EP 011 | Growth Under Pressure: How to Scale a Services Business from Meetup to $12M Pipeline: Annie Eaton

To scale a services business from project-based to sustainable recurring revenue, focus on three core strategies: build strategic industry partnerships for warm referrals, educate your market relentlessly to shorten sales cycles, and transition high-demand offerings into licensable products. Project-based services create unpredictable cash flow; recurring revenue stabilizes growth and reduces founder dependency on every sale.

TL;DR

• Start with education, not sales pitches. Annie Eaton turned a VR meetup into an 11-year business by teaching the market first.
• Referrals trump cold outreach. Delta, Walmart, and Mars all came from personal introductions, not email blasts.
• Project work = cash flow roller coaster. $12M in pipeline disappeared in six months. Recurring revenue is the antidote.
• Hire sales help sooner than you think. Annie waited too long to offload lead qualification and education.
• Cash is still king. Every founder checks cash flow weekly—even after 11 years.
• Temper your excitement until the contract is signed. Enterprise deals can take 12-18 months and disappear overnight.
• Force yourself to step away. Maternity leave became the best business decision—proving the team could run without her.

How a 200-Person Meetup Became a Multimillion-Dollar Business (And Why Cash Flow Still Keeps the CEO Up at Night)

It was 2014. Annie Eaton and a coworker thought maybe 20 people would show up to their first Atlanta VR meetup.

Two hundred walked through the door.

"People started associating our names with Virtual Reality in Atlanta," Annie told me on Growth Under Pressure. "And then these little consulting engagements just started snowballing."

Fast forward 11 years. Futurus, the extended reality (XR) studio she co-founded, has worked with Delta, Walmart, Mars, and helped clients save millions through immersive training programs. One manufacturing client saw employees coming out of VR training operating 18% more efficiently than those who went through traditional onboarding.

But here's the part that doesn't make the highlight reel: just last fall, Annie watched $12 million in deals evaporate over six months. Proposals sent. Contracts drafted. Then—radio silence.

This is the untold story of scaling a services business in an emerging industry. The referrals that changed everything. The cash crunches that nearly broke her. And the hard pivot to recurring revenue that might finally end the sleepless nights.

Why Do Most Services Businesses Struggle to Scale Past $5M?

The answer is brutal in its simplicity: unpredictable cash flow.

Project-based businesses live and die by the next signed contract. You're not selling widgets. You're selling expertise, time, and trust—and all three are hard to scale.

Runway = The number of months your business can operate before running out of cash, calculated as: Cash on hand ÷ Monthly burn rate.

Annie learned this the hard way. Even with a $12M pipeline—deals in proposal, contracts sent, verbal yeses—90% disappeared in under six months. Some got canceled. Others punted to "TBD." A couple finally signed in May and July, long after the team had braced for layoffs.

"I care so much about my team that those moments are the driving factor for me wanting to figure this out," she said. "I never want to go through that again."

This is why recurring revenue has become her North Star for 2026. Not because project work isn't valuable—it is—but because founders shouldn't have to hold their breath every quarter wondering if payroll will clear.

How Do You Get Your First Enterprise Clients Without a Sales Team?

Annie didn't hire a salesperson until year 10.

For a decade, she was the closer, the educator, the relationship builder, and the proposal writer. She spoke at conferences. Ran workshops. Wrote a book (The Extended Reality Blueprint). All of it designed to make people understand what VR could do—and why it mattered.

"If people don't understand the technology, they're not going to invest in it," she said.

Her three biggest clients—Delta, Walmart, Mars—all came from personal referrals. Not LinkedIn InMails. Not cold calls. Just someone saying, "Hey, I know you do this. Can you talk to them?"

The Referral Playbook That Landed Fortune 500 Clients

1. Build strategic partnerships in your ecosystem.
VR hardware manufacturers need content creators. Content creators need hardware. They referred each other constantly.

2. Educate relentlessly.
Annie's meetups, speaking gigs, and book became lead magnets—without feeling salesy.

3. Show proof, not promises.
Case studies with real metrics (Delta scaled proficiency checks 50x, from 3 to 150 people/day) made the business case undeniable.

4. Stay visible in your niche.
The XR industry is small. Everyone knows everyone. Reputation is currency.

Only recently did Futurus add outbound lead gen—and it's working because the messaging is still educational, not transactional.

"We're not sending cold pitches," Annie explained. "We're sharing case studies and real results. Our hardest job is convincing people VR will work. So if we have clients who let us share their wins, it only helps our case."

What's the Real Cost of an 18-Month Enterprise Sales Cycle?

Enterprise sales cycles = The time from first contact to signed contract, often 12-18 months for large corporations due to procurement, legal review, and budget approvals.

Annie's seen it all. Verbal commitments that vanish. MSAs (Master Service Agreements) that take months to finalize. Deals that look locked in—until they're not.

"I've learned to never celebrate until I get that signature on the dotted line," she said. "Even if I get the verbal yes, I'm like, 'Cool—how many more months till the contract?'"

The Hidden Costs of Long Sales Cycles:

• Opportunity cost: Your best people are tied up in proposals that may never close.
• Cash flow strain: You're burning runway while waiting for checks that might not come.
• Founder burnout: When you're the only salesperson, every lost deal feels personal.
• Team morale: Layoffs become the last resort when deals don't land.

This is why sales scalability is non-negotiable if you want to grow past $5M. Annie finally hired a salesperson to handle lead qualification and early education. It freed her to focus on high-stakes closings and strategic relationships—the stuff only the founder can do.

"I should have done this sooner," she admitted. "But I think I cared too much about certain elements and didn't trust my team enough to let go."

How Do You Transition from Project-Based to Recurring Revenue?

After 11 years of custom projects, Annie launched XR Industrial—a licensed, subscription-based safety training platform for manufacturers.

Here's why it's a game-changer:

The Old Model vs. The New Model

Old Model: Custom Projects

• One-time fees
• 12-18 month sales cycles
• Unpredictable cash flow
• High production costs
• Founder-dependent sales

New Model: XR Industrial

• Annual licenses
• 30-60 day trials that convert to subscriptions
• Predictable MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue)
• Scalable, semi-customizable content
• Product-led growth potential

How XR Industrial Works:

XR Industrial offers generic OSHA-compliant safety training modules covering topics like personal protective equipment (PPE), lockout/tagout procedures, and pedestrian safety around mobile equipment.

A companion tablet app lets safety managers lightly customize simulations. For example, one job role might require a hardhat, safety vest, and steel-toed boots, while a lab role needs a hairnet, lab coat, and chemical gloves. Managers can configure these requirements with a few clicks and deploy customized VR simulations to their teams.

"We wanted something between custom work—which is expensive and slow—and off-the-shelf, which is too generic," Annie said. "This is the sweet spot."

Early traction is strong. Manufacturing clients are already using it. And for the first time in 11 years, Annie can see a path to predictable revenue that doesn't require her to close every deal personally.

The product is licensed annually and can be deployed across multiple sites, giving companies the flexibility they need while providing Futurus with the recurring revenue stability Annie has been chasing.

What Do Founders Actually Check Every Single Week?

I asked Annie the rapid-fire question I ask every guest: What's the one metric you check every week without fail?

Her answer came instantly: "Cash flow. Definitely cash flow."

It's the same answer nearly every founder gives. Because no matter how big your pipeline looks, no matter how many verbal yeses you've collected, cash is the only metric that keeps the lights on.

Cash Flow Metrics Founders Should Track Weekly:

✓ Cash on hand — How much is in the bank right now?

✓ Burn rate — How much are you spending per month?

✓ Runway — How many months until you hit zero?

✓ Accounts receivable aging — Who owes you money, and when will it arrive?

✓ Pipeline velocity — How fast are deals moving from proposal to signature?

AdaptCFO is a fractional CFO and accounting firm that helps growth-stage startups build 13-week cash flow forecasts, track burn rate in real time, and avoid the cash crunches that force layoffs or emergency fundraising.

Because here's the truth: you can be profitable on paper and still run out of cash. And when that happens, nothing else matters.

Why Did Maternity Leave Become the Best Business Decision Annie Ever Made?

"A lot of founders won't do it," Annie said. "They'll say, 'I can't step away.' But I used it as a business exercise."

Months before her due date, she created a backup for every single responsibility. Client relationships. Project oversight. Sales opportunities. Everything.

"I proved to my team that I trusted them—which I had all along, but I hadn't shown it with my actions."

The result? Projects ran smoothly. Clients were happy. Deals stayed warm. And when she returned, the business was stronger because her team had stepped up.

The Forced Detachment Test (Even If You're Not Having a Baby):

Quarterly offsites:
Annie and her COO disappear for half a day—no laptops, no phones. They got pedicures. They strategized. They identified risks early.

Delegate with proof:
Don't just say you trust your team. Show it by handing over real responsibility.

Create redundancy:
If you're the single point of failure, your business can't scale.

"Even if you have to force yourself to do it," Annie said, "doing it away from your office is so helpful for getting into that strategic headspace."

What's the One Thing Annie Wishes She'd Done Sooner?

"Let go of control earlier. Especially in sales."

She spent a decade as the sole salesperson—educating, qualifying, proposing, closing. It worked. But it didn't scale.

"My time is finite," she said. "If I'm still attached to every deal, my time per opportunity gets smaller and smaller. I should have hired someone to handle the groundwork sooner—qualifying leads, doing the education, making sure people have budget."

Now she inserts herself at the right time: high-stakes closings, strategic partnerships, key client relationships. The stuff only the founder can do.

Founder lesson: Your expertise is valuable. But if you're the bottleneck, you're also the ceiling.

Should You Transition to Recurring Revenue? Use This Scorecard

Use this evaluation framework to determine if your project-based business is ready for a recurring revenue model:

Evaluation Criteria:

1. Do you have 3+ projects with overlapping client requests?

• Score 0: No overlap in requests
• Score 3: High overlap, clients asking for similar deliverables
• Why it matters: Recurring demand signals a productization opportunity.

2. Is your sales cycle longer than 6 months?

• Score 0: Less than 30 days
• Score 3: More than 12 months
• Why it matters: Longer cycles benefit from predictable revenue streams that stabilize cash flow.

3. Can you survive 3 months with zero new sales?

• Score 0: No, we'd be in crisis
• Score 3: Yes, we have runway
• Why it matters: Low runway creates urgent need for recurring model.

4. Do clients ask for ongoing updates or support?

• Score 0: Never, one-and-done projects
• Score 3: Frequently requesting updates
• Why it matters: Support requests signal subscription opportunity.

5. Is your founder doing 80%+ of sales?

• Score 0: No, we have a sales team
• Score 3: Yes, it's all me
• Why it matters: Founder bottleneck means you need a scalable product.

6. Can you templatize 50%+ of your deliverables?

• Score 0: Every project is fully custom
• Score 3: Highly repeatable processes
• Why it matters: Repeatability equals productization feasibility.

Total Score Interpretation:

0-6 points: Stay project-based for now. Focus on proving demand and tightening your delivery process before considering a pivot.

7-12 points: Start a hybrid model like XR Industrial. Test recurring add-ons alongside your custom work to reduce risk while building momentum.

13-18 points: Full pivot to recurring revenue. Your business has the demand, repeatability, and scalability indicators to make the transition successfully.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How long does it take to transition from project-based to recurring revenue?

Most services businesses need 12-24 months to build, test, and scale a recurring product while maintaining project revenue. Start with a hybrid model to reduce risk.

Q: What's a realistic close rate for enterprise B2B sales?

In emerging industries like XR, Annie's close rate is "not great"—likely 10-20%. Enterprise sales cycles are long, and education is a major barrier. Expect 12-18 months from first contact to signature.

Q: How do you know when to hire your first salesperson?

When founder sales time becomes the bottleneck. If you're turning down opportunities because you can't keep up with lead qualification and education, it's time.

Q: What's the biggest mistake founders make with cash flow?

Confusing profitability with cash flow. You can be "profitable" on paper but run out of cash if clients pay net-60 and your payroll is due weekly. Track runway weekly.

Q: How do referrals scale without becoming a bottleneck?

Build strategic partnerships in your ecosystem and create educational content (speaking, writing, case studies) that does the referral work for you. Annie's book and meetups are lead magnets.

Q: Should I offer discounts to land my first recurring revenue customers?

Pilot pricing or trial periods work better than discounts. Let early customers test the product at reduced risk, then convert them to full price once they see ROI.

Q: How much runway should I have before launching a new recurring product?

Minimum 12 months of runway. Launching a recurring product takes time to gain traction—you need cushion to survive the transition.

Q: What's the best way to track cash flow as a services business?

Use a 13-week rolling cash flow forecast. Update it weekly. Track cash on hand, burn rate, accounts receivable aging, and pipeline velocity. AdaptCFO builds these for clients using QuickBooks or Xero data.

Final Thoughts: The Long Game Pays Off

Annie Eaton's journey from a 200-person meetup to an 11-year VR business with Fortune 500 clients proves one thing: the long game works.

She educated her market for years before asking for a sale. She built partnerships that turned into referral engines. She weathered cash flow nightmares that would have sunk most founders. And now, she's building the recurring revenue model that will finally let her sleep at night.

If you're scaling a services business and tired of the revenue roller coaster, remember Annie's advice:

Never celebrate until the contract is signed.

Let go of control sooner than feels comfortable.

And always, always check your cash flow.

Are you scaling a services business—and tired of the cash flow roller coaster?

If you're doing $500K–$10M in revenue and your pipeline feels unpredictable, you need a fractional CFO who understands project-based businesses, enterprise sales cycles, and the transition to recurring revenue.

AdaptCFO has helped growth-stage startups build 13-week cash flow forecasts, model recurring revenue scenarios, and avoid the layoffs that come when deals don't close on time.

Book a free consultation to see how we can help you scale with confidence—not chaos. Go contact us at www.adaptcfo.com we'll be glad to tell you more about how a CFO can ramp up your business!

Liked this content? you can find the full episode links below.  

YouTube: https://buff.ly/td5FHkq
Spotify: https://buff.ly/iAYS8ic
Apple Podcasts: https://buff.ly/V72KBnX

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