The Award-Winning Architecture Firm That Started in a Recession

Most people play it safe when everything falls apart. Lance Cayko started F9 Productions.

In 2009, with the construction industry losing half its workforce and no jobs to be had, Lance and his partner Alex Gore did the opposite of what everyone around them was doing, they launched F9 Productions, a design-build firm in Northern Colorado, out of a one-bedroom apartment on Craigslist.

Twenty years later, F9 has grown to a team of 11, twice ranked #1 on BizWest's list of fastest-growing private companies, won international architecture awards, and built one of the top architecture podcasts in the world with over a million listeners.

But the most valuable thing Lance learned wasn't about design or business growth. It was knowing exactly when to stop hiring: before customer service declines. After watching two competing firms lose their edge the moment they crossed the 12-person mark, Lance made a decision most entrepreneurs never make: to stay intentionally small, win higher fees, and never trade quality for scale.

In this episode we talk about:

• Growing up with a Rich Dad / Poor Dad experience in rural North Dakota and finding his first mentor at age 13
• Starting F9 during the Great Recession with no jobs, no capital, and a one-bedroom apartment
• The Craigslist ad that launched their first clients, and what it taught Lance about standing out
• How he and Alex Gore went from hating each other in college to building a firm their professor called a "Renaissance team"
• The 12-person rule, and why Lance is convinced crossing it destroys the thing that made you great
• Wearing all three hats: architect, builder, and developer — and why more people in the trades should do the same
• Founding Longmont Community Gardens and what growing food for underserved communities means to someone who's known food insecurity firsthand
• Why Lance believes in work-life harmony, not balance, and what that actually looks like on a Tuesday

If you've ever built something and wondered how to grow it without losing what made it worth building in the first place, this conversation is for you.

Find Lance:

• F9 Productions → f9productions.com
• Inside the Firm Podcast → insidethefirmpodcast.com
• LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/lancecayko