall in love with the work? Once you started to understand what an actuary did, did you still get that same excitement you felt when you took that logic class?

David McFarland 5:40

Yeah, I loved solving problems. Having to actually think is a joy. When I was young, I think I understood the difference between critical thinking and memorization pretty early on. Like a lot of people, I felt a little fake when all I could do was solve problems through memorization or regurgitation. But when my back was against the wall, and it was think or die, that’s when I really lit up. Those moments where you’re in an intellectual battle and you can’t just power through with something you memorized—you have to get creative. That just sparks something in me.

Once you get into pure mathematics or advanced actuarial work, you can’t brute-force your way through. You have to figure it out, and that’s what I love about it.

Callan Harrington 6:44

Did you find that you were drawn to situations where your back was against the wall? Were you seeking out that next level of difficulty?

David McFarland 6:56

Yeah, you’ve stumbled onto a common thread in my life. I have five children as well—difficult things are just what I enjoy.

Callan Harrington 7:09

That’s great. So I want to pull it back to when you were at NCCI. As I understand it, this is where you started to see a different way to approach underwriting. For our listeners who might not know, actuaries figure out how risky something is using intense models and a lot of math. It sounds like at NCCI, you were mastering the basics quickly and then started looking for additional areas where you could apply those skills. Is that how it happened?

David McFarland 7:44

I wouldn’t give myself that much credit. When I started at NCCI, I had, in my opinion, the best job there. I was in the legislative pricing and analysis area, which helped me become well-rounded quickly. Basically, if a state wanted to make changes in the workers’ comp space, they’d send NCCI the bill or proposed legislation and ask, “How does this impact the system?”

Some days, you’d come in and there’d be a 500-page legal document in your inbox outlining proposed changes. You’d have to pull all the data, understand how the system worked in that state, and figure out how those changes would impact it. That process gave me a detailed understanding of the workers’ comp market.

Eventually, I started noticing the small commercial space in those markets and realized that people weren’t taking advantage of it.

Callan Harrington 8:51

Was that where the spark for Coterie first hit?

David McFarland 8:55

Yeah. I saw the loss experience by premium band because I was doing an analysis on different premium bands, and I noticed that the loss ratios for small premium bands were extremely attractive. I asked my manager why no one was really going after this space. There were so many small businesses—like 30 million of them—and yet the market seemed small.

He explained that there wasn’t much incentive for insurance companies to write those policies. Even though the loss ratio was good, the expense ratio was bad, and agents and brokers didn’t want to write them either. They’d spend four to eight hours on a policy and only make $150. It just didn’t make economic sense.

That’s when I realized that with data and technology, we could solve this problem and really tackle this market.

Callan Harrington 9:37

So you were at NCCI in 2013, but you didn’t start Coterie until 2018. It sounds like this was something that stayed on your mind through the other positions you held. But correct me if I’m wrong—you had to have been one of the earliest employees at Clearcover. It looks like Clearcover was founded the month before you joined. Is that correct?

David McFarland 9:57

Yeah, that’s right. Kyle and Derek were the founders, and then me and Matt were the first two employees.

Callan Harrington 10:01

Was joining Clearcover a way for you to get your feet wet before starting your own company?

David McFarland 10:07

Once I figured out that I wanted to start a commercial insurance company, I looked for opportunities that would eventually lead to that. I couldn’t predict exactly which path was best, but after NCCI, I knew I needed to broaden my understanding of the insurance space.

I called a boutique consulting firm and asked if they’d hire me. Thankfully, they did, and I learned a ton there. After that, I got recruited to Jewelers Mutual, which was a fascinating business. They were running low 80s combined ratios, growing steadily, and had both personal lines and commercial lines. It gave me a much more well-rounded understanding of insurance operations.

Then Kyle called me about Clearcover. At the time, Clearcover was just getting started. That was really the last thing on my checklist: figuring out how to start an insurance company from scratch and raise venture capital. I had a good grasp of insurance, but I didn’t yet have the venture or business acumen. I told Kyle, “This sounds like a great opportunity, but I want to start my own commercial insurance company one day. If you’re willing to teach me how to raise money and start a company, I’ll help you build Clearcover.”

Callan Harrington 11:08

What did Kyle say when you told him that?

David McFarland 11:11

Kyle said yes. And to his credit, he very much held to that promise. He’s an honorable guy with high integrity, and he helped me immensely. When I think about it now, I can’t help but laugh. If someone said that to me, I’d probably think, “Do you understand how hard this is? You’re crazy!” But thankfully, he took a chance on me, and both of our companies have turned out relatively well.

Callan Harrington 11:44

What were the biggest things you learned at Clearcover that gave you the confidence to start Coterie?

David McFarland 11:49

I don’t think I ever had pure confidence—I think a lot of founders don’t. There’s a saying I love: “We didn’t do this because it was easy; we did it because we thought it was easy.” That’s so true.

I knew starting an insurance company was going to be tough. A lot of people underestimate just how hard it is and fall into common traps. Thankfully, I was aware of some of those traps. I learned a lot about the challenges of raising capital, building a team, and managing HR. I saw the wins and losses up close at Clearcover, so I was prepared for the disappointment that comes with fundraising.

Raising capital is hard. You’re going to get rejected 99 percent of the time. You build a list of 100 investors, pound it out, and they all say no—until one or two say yes. That’s just part of the process. It’s tough, but you have to accept it and keep pushing.

Callan Harrington 12:59

So you and Tim Metzner came together early on for Coterie. How did you two meet?

David McFarland 13:05

When I moved to Cincinnati, I didn’t know anyone. I was in Chicago with Clearcover, but I wanted to start Coterie in another Midwestern city. I just started reaching out to people, grabbing coffee with anyone willing to talk.

Thankfully, people in Cincinnati are Midwesterners—super polite—and they’ll meet you for coffee. I met Tim through a mutual connection at Coffee Emporium. We hit it off right away. He’s a good human being, full of passion, and has a great understanding of go-to-market strategies and marketing.

At the time, Tim was transitioning out of his last company. They’d matured into a predictable revenue model, which was great for the business but not really where Tim’s strengths or interests were. The timing just worked out perfectly, and we aligned really well in terms of vision, timing, and personality.

Callan Harrington 14:02

I asked Tim this same question, so I want to hear your perspective too: How do you evaluate a co-founder that you didn’t previously work with or know before?

David McFarland 14:09

You have to have deep conversations with them—figure out what drives them, what motivates them, and what makes them tick. You also need to understand their strengths and weaknesses. That’s critical for any hire, but with co-founders, it’s on another level.

Your co-founders need to exemplify the culture you want to create. From day one at Coterie, we’ve had the same core values: integrity, intelligence, passion, and humility. We describe ourselves as “smart, energetic people who do the right thing and don’t brag about it.” Or, in shorthand, we’re lovable nerds.

Callan Harrington 14:46

You mentioned how tough fundraising is. Walk us through that story of getting your first term sheet.

David McFarland 14:53

So my wife and I were in the process of transitioning to Cincinnati. At that point, we had two kids with a third on the way. I’d found a group of investors in Chicago who were interested and understood the insurance space.

At my going-away party on a Saturday, I got a call from the lead investor. He said, “David, we really like your idea and what you’re doing, but we have one request.” I said, “Okay, what is it?” He said, “Think about starting a digital agency instead of building an MGA. You won’t have to deal with the headaches of underwriting and compliance.”

I told him I couldn’t do that. It wasn’t aligned with my vision. I didn’t think it played to my strengths, and I didn’t believe it would solve the problem I wanted to solve. He said, “Okay, David, we’re out.”

That was a gut punch. I went back into the party, and after the festivities were over, I told my wife. She said, “Well, we’ll just have to find new investors.”

We moved to Cincinnati, and I started talking to anyone who would listen. On August 20th, I drove downtown to negotiate terms with an investor, and we finalized the agreement that day. That night, I came home, and my wife went into labor. The next morning, we had our third child, John.

Here’s the kicker—I had already recruited a team to work on Coterie, but I didn’t have any money to pay them yet. I just kept telling them, “Trust me, it’s coming.” Thankfully, it all worked out, and we’ve been able to raise capital and keep Coterie going ever since.

Callan Harrington 17:07

How did you pull that off—getting people to work for you before you could pay them?

David McFarland 17:12

Someone once told me, “If you can’t convince someone to work for you for free, why should an investor give you money?” That really stuck with me because it’s true. If an investor is going to put millions of dollars into your idea, and you can’t convince someone who’s making six figures to take a chance on you for even a few months, then maybe your idea isn’t as good as you think it is.

That’s a humbling perspective because it’s really difficult to ask people to take a risk like that. It’s asking them to put their family’s welfare on the line for what is, at that stage, just an idea. And let’s be honest—so many startups fail.

I was lucky enough to find a few people who were crazy enough to take the leap with me. They believed in the vision and were willing to give it a shot, and I’m so grateful for that.

Callan Harrington 17:46

How many people were working with you at that time before you could pay them?

David McFarland 17:49

It was me and three or four others. Two of us were full-time, and the other two or three were consultants. At that point, we were focused on building the foundation. We had people working on the website, setting up backend operations, and getting our infrastructure ready—things like premium trust accounts, fronting carrier relationships, and compliance work. It was a lot of heavy lifting on the operational side.

Callan Harrington 18:14

So how did you structure that? Were you compensating them with equity, deferred pay, or something else?

David McFarland 18:21

It was a mix. For people who were joining as full-time team members, we agreed on a salary and equity package that would kick in once we got funding. For the consultants, we paid them hourly once we had the capital, and then later converted them to full-time employees.

That model worked really well for us. It allowed us to evaluate people’s work without making a long-term commitment upfront, and it gave the team members some confidence that we’d honor our agreements.

Callan Harrington 18:42

That’s really interesting. Was that a common approach, or did you come up with it on the fly?

David McFarland 18:46

Honestly, I just thought it made sense. It seemed like the simplest way to move forward for everyone involved. Plus, it gave us flexibility—if we needed to change things or bring on someone different, we could do that without overcommitting too early.

Callan Harrington 18:57

I’m a big believer in consult-to-hire too. It’s a win-win. For early-stage companies, it lets you test the waters with someone who might be a stretch candidate. And for the candidate, it gives them a chance to prove themselves before making a big career move.

David McFarland 19:14

Exactly. It’s a great model, especially when you’re at that critical early stage and can’t afford to make the wrong hire.

Callan Harrington 19:19

So you’ve got your team, you’ve raised your first bit of capital, and you’re off to the races. But for listeners who might not know, starting an insurance company requires a lot of capital. You’re not just building tech—you’re building something that has serious regulatory and financial requirements. Did you always focus on partnering with agencies, or did you initially try going direct-to-consumer?

David McFarland 19:50

We always had a partnership model in mind. From the very beginning, we focused on partnerships with digital platforms, agencies, and brokerages.

At first, some of our partnerships were with non-traditional players—integrating with platforms like QuickBooks to serve small businesses. But as we grew, we realized that agents and brokers were where we could provide the most value. They were the ones dealing with small commercial insurance every day, and they couldn’t make money on it because it took too much time.

For them, small commercial policies are a pain point. They might spend four to eight hours working on a policy and only make a couple hundred dollars. With us, all they need is the business name and address, and we can get them a quote in seconds. Our median quote-to-bind time is 57 seconds, which is unheard of.

Callan Harrington 20:41

So you identified that the pain wasn’t the product—it was the process. The process of getting small commercial insurance was too slow and inefficient for agents to justify.

David McFarland 20:50

Exactly. We focused on making that process as easy and profitable as possible for agents and brokers. At first, some of the digital platforms we partnered with saw us as a “nice-to-have”—a vitamin, so to speak. But for agents and brokers, we’re a painkiller. We solve a real problem for them.

Being able to write a small commercial policy in under a minute is game-changing. It means they can make money on small policies that they would have otherwise ignored or referred elsewhere.

Callan Harrington 21:24

That’s huge. So as you’ve grown, what do you think separates Coterie from other competitors in the small commercial space?

David McFarland 21:31

There are two big things. First, our ability to simplify the quoting experience is unmatched. Our data collection and underwriting capabilities allow us to quote and bind policies with just a business name and address.

We’ve invested heavily in our data capabilities. We use both traditional AI and generative AI to pull and analyze risk data. For example, let’s say you have a new bagel shop in Detroit. Other carriers might say, “This is a new venture—we don’t know enough about it.” But because we’ve seen thousands of bagel shops, we can impute risk characteristics and confidently write that business.

The second differentiator is our long-term approach to partnerships. A lot of carriers burn into markets, write a ton of business at unsustainable rates, and then exit when things go south. That’s a terrible experience for agents and brokers. We take a more measured approach. We go into markets conservatively, price sustainably, and build trust with our partners.

Callan Harrington 22:28

That makes complete sense. So as you transitioned from those early days to scaling Coterie into a more mature business, what were some of the biggest growing pains?

David McFarland 22:40

The biggest challenge was hiring the right people for the stage of the business we were in. I like to compare it to the military. In the beginning, you need Marines—people who can charge through the jungle, fight hand-to-hand, and survive on nothing. Later on, you transition to an Army phase, where you’re stabilizing and building processes. And eventually, you need police officers—people who keep the peace and maintain order.

The skill sets for each stage are very different. A lot of companies make the mistake of hiring “supermodels” instead of “seamstresses.” Supermodels look great in finished clothes—they can manage and optimize existing operations. But early-stage companies need seamstresses—people who can actually make the clothes from scratch.

We made that mistake a few times, but we learned quickly.

Callan Harrington 24:26

I love that analogy—supermodels versus seamstresses. It makes so much sense, especially at the early stages of a business when you’re still figuring things out. Was this something you knew to look out for, or did you learn it through experience?

David McFarland 24:36

I definitely had to learn it through experience. It’s one of those things you might read about, but until you’ve actually made the mistake, it doesn’t fully click. I think you have to go through it once or twice. You hire someone who looks perfect on paper—they’ve worked at big-name companies, they have great titles—and then you bring them into an early-stage environment where there’s no structure, no resources, and they flounder.

It’s not that they’re not talented—they just aren’t the right fit for that stage. The skill set you need to build something is very different from the one you need to optimize it. Early-stage companies need people who can roll up their sleeves and figure things out from scratch.

Callan Harrington 25:16

So when you realize someone isn’t the right fit, what’s your process? How do you handle it?

David McFarland 25:21

I think you need to act quickly. The moment you realize someone isn’t a good fit, you have to move on. Delaying that decision does more harm than good.

For me, it starts with consistent feedback. You should always be having open, honest conversations with your team. If someone isn’t meeting expectations, they should know that long before you get to the point of letting them go.

But once you’re convinced it’s not going to work, you have to act decisively. I’ll usually schedule a meeting, tell them directly that I don’t think it’s a fit, and start the transition process. If it’s someone I trust and who has done good work, I’ll help them with a smooth transition. But if it’s someone I’m more concerned about, I’ll terminate immediately and shut off their access.

Callan Harrington 26:00

Why is it so important to act quickly in those situations?

David McFarland 26:04

Because the longer you wait, the worse it gets. Once you know it’s not going to work, you start unconsciously signaling that to the person. You might not even realize it, but they pick up on it. That makes them more defensive, less productive, and the situation starts to spiral.

It’s also a cultural issue. If your team sees you tolerating someone who isn’t performing, it lowers the bar for everyone. People think, “If that’s acceptable, then maybe I don’t need to work as hard.” It sets a dangerous precedent.

I think the role of leadership is to set the example, even when it’s hard. You have to show that you’re willing to make the tough calls and hold people to a high standard.

Callan Harrington 26:44

Yeah, it’s one of those things where the rest of the team knows too. It’s not like they’re unaware of what’s happening.

David McFarland 26:50

Exactly. Your team knows. And if you don’t act, it erodes their trust in your leadership. They start wondering, “Why is this being tolerated? What does that mean for me?”

The best thing you can do for your team—and for the person who isn’t a fit—is to act quickly, treat them with respect, and move forward.

Callan Harrington 27:07

That makes total sense. So as Coterie grew and matured, what were some of the biggest challenges you faced in scaling the business?

David McFarland 27:16

One of the biggest challenges was managing the shift from being a scrappy startup to a more mature company. In the early days, everyone’s wearing ten hats and doing whatever it takes to get things done. As you scale, you have to bring in people who are more specialized and build real processes.

It’s a hard transition because you’re replacing chaos with structure, and not everyone thrives in that environment. Some people who are great in the early “Marine” stage struggle when the company starts to stabilize. You have to be really intentional about bringing in the right people for the stage you’re in.

Another challenge was staying disciplined with our growth. It’s tempting to grow as fast as possible, but in insurance, that can be dangerous. You can’t just write business at any cost. You have to take a measured approach and make sure you’re writing profitable business.

Callan Harrington 28:04

You touched on this earlier, but I want to dig in a bit more. In insurance, you can actually get punished for growing too fast. Can you talk about that?

David McFarland 28:12

Absolutely. In most industries, growth is always seen as a good thing. But in insurance, if you grow too quickly and write unprofitable business, you’re in big trouble. You might look great in the short term—lots of premiums, lots of customers—but if your loss ratios are terrible, you’ll lose money fast.

That’s why we’ve always taken a disciplined approach. We focus on long-term sustainability. We price conservatively, write business we’re confident in, and build trust with our partners.

It might mean slower growth in the short term, but it’s the right approach for the long term. And our partners appreciate it because they know we’re not going to pull out of a market or raise rates overnight.

Callan Harrington 28:52

That’s such an important point. So as you look ahead, what are the things you’re focused on now? What’s keeping you up at night?

David McFarland 28:59

Right now, we’re in one of the toughest fundraising markets for InsurTech companies in history. Thankfully, we’re in a good position. We raised capital earlier this year, and we’re cash-flow positive, so we’re in a solid spot. But the market is still challenging, and you can’t take anything for granted.

I think a lot about how we can continue to add value to our agents, brokers, and small business owners. Small business owners don’t want to think about insurance. They just want it off their plate. And agents don’t want to spend hours on a policy that isn’t profitable for them.

We’ve done a good job solving that problem, but I know we can do even more. I’m always asking, “How can we make this even easier? How can we create even more value for our partners?”

Callan Harrington 29:44

How do you balance getting into the weeds on that—talking to agents, brokers, and understanding their pain points—while also keeping yourself focused on the high-level strategy as CEO?

David McFarland 29:56

It’s a mix of both. I try to talk directly to agents, brokers, and our partners as much as I can. Whether it’s at conferences, grabbing dinner, or just visiting their offices, those conversations are incredibly valuable. I’ll also jump on calls with our team to hear what they’re hearing firsthand.

At the same time, I rely on data and metrics to keep the big picture in focus. I look at how people are using our product, where the friction points are, and what the trends tell us. You get to a point where you can start trusting your mind to compartmentalize. Some things you hear are minutiae, but they lead to high-level insights. Other times, it’s just noise, and you have to know when to tune that out.

Callan Harrington 30:37

You mentioned earlier how impactful it is to actually visit brokers and agents in person. Why is that so important?

David McFarland 30:44

There’s something about being in their environment that you can’t replicate on a call or over Zoom. When you visit an agent’s office, you see the tools they’re using, the workflow they have, and all the little challenges they deal with on a day-to-day basis. It makes it crystal clear why something isn’t working for them or why they might not be using a feature the way you intended.

I always walk away from those visits with new insights. Sometimes, it’s a small tweak we can make to our product that has a huge impact. Other times, it’s a bigger realization about what they actually need from us. Either way, it’s invaluable.

Callan Harrington 31:16

Yeah, it’s amazing how much clarity you get when you see it in person. So, looking back, you’ve built a successful company, raised significant capital, and navigated the ups and downs of growing a business. If you could go back and have a conversation with your younger self, what advice would you give?

David McFarland 31:35

Two things come to mind. First, I’d say, “Be audacious.” Not arrogant—audacious. I think when you’re younger, it’s easy to be confident to the point of arrogance, but you don’t always believe you can do something truly big. There’s a difference between thinking highly of yourself and believing that you can achieve something grander.

I once had a conversation with a successful businessman who said, “Why don’t you just raise $100 million and go for it?” He said it so casually, but it made me realize he was thinking on a different level. That’s how big thinkers approach problems. They don’t limit themselves to what they think is possible—they imagine what could be done and figure out how to get there. I’d tell my younger self to think that way.

The second piece of advice is to focus on decisions that are first-order negative but second-order positive. What I mean is, the best long-term decisions are often the hardest ones to make in the short term. Things like saving for retirement, for example—it hurts now, but it pays off later.

In business, the same principle applies. For example, in insurance, it’s tempting to grow as fast as you can by underpricing or cutting corners, but that’s short-term thinking. It looks good for a while, but it’s a recipe for disaster. At Coterie, we’ve always taken the opposite approach. We write business profitably, even if it means slower growth in the short term, because it sets us up for long-term success.

It’s easy to chase short-term wins, but the real key is making decisions that might feel painful now but will pay off in the future.

Callan Harrington 32:50

I love that. In insurance especially, you can get into real trouble by growing too fast in the wrong way.

David McFarland 32:57

Exactly. If you write unprofitable business, you pay a penalty for it, and that penalty comes fast. That’s why discipline and sustainability are so important. It’s not always sexy, but it’s the right way to build a business.

Callan Harrington 33:09

David, this has been such a great conversation. I really appreciate you sharing your story and insights with us today.

David McFarland 33:16

Thanks, Callan. I really enjoyed it. Thanks for having me on.

Callan Harrington 33:19

Absolutely.

Callan Harrington 33:23

I hope you enjoyed my conversation with David McFarland. I loved talking about stage fit because it’s such a critical part of building a successful company. It’s so easy to make the mistake of hiring someone who’s not the right fit for the stage you’re in, and David shared some great insights on how to avoid that.

If you want to learn more about David or connect with him, you can find him on LinkedIn. I’ll link to his profile in the show notes.

If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love to hear from you. You can find me on LinkedIn as well, and if you want to support the show, a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify goes a long way.

Thanks for listening, everyone. I’ll see you next week.