What does it really take to grow a company from startup to enterprise — and what does that growth force you to give up?
In this episode of Untold: The Best Kept Secrets of Utah, Jon sits down with Manoj Perumal, Co-Founder and President of Mojo AI, for an honest conversation about scaling a business, leadership, product development, enterprise customers, and the hidden cost of growth.
Manoj shares what changed as Mojo AI grew from serving mid-market customers to working with large enterprise organizations, including the challenges of enterprise-scale product quality, organizational complexity, and adapting to the needs of Fortune 50 and Fortune 100 companies.
They also explore one of the hardest parts of leadership: letting go. As a company grows, founders can't keep doing everything themselves. Manoj explains how he had to step back from product development, customer relationships, and day-to-day problem solving to focus on go-to-market strategy, processes, and the areas where the company needed him most.
The conversation also goes deeper into workplace safety and risk management. With Safety Mojo focused on frontline workers in industries such as construction and oil and gas, Manoj explains why spending time in the field seeing how people actually work has become such an important part of building better products.
You'll also hear about:
* Scaling a startup from mid-market to enterprise customers
* The hidden complexity of enterprise sales and product development
* Leadership lessons from rapid company growth
* Why founders need to learn to let go
* Product-market fit and the journey from zero to one
* Understanding frontline workers and customer needs
* Workplace safety and risk management
* How failure and iteration shape successful businesses
* What marathon running taught Manoj about leadership and life
* The mindset leaders need when building a company
Manoj's advice for leaders starting their own growth journey is simple: don't let the fear of whether it will work stop you. Stay determined, keep figuring things out, and be willing to adapt along the way.
If you're a founder, entrepreneur, executive, product leader, or anyone navigating the challenges of business growth, this conversation offers an honest look at what happens behind the success story.
Watch the full episode and discover what growth really asks you to give up.
#StartupGrowth #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #ScalingBusiness #ProductMarketFit #StartupLeadership #WorkplaceSafety #RiskManagement #EnterpriseSoftware #ConstructionSafety #OilAndGas
Connect with Jon on LinkedIn where he shares leadership insights regularly:
https://linkedin.com/in/jonspiesman
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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0bshg8B2x1kX665eeYkk52
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/untold/id1805797903
Amazon Podcasts: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/fa845f62-543e-44b2-a6f1-7704bccfc099/untold
Untold is the podcast hosted by Jon Spiesman where we uncover the best-kept business secrets of Utah.
Each week, we sit down with local entrepreneurs and business owners to explore their unique journeys, the challenges they’ve overcome, and the lessons they've learned along the way. Whether you're building your own business or just love a good underdog story, you'll find hidden gems of advice and inspiration in every episode.
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Untold.
Jon and the Untold podcast team
#UntoldPodcastWithJon #UtahBusiness #EntrepreneurPodcast #JonSpiesman #SmallBusinessStories #LocalBusinessUtah #StartupJourney #PodcastForEntrepreneurs
What is Untold?
Welcome to the Untold podcast!
Here, we're speaking with local businesses that are the best kept secrets of Utah.
Find out their journey, their business challenges and tips, and hidden advice brought to light to help you with your own journey!
We hope you enjoy! Please like, subscribe, and rate to never miss an episode!
Jon