You don’t need more hustle. You need fewer distractions, deeper focus, and the courage to back yourself before the path is clear.

In this episode, you’ll hear how one founder broke through the chaos, built momentum from zero, and learned to lead with clarity, even when the cash was tight, the team was growing fast, and the pressure was on.

Jonathan Herps sits down with Daniel McDuall, the founder and CEO of Squizify, a food safety platform that’s quietly shaking up global QSR operations. From humble beginnings in New Zealand to landing multimillion-dollar contracts with global brands, Daniel shares the gritty truth about scaling without losing your mind (or your people).

This one’s a real-world look at what it takes to move from founder to focused CEO and why thinking bigger starts with narrowing your focus.

In this episode of Stories of Scale with Jonathan Herps, you’ll discover:

• Validating your business idea before building (01:55)
• How staying narrowly focused can lead to global expansion (07:15)
• How to align and scale your team using rhythm, culture, and trust (10:51)
• The habits, routines, and boundaries that keep CEOs healthy, clear-headed, and able to lead under pressure (12:44)
• Planning for growth without risking everything and avoiding hiring mistakes that silently kill momentum (19:45)
• How to build a high-performance leadership team and the two behaviours that matter more than resumes (26:57)
• How to think big, push past fear, and stay focused on what actually moves your business forward (30:24)

Key takeaways for CEOs and business owners:

• Great culture doesn’t just happen. It’s modelled, reinforced, and lived at the top.
• You don’t need to do more to grow. You need to go deeper on what actually matters.
• If your calendar has no time for you, your business is already paying the price.
• There’s no such thing as a perfect hire — only faster decisions after the wrong ones.
• Fundraising never really ends. Be ready before you need it.

Daniel doesn’t sugarcoat the journey but he shows us how the right mindset and structure can turn the chaos of scaling into something sustainable, powerful, and even joyful.

Ready to build smarter, lead stronger, and scale with sanity? Tune in.

CONNECT WITH JONATHAN HERPS

Website: www.scaleupgrowth.co

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanherps

Facebook: www.facebook.com/scaleupgrowth

Instagram: www.instagram.com/scaleupgrowth

Youtube: www.youtube.com/@scaleupgrowth

Email: admin@scaleupgrowth.co

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