But over lunch with a mentor, one question changed everything:
“Why can’t you have both?”
That moment sparked the beginning of a bold journey: to scale Nimbl with intention—preserving its values while amplifying its impact.
Today, Nimbl is a multi-service advisory firm with a fully remote team, a thriving culture, and over $6 million in annual recurring revenue. Here’s how we got there—and what other firms can learn from our experience.
Growth Begins with a Clear Choice
In the early days, Dave enjoyed the freedom and flexibility of solo ownership. But with growing client demand and a desire to do more, it became clear that the firm had the potential to scale.
The key was intentionality. Nimbl wasn’t built on hustle alone—it was built on a conscious decision to grow in a way that aligned with core values: family, flexibility, and purpose.
“We knew we didn’t want to grow at all costs. We wanted to grow the right way—with the right people, the right systems, and a strong foundation,” Dave explains.
The Power of Partnership: Bringing in an aligned Co-Founder/ President
In 2019, Shane Rowley joined Nimbl, bringing startup experience and a shared vision: to build something bigger than themselves.
Together, Dave and Shane created a leadership model rooted in clarity, culture, and collaboration. This foundation allowed them to think long-term, build intentionally, and weather the challenges of early-stage scaling.
Their formula:
- People-first culture
- Clear purpose
- Structured operations
- A bias toward action
Navigating the “Messy Middle”
As the firm grew past $1M in revenue, the leadership team quickly realized that observing business leadership (as a CFO) was very different from living it.
From hiring missteps to cash flow strains to management growing pains—this phase tested every assumption.
“We call it the ‘messy middle’—the $1M to $3M stage where intuitive decision-making starts to fall short, but you haven’t yet built a full leadership infrastructure,”
Dave Olsen, Founder/CEO
What helped Nimbl navigate it? Relentless focus on values, humility to course-correct, and willingness to invest in leadership development.
Building a True Growth Engine
One of Nimbl’s most strategic moves came in 2020: hiring a Director of Growth.
Up to that point, Dave and Shane were still leading sales while juggling operations and strategy. But they knew that if they wanted to grow beyond $1.5M, they needed to scale the business development function, not just the team.
Since then, the growth team has expanded to include:
- Sales and marketing leaders
- Sales development reps (SDRs)
- Admin and operational support
And here’s the twist: none of them came from the accounting industry.
“We intentionally hired outside the profession,” Dave shares. “That let us borrow best practices from industries like tech and SaaS—and it changed how we grow.”
We didn’t just build a sales team—we built a repeatable, data-driven revenue engine with clear KPIs, automation, and attribution visibility at every stage.
Culture Is the Backbone
From day one, Nimbl has been a fully remote firm. That required extra intentionality around culture—and it paid off.
Mission, values, and core virtues are embedded into every hiring decision, performance review, and leadership conversation. As Shane puts it, “misalignment with our values is the root of most people issues. We learned that early.”
This cultural clarity allowed Nimbl to scale quickly without losing its identity.
Scaling Into New Services
Today, Nimbl is more than just a fractional CFO service, we’re a leading provider of full-scale back office solutions. We offer:
- Offshore staffing
- Managed IT services
- Advisory solutions built for accounting firms
As each new service line matured, it was integrated into the same growth and leadership infrastructure—ensuring it didn’t depend on a founder to scale.
The result? Nimbl has grown into a multi-service firm without bottlenecking on leadership or compromising its values.
Lessons for Other Firms
Here are a few of the biggest takeaways from Nimbl’s growth journey:
- You don’t have to choose between lifestyle and scale—with intentional growth, you can have both.
- Outsiders can strengthen your team—fresh perspectives lead to better systems.
- A dedicated growth function is a game changer—it frees leadership to think strategically and operate proactively.
- Culture is the key to scaling smoothly—especially in remote-first environments.
- Productizing your services unlocks scalability—and lets non-technical teams close deals confidently.
What’s Next for Nimbl?
We’re continuing to invest in people, tech, and innovation that empower accounting firms to thrive in a modern world. Our story is still unfolding—but the foundation is solid.
If you’re an accounting leader thinking about scaling your firm (without compromising your values or burning out in the process), let’s talk. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach—but there is a better way to grow.
