Before 2017, I wasn't sure that I could ever arrive at true happiness. The gnawing feeling of unrealized potential and frustration that ate away at me most of my life made happiness feel out of reach. It wasn't in the cards for someone like me.

If only I had been able to see a little further down the road. That there was a turn ahead that would change everything. An exit ramp to a new life and a sense of fulfillment in what I get to do every day. A new destination driven by values, generosity, and helping others get what they want out of their careers, and their lives.

It's sometimes still hard to believe in 2022. But this vision we have at Pavilion is proof that this kind of business works. That you can leverage this strategy and build a successful life yourself. That you don't need to step on someone else to get to the top. That there's room for all of us around a big table to contribute what we know and learn from the person next to us.

Backing up to December of 2020, the decision I made to embrace self‐compassion spurred real changes in my life. Camille and I reconciled, and I'm happy to say we are together today, embarking on a new adventure to fulfill Camille's entrepreneurial dreams.

I have taken leaps of faith several times since 2017, but the biggest one was challenging my self‐beliefs and committing to be happy. Truly happy.

The Untethered Soul by Michael Alan Singer has had a profound impact on me, coupled with all of the lessons I've espoused in my own book. In it, Singer writes that you have to make the commitment that you will be happy without exception.

In addition to my wife, my dogs, and my work, I find the greatest happiness in running. I love to run. It saved me during my difficult first divorce and has seen me through all the ups and downs in my life. But if something happened to me tomorrow where I could no longer run, I know now that I will still be happy. I am committed to being happy.

You don't have to be happy every second of every day. There will always be times of strife or where you just can't see what there is to be happy about. But like embracing self‐compassion, positivity, and journaling, it's a practice. It's a commitment to find joy in your life.

In this regard, I often think of my dog Oswald. When we adopted him, he already had a leg partially amputated. But you would never know it by the way he runs around or wags his tail. Imagine feeling that kind of unbridled happiness, despite whatever life brings.

Arriving at happiness is a choice you can make. I believe we all have control over our lives. There's a better world awaiting you if you believe that. It's spiritual in a way. It really is putting faith in the universe that it will take care of you. It's that abundance mindset that every positive, happy, helpful thing you do will come back to you. And even if we're wrong and there's no free will, it's more fun to think that way anyway.

Validating Our Work

So as I actively chose happiness, compassion, and kindness, I received one more validation that this life path was working for me—and my business.

In February of 2021, an investor from Elephant Ventures, Peter Fallon, reached out inquiring about the state of the business. We'd been in touch briefly the year before, and he'd heard some good things about us.

For my part, there were a few minutes when I debated even answering the email. There is precious little about Elephant online. And I didn't really need another tiny little investor offering us $1 million and acting like it was some kind of groundbreaking amount of capital. But I have a rule I like to adhere to when people email you offering you lots of money:

“Take every call.”

So we got on the Zoom, and I walked him through the business and the growth. I'm an open book when it comes to discussing business performance. To the point of “play a long big game,” I don't really see the percentage or relative gain in being too coy. Our numbers aren't our plan, and even if you had our plan you'd still have to execute it, and even then there's so much soul in this business that you'd still have to be me.

So I shared very openly with Peter. I told him of our plans to rebrand to Pavilion (we officially rebranded in June 2021) and what I thought that would mean for the business.

He was intrigued and said, “If you're willing to send me last year's financials, I'd be happy to give you a read on valuation.”

Well, I had no real idea what Revenue Collective was worth and had just had an annoying conversation with my friend Hugh, in which he told me the company would trade at “1 to 1.2 times revenue,” which basically meant a company that grew fivefold during a pandemic would be worth its revenue.

So yes, I would like a read on valuation if you please.

I sent over our 2020 results. Peter wrote back fairly quickly, “Are you willing to send by quarter?”

And to the point of competitive differentiation, the reason that he was being so elliptical and measured in his approach was that so many founders can only think transactionally about sharing information. They are short‐term focused and don't understand that value creation is not a game of one‐hit wonders. You have to show up every single day for a very long time, but at some point that long time will have passed, and then good things might happen.

So yes, I can use Quickbooks well enough to figure out how to send over our results by quarter. I sent those over, and he innocently asked, “Are you free this Friday to chat?”

I logged on to the Zoom that Friday with my heart beating. I was alone in a one‐bedroom apartment with Walter sleeping in his orange bed at my feet and Oscar in the blue bed. I was working on the same laptop I'd bought for myself in 2015 when I was fired and resolved to only use my own machine going forward. I was barefoot.

Peter said, “Well we think the company is worth $80 million. We want to invest $25 million with a certain amount going straight to you and the balance going into the company.”

I can share the play‐by‐play even years later because this was a life‐changing moment for me. One that will have altered the trajectory of my life forever.

After a few additional conversations, I signed a Term Sheet bringing in support from GTM Fund—an early‐stage venture fund backed by 165+ Go‐To‐Market leaders, many of whom are Pavilion Members. We spent the month of March in due diligence, and the deal closed in early April of 2021.

In the past, I had politely declined investor interest in Revenue Collective. One reason for this was I wasn't ready to be beholden to a board. As we discussed at length in Chapter 1, I was never very good at working for someone else. Revenue Collective was the project that saved me and unlocked a brand‐new life. What I loved most about it was that the HQ team was building it alongside our Members. It was made for operators by operators. I didn't want a group of investors to change that dynamic.

Another reason I declined funding initially was frankly because we didn't need it. Revenue Collective, and even now as Pavilion, had always operated at break even. We weren't burning capital. Because of that, we grew perhaps more slowly than we could have, but controlling our growth in the early stages is what allowed us to really get to know our Members and what value looked like to them. It helped us flesh out this idea and get it off the ground.

So what made this investment offer different? Well, there were a few reasons.

Following our rapid growth during the pandemic, it was beyond clear that this community was filling a huge gap in the market. And if we really wanted to see where this idea could take us, a cushion would be good. It seemed like the perfect time to truly take off.

In early 2021, we had two learning programs—CRO School and Rising Executives School. Both were wildly popular among our Members and proved there was an appetite for structured learning in our community. The $25 million funding meant we could expand our course offerings quickly. When we unveiled the Pavilion brand to the world that June, we also announced 13 Pavilion University programs, covering sales, marketing, customer success, and revenue operations, with almost all included at no additional cost for our Members. By the end of 2022, we'll have launched more than 50 Pavilion University programs across all functions and membership tiers.

The funding also aided in our acquisition of two communities—SDRDefenders, which became the bedrock of the Analyst membership tier, and FinOps, our first foray into non–revenue‐generating functions. It's the first step in our dream of being a community where all can realize and get the resources they need to achieve their professional potential.

We also invested heavily in building our Member Success Team, ensuring that all of our Members were heard and supported, and got the value they wanted out of their membership.

So when we were approached by Elephant, the time was right from a business perspective and a personal one. Not only did the investment validate all of the work I'd been doing on the business and myself, but it created generational wealth for me and my family—a culmination of so much hard work.

And it came to pass, not when I was grinding my gears in negativity and frustration, but when I had finally learned to embrace compassion and generosity as the core of my life and my business. It came at a time where I was ready to leap into the great unknown, understanding that the universe would provide more to those who brought love, kindness, and positivity into the world.

This funding set up the future of Pavilion and allowed us to bring our mission even further.

Looking to the Future

As of May 2022, the valuation of Pavilion is more than $200 million with 8,500 Members in 50 chapters around the world—from New York City to Singapore to Oslo to Brazil.

By the time this book goes to print, we expect to have 10,000 or more Members. I truly believe that one day there will be a world where hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, of people buy into the belief that generosity and kindness is the way to do business. Pavilion Members will lead this charge and make transformational changes at their organizations around the world.

We will continue to bring this idea, this framework to as many people as we can. Imagine a world where it isn't dog eat dog. Where you could trust that everyone was operating in good faith and there was a seat at the table for anyone who wanted one. Maybe you think that's naive, but Pavilion and its Members are proof that it can happen. They are proof that coming from kindness is not just a nice thing to do, but a long‐term strategy that will help you reach your goals and help others along the way.

We envision a world where you don't have to go it alone. A world where you have a global community cheering you on and is actively vested in your success. At Pavilion, we will continue to build the resources our Members tell us they need. We will listen closely, then take the next right step to act quickly. And then the next right step after that. Again and again until we are running. Until this idea, this concept is in every corner of the globe and in every board meeting.

At its heart, this idea is simple. Look to help others before you help yourself. Do as much as you can for other people and ask nothing in return. Try as hard as you can to stop keeping score. Play a long big game instead of a short small game. Build relationships not transactions. And try to use the power of love, optimism, and gratitude to power as much of your decision making as possible.

In the early days, I didn't allow myself to think that this simple idea was also a big idea. That the framework I put forth through a dinner group could resonate with so many people. Even as I finally stepped up to work full time on this project, I was happy to just get us to 2,000 people.

I sometimes still can't believe that I get to go to work every day and help someone. It's more than I ever could have dreamed for myself.

I spend the majority of my time talking with Members. They send me emails and messages or call me up to tell me about their struggles, both at work and in their personal lives. They share the things they love about Pavilion—and what could use improvement. And I listen to each and every one of them and try to give my best advice. That advice usually boils down to everything I've talked about in this book. Embracing kindness, consideration, reciprocity, and a sense of spirituality powered by love will unlock doors. It will help you get to where you want to go.

My life changed when I realized all you need to do is listen and give people what they are asking for. I didn't need to keep score or make a mental tally of every slight. I could help others without expectation and play a long game that would give me so much more at the end of the day.

Every stumbling block along the way built the foundation on which Pavilion now stands. From my realization at the rest stop to the exit ramp that showed me a new way was possible. I reset my destination, fueling my journey with generosity and used my values as the compass. I embraced self‐compassion as the last piece of the puzzle and found opportunities to help people through crises big and small.

The old adage of “nice guys finish last” is wrong. Business is not zero sum. Nice people can succeed in business and in life. Kind folks can finish first.

I have just done it, and you can too.