Second guest episode of Slow & Steady — A Podcast by ARTILLERY.
In this episode, Jake and John sit down with Nick Small, SaaS marketing leader and co-founder of Driive, to unpack what real growth looks like when you zoom out and play the long game.
Nick joined CompanyCam as an early employee (somewhere between #7 and #12, depending on who’s counting) and helped scale it from under $1M in ARR to a $2B valuation. But this conversation isn’t about hype, hacks, or shortcuts.
It’s about compounding effort, humility, and building something that lasts.
Episode at a Glance
Nick Small went from early employee at CompanyCam to helping scale it to a $2B valuation — and then chose to go back to zero.
In this episode, we talk about compounding growth, learning through failure, building community-driven trust, and why your website is more than a marketing asset — it’s your storefront, concierge, and hardest-working salesperson.
Action Step
Pick one part of your business that truly drives growth (a core service, product, or audience).
Then:
- Clarify the outcome you’re committing to.
- Build one focused page or campaign around that outcome.
- Align your messaging, ads, and follow-up around it.
- Commit to it long enough to actually learn from it.
Stop debating. Start committing.
Main Idea
Growth is rarely a viral moment.
It’s consistent, intentional action — repeated over time — with enough humility to learn from what doesn’t work.
“Slow and steady” doesn’t mean moving slowly.
It means moving with intention.
Why It Matters
Most businesses stall because they:
- Chase too many ideas at once.
- Optimize pixels instead of outcomes.
- React emotionally to failure.
- Forget that trust compounds.
The companies that win:
- Commit to outcomes.
- Learn from mistakes.
- Build community, not just customers.
- Treat their website like a living system.
Compounding beats chaos.
Quick Tool
Your website + one clear promise.
Ask:
- Where is this visitor coming from?
- What promise did we just make?
- What do we want them to do next?
- What value are we giving before we ask for their information?
If your website can’t answer those clearly, fix that first.
Listen & Subscribe
Podcast page: https://artillerymedia.com/podcast/
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slow-steady-a-podcast-by-artillery/id1840249614
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/37ZzVcI8N7xnEDqkap2vCW?si=70b138e65b8c42ca
Follow along:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artillery_media/?hl=en
Jake on X: https://x.com/jakekramer15?lang=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artillerymedia
Contact us: https://artillerymedia.com/contact/
About Nick
Nick Small is a SaaS leader with over a decade of experience building mutual value for employees, customers, and shareholders — in that order.
He has:
- Built and managed websites across freelance and agency work
- Served as Marketing Director at Nonprofit Hub
- Led marketing as VP at CompanyCam during massive growth
- Co-founded Driive, where he’s back in founder mode building from scratch
His mantra:
“Never the expert. Always the student.”
Nick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nixmall/
Driive: https://getdriive.com
CompanyCam: https://companycam.com
Highlights & Timestamps
00:00–03:00 — What “Slow & Steady” really means
Compound interest, long horizons, and taking things the right amount of serious.
03:00–08:30 — The early days at CompanyCam
Pre-$1M ARR, Facebook ads, and the “extra zero” budget mistake.
08:30–15:00 — Learning through failure
Growth mindset, humility, and why failure only hurts if you ignore it.
15:00–22:00 — What makes a good ad
Empathy over polish. Competing with the feed, not just your competitors.
22:00–29:00 — Commitment vs. consensus
Why the best idea isn’t what wins — committed execution does.
29:00–35:00 — Community as a growth signal
When your customers defend you in the comments, you’re building something real.
35:00–43:00 — Websites that convert
Relevance, trust, social proof, and why your site is never “done.”
43:00–End — Leaving a $2B company to start again
Why Nick chose founder mode again — and what zero-to-one teaches you that scale doesn’t.
“Slow” Doesn’t Mean Small
At CompanyCam, growth wasn’t calm.
It was intense.
But underneath it was something steady:
- Clear outcomes.
- Consistent action.
- A willingness to test and learn.
- Long-term thinking.
Nick describes building a billion-dollar company as a proxy goal — proof that the process works.
And once it worked?
He wanted to do it again.
The Website Lesson: Relevance Builds Trust
Nick’s framework is simple:
- Match the promise of your ad or outreach.
- Make your headline hyper-relevant.
- Show proof (real proof).
- Give value before asking for information.
Nobody wants to fill out your form.
Your job is to make the exchange feel worth it.
If someone comes from a social ad, they don’t trust you yet.
Your website has seconds to build that trust.
Clarity beats cleverness.
Community > Metrics (But You Still Need Metrics)
Yes, KPIs matter.
Yes, you need a North Star metric.
But one of Nick’s biggest signals of health at CompanyCam wasn’t a dashboard number.
It was this:
Customers defending the company in Facebook comments.
When your users fight for you publicly, you’ve built more than a product.
You’ve built belonging.
The Founder Reset
After helping scale to a $2B valuation, Nick stepped into something most people avoid:
Zero.
New product.
New website.
Unfinished systems.
At Driive, he’s building in public again — with the same mindset:
Commit.
Ship.
Learn.
Adjust.
Never the expert.
Always the student.
Call to Action
Want help building a website that earns trust, aligns with your growth goals, and compounds over time?
Start here: https://artillerymedia.com/contact/
Show Credits
Hosts: Jake Kramer & John Wooten
Guest: Nick Small
Produced by: ARTILLERY, Lincoln, Nebraska
Slow & Steady — A Podcast by ARTILLERY
🎧 https://artillerymedia.com/podcast/
