Courtney B. Spaeth: Spearheading Growth and Change

Courtney B. Spaeth’s journey from the national security corridors to the helm of the very successful global strategic business development and transaction advisory firm, growth[period], is a testament to her exceptional determination and visionary leadership.

Mrs. Spaeth started her career in the aerospace-defense security sector, including working for the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice and at Fortune 100 companies. While at the Department of Defense she also worked in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-intensity Conflict’s Counter Terrorism division prior to 911. However, she eventually pivoted to becoming an entrepreneur and her seventeen years of success as CEO of growth[period] underscores the wisdom of that choice.

“I wanted to create a company where we could help other companies with their growth challenges. Also, it was important to me to create a culture that was not grounded in fear- I wanted the people who work there to know that it is not mistakes that matter but the intent behind them. growth[period] has won the Best Place to Work in the National Capitol Region nine years out of the last ten – so we have been very successful at establishing and sustaining a healthy and productive work culture,“- explains Mrs. Spaeth.

Helping Clients Improve their Performance

growth[period]’s approach on behalf of their clients revolves around intelligent expansion, combining both strategic and tactical business development. Their management consulting arm also focuses on helping clients improve their existing position in the market and their growth-to-exit division is very successful at assisting their clients with best positioning to sell for the highest valuation.

growth[period]’s clientele varies and ranges from Fortune 1-100 companies to pre-revenue venture-backed companies. The firm works across a variety of industries, including Federal Contracting, Aerospace & Defense; Global Health & Wellness; Sports, Hospitality, Arts & Culture; Tech, IT, Cloud, Telecon & Fintech; Construction, Architecture & Engineering; and Green Energy & Infrastructure. They are experts in all aspects of growth and have achieved seventeen years success across all their verticals.

Differentiating the Brand

At the core of growth[period] ‘s identity lies an exceptional commitment to ethics, setting the firm apart. In a landscape where skepticism often shrouds the roles of consultants and business developers, growth[period] aligns promises with actions and achieves results for their clients.

They view business development, at its heart, as complex problem solving and approach their profession with the mindset that it is an art and a science and that they know how to successfully navigate both.

“We are professional growers – we are hunters/killers, not eaters – and we have the dedication, focus, and experience to produce measurable results on our client’s behalf.“- explained Mrs. Spaeth.

Leading the Charge

In a departure from traditional corporate norms, Mrs. Spaeth does not sit in an office but works in a conference room with glass walls, allowing for an easy way for anyone to come in and work with her or have a conversation. She removes the cultural stigma of “going to see the boss in their office.”

Culture is paramount at growth[period] and they have been awarded “The Best Place to Work” in the Washington, DC region for nine out of the last ten years.  They also have a high retention rate of employees and Spaeth views this as one of the accomplishments she is most proud of, “we work hard to not insert ego in our decision-making process. We have created a culture that values everyone’s input and is transparent.”

Tackling Challenges

In the ever-evolving landscape of business development, Mrs. Spaeth recognizes the massive impact of AI as a formidable challenge that looms on the horizon. The leadership team, of growth[period], under her direction, is embracing this change and working to adopt it going forward. The economic environment for the last couple of years has also been challenging for all businesses and the growth[period] leadership team has done a great job of successfully navigating it – as well as helping their clients through it.

Looking at the Future

With the advent of AI and other technological advances the landscape for all companies going forward is complex. growth[period]’s executive team is now focusing on aggressively achieving strategic growth for the business, including investing in AI tools and creating intellectual property to best serve their clients’ future needs.

“Right now, we are focused on strategic growth for the business, and we are in the midst, as a leadership team, of looking forward and seeing how we can leverage cutting edge technology to add value to our clients. We are looking at potential acquisitions focused on this as well buying companies that have complementary capabilities to offer the market.”- Spaeth explains.

Suggestions for Young Entrepreneurs

Mrs. Spaeth’s experience has taught her that being an entrepreneur requires a lot of strength, grit, and determination. Many small businesses fail within the first three years, so it is exceptionally notable that her company is shortly entering its seventeenth year. Spaeth spends a lot of personal time speaking to budding entrepreneurs and stresses how important it is to understand how valuation of businesses are derived before investing your time, money, and energy into a new enterprise. It is often very upsetting to founders five to ten years in that the company they started, nurtured, and grew has limited value in the market because its focus does not lead to high value creation monetarily in the eyes of potential acquirers. “Historically female entrepreneurs, in particular, tended to create service businesses because services were more familiar to them. However, product businesses, in general, tend to have higher valuation. Women need to help educate and support each other to right size that trend and to assist with the heavy lift of raising capital,” according to Spaeth.