Dream Big and Win: Creating a Billion-Dollar Business – with Liz Elting – E113

In this episode of Hands-Off CEO, Mandi Ellefson interviews Liz Elting, author of “Dream Big and Win” and founder of TransPerfect, which she built into the world’s largest language solutions company. Starting from an NYU dorm room at age 26, Liz shares her journey of scaling a business while maintaining exceptional service quality.

Liz discusses how she transformed her company by implementing innovative strategies to empower employees to think and act like owners. She emphasizes the importance of building world-class sales and production teams early, with compensation structures that align employee incentives with company goals. Rather than traditional fixed salaries, she advocates for arrangements that offer lower base pay but significant upside potential tied to performance.

A key insight from the conversation is Liz’s approach to fostering innovation within her organization.
She regularly asked employees: “What would you do differently if you owned the company?” and, importantly, gave them the authority to implement their ideas. This created a culture of ownership and continuous improvement.

The discussion also tackles the challenges of stepping back as a CEO. Liz candidly shares her early mistakes, including working through maternity leave due to lack of proper delegation systems. She stresses the importance of establishing succession plans early, noting that it becomes more difficult to step away as the company grows larger.

Throughout the interview, both Liz and Mandi emphasize that scaling actually makes business easier when done right, challenging the common assumption that bigger means more complicated. Liz’s parting advice: “Don’t think small – it can be easy to run a small or big company. It actually got easier over time because we had more options.”

The episode provides practical insights for business owners looking to scale while maintaining quality and creating a sustainable organization that doesn’t depend solely on the founder’s involvement.

Listeners can find Liz’s book “Dream Big and Win” on Amazon and major retailers, and connect with her on various social media platforms including LinkedIn, Instagram, and X (Twitter).

Want to transform your agency from a resource-heavy operation to a streamlined, profitable machine? This episode provides the blueprint for making that transition while actually increasing client satisfaction and results.

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Resources: 

Mandi Ellefson on LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook

Hands-Off CEO – Instagram | Executive Briefing

Liz Elting on LinkedIn | Instagram | Website

Elizabeth Elting Foundation – Website | LinkedIn

TransPerfect –