What’s the biggest difference I see between a $1 million technology company and a $10 million technology company? You might think it’s something like the quality of their products or the size of their management team, but it’s not.

The key difference is that the $10 million company is completely committed to being known as being the best at something important in their market.

Yes, you actually have to deliver on your promise of being the best, but that’s not enough to grow past the wall most tech startups hit at about $2 million in revenues.

In the early days, the CEO and the executive team can sell all the customers personally. The sales relationship and trust developed by the founders are required to sell the first customers and create revenue as startup. But at some point as you grow, the CEO can’t be involved in the sales relationship with new customers.

Frontline CEO selling is important, but it doesn’t scale.

As you grow, the next customer won’t be buying from the trusted CEO – they are buying the best known solution available in the market.

Being known as the leader of your category is the only way to grow big.