Scale-first growth marketing · Any industry

Most businesses don't have a marketing problem. They have a scale problem.

We won't spend your budget until your business can carry the weight. Then we build and market the one path that compounds — with two partners who've started 15+ companies and taken 12 public.

Request an event invite → See the method

15+companies founded

12taken public

8,000+clients served

New book · out now Growth Scaling Your Business The whole method, 414 pages

The partners

Mitroff & LockhartTwo partners, every engagement

David Mitroff and Steven Lockhart speaking on stage to a room of business owners

On stage, teaching the method

David Mitroff and Steven Lockhart recording a business podcast together

On the mic, on the record

David Mitroff and Steven Lockhart working together in the office

In the room, doing the work

Four events · Sept–Oct 2026

David & Steven in Orange County across four dates — private dinner Sept 24, plus three open networking events.

See all four →

The gap we close

You can tell us what you spent. You can't tell us what you got.

That gap between spend and result isn't a creative problem or a channel problem. It's structural. Roughly half of new U.S. establishments are gone within five years, and only about a third reach year ten, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — and the SBA Office of Advocacy counts how many exist and who they employ. What decides survival is capacity and cash flow, not ad spend. No amount of budget fixes a model that can't scale. We start where the U.S. Small Business Administration says to start, and most owners skip: the arithmetic underneath the marketing.

The rebrand that changed nothing

You spent real money on a prettier site and a new logo — and got a prettier version of the same revenue. The look changed. The math didn't.

The retainer you can't trace

You pay every month and can't name a single client it produced. The report is full of metrics. None of them is a customer.

"You just need more content"

Three vendors in a row said the answer was more posts or better ads. It wasn't. You were being marketed at a scale your model couldn't support.

The Scaling Method

Frame it. Floor it. Focus it.

Three phases, in strict sequence. You can't skip one — the order is the point. It's the reason clients hire us instead of a channel vendor.

Phase one

Frame

Set the destination and the clock

A goal big enough your current model can't reach it, on a timeline short enough that you have to change what you do starting now. The size of the goal forces the strategy to change.

Phase two

Floor

Clear the runway

Raise the minimum standard you'll accept and cut everything below it — the accounts, tactics, and offers that won't move the big number. Simplicity creates the focus.

Phase three

Focus

Build the engine

Engineer one scalable path and the systems that run it without the owner. Where the hundredth customer costs less to win than the tenth. That's a business that scales.

A mindset without a machine is a wish. A machine without the mindset is a faster way to run in the wrong direction. A client hires both — on every engagement.

Upcoming events · October 2026

Up next in person.

Two Orange County rooms back-to-back — an open mixer at Habana, then a private strategy dinner at Mastro's.

Open registration

Business Professionals Networking Mixer at Habana.

Oct 28Wed · 6–8 PM

HabanaIrvine, CA

Freeearly bird · $25 after

An evening room for owners, founders and executives across Orange County — two hours of real conversation, no stage, no pitch deck.

Open to business owners across every industry.
Latin-inspired lounge — support the venue with a drink.
No MLM or network marketing businesses.

Hosted by Growth ScalingOpen to all industries and professionals

708 Spectrum Center Drive, Suite 708, Irvine, CA 92618. Capacity is capped.

Invitation only · limited capacity

Business Professionals Dinner at Mastro’s.

Oct 29Thu · 5:30–8 PM

Mastro's SteakhouseCosta Mesa, CA

Dinnercomplimentary

An invitation-only dinner for business owners and leaders in professional services. Network over complimentary dinner while David and Steven walk through the five-phase Growth Scaling Method.

Identify revenue bottlenecks and the leaks worth fixing first.
Pick the one growth path that actually compounds.
Build the system that keeps the calendar full predictably.

Hosted by David Mitroff, PhD & Steven LockhartOpen to professional-services firms & their leaders

Request your seat →

633 Anton Boulevard, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Seats confirmed by the hosts within two business days.

Past events · September–October 2026

Past events.

Four Orange County rooms across nine days — three open networking events and a private invitation-only dinner.

Healthcare & Beauty Business Mixer.

Sept 23Wed · 6–8 PM

HabanaIrvine, CA

An open networking room for owners and operators across healthcare, aesthetics and wellness.

Private healthcare dinner with David Mitroff and Steven Lockhart in Costa Mesa — September 24, 2026

A private dinner with David & Steven.

Sept 24Thu · evening

Costa Mesainvitation only

An intimate strategy dinner for healthcare practice owners and decision-makers.

Business Professionals Networking Mixer at Paul Martin’s.

Sept 30Wed · 6–8 PM

Paul Martin'sIrvine, CA

A cross-industry networking room for owners, founders, executives and the professionals who serve them.

Professional Services Owners & Leaders Lunch.

Oct 1Thu · 11:30 AM–1 PM

Ruth's ChrisIrvine, CA

A midday room for professional-services owners — attorneys, accountants, consultants and firm leaders.

Request your seat

We'll send an email & text confirmation if you're invited. Capacity is limited — all fields required.

Please complete all required fields with a valid email before submitting.

The partnership

The firm is new. The people running it aren't.

A rare overlap in conviction across a difference in method: a growth strategist trained in clinical psychology who scales businesses through people, and a systems operator who scales them through process and math.

Partner — Growth · The Mindset

David Mitroff, Ph.D.

Growth happens in the mind before the numbers

Ph.D. in clinical psychology, applied to the psychology behind business decisions. Seven years as a UC Berkeley instructor in marketing and entrepreneurship, six years as a Google for Startups mentor, two TEDx talks, and five books on business growth. Fourth-generation San Franciscan who's co-founded seven-plus companies. David owns the strategy, the buyer's psychology, and the relationship engine.

Ph.D., Clinical PsychologyUC BerkeleyTEDxGoogle MentorExpert Witness

Partner — Scaling · The Action

Steven Lockhart

The machine that runs without the owner

Founder/CEO of Healthcare Marketing and Psychiatry Telemed. Took 12 companies public via reverse mergers; previously led a digital marketing company with 8,000+ clients. Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and author of The Ultimate Guide to Digital Marketing. Steven owns the production system, the web architecture at scale, and the operational discipline that turns strategy into return.

Six Sigma Black Belt12 IPOs8,000+ clientsAuthorFounder/CEO

Out now

Cover of Growth Scaling Your Business: How to Break the Growth Ceiling and Build a Business That Runs Without You, by Steven Lockhart and David Mitroff, Ph.D.

KindleHardcover414 pages

The book · Published September 15, 2026

Growth is a decision.
Scaling is a system.

Growth Scaling Your Business: How to Break the Growth Ceiling and Build a Business That Runs Without You

Every business has a number it can't get past — a million in revenue, forty employees, three locations. Most owners call that a marketing problem and spend accordingly. It rarely is. Steven and David take the stall apart from two directions at once: the engineering of why results stop repeating, and the psychology of why owners who already know the answer still don't act. The same method we run for clients, written down in full.

The five phases, chapter by chapter

414pages, first edition

5phases, in strict sequence

90day plan, with dates on it

Get the book on Amazon Read the method first →

By Steven Lockhart, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and David Mitroff, Ph.D.
Every chapter ends with five to seven things you can start this week.

On stage & on camera

We teach the method in public.

Conviction, not secrecy, is what sells a method. Between keynotes, TEDx, workshops, and a library of video, the partners have taught this thinking to tens of thousands of owners — and every talk is proof the arithmetic holds.

2×TEDx talks

35K+owners educated

12+books authored

Join the next session →

David Mitroff and Steven Lockhart presenting together

▶

“

Most businesses don't have a marketing problem. They have a scale problem. We fix the arithmetic first.

The operating thesis of Growth-Scaling

Where we go deep

General-market thinking. Vertical depth.

The method works in any industry. These three are where we've built dedicated playbooks, compliance fluency, and search dominance — with more verticals on the way.

Flagship

Healthcare & Medical

HIPAA-aware, E-E-A-T content, 32+ specialties. A dedicated healthcare arm behind it.

Explore healthcare →

David and Steven in a retail and trades setting

Construction & Trades

Local SEO, contractor lead generation, and a pipeline that survives busy season.

Explore construction →

Legal & Professional

Qualified-matter generation over raw volume. Systems that replace the founder's billable hours.

Explore legal →

Arithmetic over adjectives

Every claim has a number, a name, or a date.

"We grew their business" isn't allowed here. "Census went from 15 to 60 in five months" is. The numbers below reflect the partners' combined track record.

15+

Companies started or co-founded

Companies taken public

8,000+

Marketing clients served

32+

Healthcare specialties served

Figures reflect the founders' combined career track record across prior ventures. Client-specific results vary by market and engagement.

In their words

Owners who stopped guessing.

★★★★★

Right away things started to happen. Business is booming. More than a consultant — a business confidant.

David RosenbaumPartner, McDowall Cotter

★★★★★

He strives to deliver value first. He's earned my business and my trust — a natural connector.

Patrick SchwerdtfegerBusiness Futurist · TEDx Speaker

★★★★★

The most responsive consultant I've ever worked with. His follow-up was absolutely impeccable.

Judith Szepesi, J.D.Partner, BSTZ LLP

Testimonials reflect prior engagements of the founding partners. Full references available on request.

The seats are limited. The math isn't.

If you run a healthcare practice and you're done guessing what your marketing produced, the September 24 dinner is where it starts. Request your invitation while capacity lasts.

Request an invite → Call (949) 628-6500

Most businesses don't have a marketing problem. They have a scale problem.

You can tell us what you spent. You can't tell us what you got.

The rebrand that changed nothing

The retainer you can't trace

"You just need more content"

Frame it. Floor it. Focus it.

Frame

Floor

Focus

Up next in person.

Business Professionals Networking Mixer at Habana.

Business Professionals Dinner at Mastro’s.

Past events.

Healthcare & Beauty Business Mixer.

A private dinner with David & Steven.

Business Professionals Networking Mixer at Paul Martin’s.

Professional Services Owners & Leaders Lunch.

Request your seat

The firm is new. The people running it aren't.

David Mitroff, Ph.D.

Steven Lockhart

Growth is a decision.Scaling is a system.

We teach the method in public.

General-market thinking. Vertical depth.

Healthcare & Medical

Construction & Trades

Legal & Professional

Every claim has a number, a name, or a date.

Owners who stopped guessing.

The seats are limited. The math isn't.

Schedule a Consultation

Request Sent!

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Growth is a decision.
Scaling is a system.