Chris Tjotjos on building businesses through crashes, advisory boards, and compounding growth

Thomas chats with Chris Tjotjos on the Cybersecurity Recruiter podcast about his career from sales to leading Logos Communications and later co-founding Promithia and Simvay Systems

Chris describes early entrepreneurial “full throttle” focus, reinvesting profits for years, and the power of compounding, including examples using pennies and leveraged real estate and recurring revenue.

He recounts major disruptions - post-1999 internet implosion after buying out his partner and the 2008 crisis, and how transparency, profit-sharing via an EBIT plan, and shifting customer concentration helped stabilize and grow. A key turning point was meeting entrepreneur Jack Kale, starting an advisory board, and using book-based learning to reshape culture.

Chris explains being approached to sell Logos to Black Box, scaling the division, and critiques lack of synergy in acquisitions. Book recommendations mentioned include "Financial Freedom" Mark Harrelson, "The Vital Difference," and "Leading From The Heart," by Jack Kale, "Rockefeller: The Titan," and "The 38 Letters Rockefeller Wrote to His Son."

00:00 Welcome and Setup

00:39 Meet Chris Tjotjos

01:58 Focus Then Scale

03:04 Early Entrepreneur Grind

04:34 Compounding Mindset

06:55 Leverage and OPM

09:27 Life After the Exit

13:22 Dotcom Crash Lessons

15:29 Open Books EBIT Plan

17:39 Jack Kale Book Club

22:26 Partnership Synergy

23:33 Faith Prayer Meditation

25:31 Perspective and Mortality

26:12 Greek Roots and Big Questions

27:20 Faith Over Wealth

27:50 Servant Leadership in Business

28:12 Why Logos Was Founded

32:26 Selling After the 2008 Storm

36:55 Acquisition Lessons and Synergy

38:54 Starting Again With Promethea

40:18 Advisory Boards That Scale

43:51 Building the Board and Jack Story

47:53 Closing Reflections and Thanks

48:27 AI as a Virtual Board

49:42 When to Form a Board