By: Larry Goddard

Not every business story starts in a boardroom. Ours started in a backyard in Johannesburg, where two five-year-olds—Laurence Frankin and I—carved a hole in the fence between our homes. That childhood friendship grew into a lifelong partnership built on trust, curiosity, and an unshakable belief in doing meaningful work with people you respect.

Years later, when I met Jennifer—who would become not only my wife but a force in business with sharp instincts for strategy, sales, marketing and execution—our trio was complete. We didn’t come together because of a business plan. We came together because we saw the same thing in the world of business: a gap that needed to be filled.

We spent decades working with leaders of middle-market companies. Not dreamers or dabblers—real leaders who poured their energy, time, and capital into building something meaningful. Passionate, committed, and hands-on, these business owners and executives knew their customers, their markets, and their teams better than anyone. What they didn’t have was access—to the kind of insight, guidance, and frameworks that large corporations and private equity-backed firms take for granted.

That imbalance bothered us.

These leaders weren’t struggling because they lacked talent or drive. They were doing their best with the resources they had. But without top-tier support, it was easy to feel overwhelmed—by complexity, by shifting markets, by the sheer weight of responsibility. The road to growth was full of possibilities, but not always a clear path.

That’s where SOARgrowth was born—not out of arrogance, but out of respect. Not to replace what these leaders were doing, but to support it. To bring the caliber of strategy, structure, and execution tools normally reserved for the Fortune 500 to the companies that form the backbone of the economy.

It started with a framework—one we developed over years of consulting and testing, then formalized into the SOAR model:

S – Sales & Margins

O – Organization & Culture

A – Accounting, Finance & Technology

R – Responsiveness & Execution

Our research and work in the field helped us to conclude that these are the “Four Pillars” of business growth and success. Truly great companies need to excel in all four areas.

Simple. Actionable. Comprehensive. Not just a clever acronym, but a way to look at a business holistically—to see what’s working, where the hidden opportunities are, and how to align the team around the actions that matter most. A great sales strategy without strength in the other Pillars is likely to be disappointing. Similarly, a great culture without a compelling strategy or customer-satisfying execution will also underperform.

Jennifer and I (together with several other talented professionals from our consulting company, The Parkland Group, Inc.) patented the original SOAR system in 2014. At the time, it was a manual process—a diagnostic assessment process we brought into client engagements. Laurence, with his background leading brands like Tumi and Coach, joined us to deepen and expand the vision. The three of us kept pushing each other: How do we make this scalable? How do we make it practical? How do we give leaders the clarity and confidence they deserve?

That’s when SOARgrowth began to evolve from a proven methodology into a scalable platform.

We didn’t want to build another consulting firm. We set out to build something different: a digital system that puts the tools for growth directly in the hands of middle-market leaders. A system that would allow middle-market teams to assess their business, align around a clear strategy, and start taking focused action—without waiting months or paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for outside consultants.

So we got to work. We distilled decades of hands-on experience—across hundreds of businesses and multiple industries—into guided modules, smart diagnostic tools, ROI-driven prioritization systems, and a digital platform that makes execution both measurable and achievable. And we captured the story behind it all in our book,SOAR to Business Success: Creating Sustainable Growth and Value, a practical guide for leaders ready to grow with clarity, speed, and confidence.

We knew what we were building had to respect the time and energy of the people using it. These weren’t executives looking for theory. They were in-the-trenches business leaders looking for results. They didn’t need theories or flavors of the month. They needed practical ideas for growth—and a path to bring them to life.

We designed SOARgrowth to be highly intuitive—so businesses can do most of the work on their own—but they can turn to a powerful AI driven chatbot or live growth coaches if they need help, guidance or inspiration.

Today, SOARgrowth is a complete growth system: 12 interactive modules, over 700 strategic and operational levers, eight books and e-books, tools for team alignment and implementation, and optional coaching and peer collaboration. The platform helps companies uncover their most powerful opportunities for growth—and get everyone on the same page to act on them.

But the real difference? It levels the playing field.

Big businesses and PE firms have long had access to frameworks, facilitators, coaches, and proprietary tools that guide smart decision-making. Smaller companies have often been left to figure it out alone. SOARgrowth changes that. We bring the same level of rigor and insight—without the overhead. Without the jargon. Without the friction. Without the intrusion or cost.

And that matters, because we’ve seen the power of what’s possible.

Using the principles of SOARgrowth, we have been the CEO or senior executives of more than 10 businesses that have grown exponentially. As consultants, coaches and board members, we’ve helped hundreds of middle market businesses develop and implement their growth paths.  We’ve helped many family-run businesses navigate generational transitions and create growth to fund the needs of expanding families. We’ve helped founders clarify their path, align their team, and build confidence in their direction.

What they had in common wasn’t industry or size—it was determination. And when that determination met a clear framework and the right tools, progress followed.

What makes SOARgrowth work isn’t just the technology. It’s the philosophy behind it:

• That leaders deserve access to world-class thinking—no matter their company size.
• That strategy must be translated into action to create value.
• That buy-in, alignment, and accountability are what turn potential into performance.
• That good, timely data and analytics—that supports informed decision-making—is vital.
• That an unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction and exceptional operational execution is the backbone of any strategy.

Laurence, Jennifer, and I bring different lenses, but we’re aligned on one thing: we believe in the people behind the businesses. We believe in their ambition. We believe they deserve more than reactive planning, generic advice, or cookie-cutter templates.

They deserve clarity. They deserve support. They deserve a platform built for their reality.

That’s what SOARgrowth is.

It’s more than software. More than a framework. It’s a strategic companion to the growth journey—one that understands the complexity of leadership, the power of team alignment, and the relentless determination it takes to lead when the weight of the business rests squarely on your shoulders.

What SOARgrowth delivers isn’t complicated theory or expensive transformation. In fact, many of the growth opportunities it uncovers are simple, practical, and low-cost—but they’re often overlooked or unknown.

One of the most common things we hear from clients is, “I went to business school, and no one ever taught us this.”

SOARgrowth fills that gap—with insight, clarity, and momentum.

Looking back, it’s incredible that this all began with a childhood friendship, a great marriage and a few sparks of shared frustration. But maybe that’s the best kind of origin story—the one rooted in lived experience, mutual trust, and a belief that we could make business better.

We still believe that. And we’re just getting started.

It has been the most rewarding experience of my life to bring SOARgrowth to life with my best friend and my wife. They are two of the smartest and most competent people I know. I will admit that it is not always easy for three type A people to work together and achieve consensus—and then switch back to being a best friend or a loving spouse. We’ve disagreed a lot, but never lost sight of the personal connection underneath it all. That foundation—unwavering trust, respect, a shared drive to do meaningful work—has been our driving force. It’s what gives us the confidence to innovate, to take risks, to keep growing.

We believe businesses are built on relationships. Not just with customers, but with partners, teams, and communities. And if those relationships are grounded in trust and values, the business can go further, last longer, and have more impact.