Why 40 Years In One Industry Became The Biggest Risk

About this episode

What happens when a company spends 40 years becoming the best in one industry, and then that industry starts to wobble?In this episode of The Revenue Equation, Frederik Jakobsen, founder of Danish Lead Co, sits down with Dr. Thomas Däubler, CEO of MCD Elektronik, the German test and automation company whose systems now run in more than 60 countries, from southern Patagonia to northern China. After 40 years of founder-led growth built almost entirely on automotive, Thomas took over with close to zero automotive background, and that outsider view is exactly what surfaced the risk nobody inside the business could see.We get into how you grow a company without throwing away what already works:- Why 40 years of expertise in one sector quietly turns into concentration risk- How an incoming CEO spots what a founder living inside the industry cannot- The diversification move that keeps the technology and only changes the industry- Using Chamber of Commerce foreign offices to research and open entirely new regions- Why the same test technology has to be sold completely differently to medical buyers- How buying decisions moved from headquarters down to individual manufacturing plantsIf you are running outbound, opening a new vertical, or trying to grow a business that already has a strong niche, this one is worth your time. Subscribe for more conversations on how B2B companies actually create demand and close it, and find more from Frederik Jakobsen at danishleadco.io.GUEST: Dr. Thomas Däubler, CEO of MCD Elektronik GmbH (mcd-elektronik.com)HOST: Frederik Jakobsen, founder of Danish Lead Co (danishleadco.io)CHAPTERS:00:00, Meet Dr. Thomas Däubler and MCD Elektronik03:20, Taking over a 40-year founder-led company14:57, Why depending on one industry became the risk17:25, Breaking into new industries without pivoting25:17, Why buying decisions moved from HQ down to the plant36:29, The next 12 months and the MENA regionKEYWORDS: Thomas Däubler, MCD Elektronik, Frederik Jakobsen, Danish Lead Co, The Revenue Equation, B2B growth strategy, market diversification, founder succession, CEO transition, international expansion, industrial test systems, automotive suppliers