Nick Akers & Scott Alexander
Leading In The Dark
<p><strong>Scott Alexander — From Black Swan to Blueprint: ETA, SBA Reality, and the “People → Process → Tools” Playbook</strong></p>
<p>When COVID hit, <strong>Scott Alexander</strong> (CEO/Owner, <strong>JIRUS Micro Marketing</strong>) lost 80% of revenue in two weeks—while carrying an SBA-backed personal guarantee. Instead of folding, he pivoted into B2B med-device demand generation and rebuilt bigger than before. In this candid episode, Scott walks through the decisions, frameworks, and hiring practices that actually moved the needle.</p>
<p><strong>In this episode:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>Why he chose <strong>Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA)</strong> over a from-scratch startup</p></li>
<li><p>The fine print of <strong>SBA 7(a)</strong> financing and personal guarantees—risk, reward, and reality</p></li>
<li><p>Culture change without “yelling leadership”: adults, accountability, and trust</p></li>
<li><p>Hiring with <strong>case studies</strong> instead of canned interviews (and what he looks for)</p></li>
<li><p>Unifying marketing + sales into one <strong>commercial</strong> motion, measured end-to-end</p></li>
<li><p>The operating stack: <strong>People → Process → Tools</strong> (in that order)</p></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Guest:</strong> Scott Alexander <br><strong>Host:</strong> Nick Akers<br><strong>Show:</strong> <em>Leading In The Dark</em> — real conversations about leading when the path isn’t lit.</p>
<p>Subscribe for more episodes on resilient leadership, ETA, and building systems that survive uncertainty.</p>
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