He had his resignation letter written. He was living in Ukraine making less money than his old corporate job.
Burned out. Dealing with health issues. About to lose his biggest client. Running a company with massive payroll and 90 day payment terms.
On paper it made no sense to keep going. Trenton Hughes almost walked away from the business entirely. Then he had a conversation that changed his life...
An investor pulled him aside and offered a simple reset. Before quitting everything, choose one thing to anchor to and run it your way for six months. So Trenton stayed. He recommitted. He changed how the company operated. What followed was a sharp inflection.
The business moved from roughly 100 employees to a couple thousand in just a few years. It crossed into multi million annual revenue. His career and financial trajectory changed with it. The biggest shift came from where he focused his energy. Growth accelerated once the company became serious about people and culture.
They paid above market. They invested in offices and incentives. They talked daily about valuing employees and backed it up with action.
Hiring stopped being about resumes and started being about behavior.
Urgency. Proactivity. Ownership.
Candidates were evaluated through situational questions. Follow ups were watched closely. Small details carried weight. Alignment mattered more than experience.
That culture compounded. Referrals increased. Reviews stacked up. Recruiting became easier as the company scaled.
The moment that almost ended the business ended up shaping how it grew. When things start breaking under pressure, where do you look first?
Processes... or the people and values expected to carry the load.
Check out Trenton on Twitter / X and LinkedIn. He posts awesome content every day.
He’s also the Founder of TRIBE, an entrepreneurship peer group. And stick around for next week’s entrepreneurship spotlight! We’ve got another good one.