Featuring Rick Murphy on the Joey Pinz Conversations Podcast

There’s a dangerous infection running through the tech industry — and most business owners don’t even know they have it. It’s called Top Line Disease.

On the surface, it looks like success: revenue’s climbing, headcount’s growing, and the company’s chasing bigger logos and bigger deals. But under the hood? Margins are shrinking, costs are creeping, and the business is getting heavier — not healthier.

That’s the conversation Cogent’s CEO Rick Murphy dives into on the Joey Pinz Conversations Podcast, where he unpacks why so many tech leaders mistake motion for progress and revenue for value.

“Revenue growth doesn’t mean value growth,” Rick tells Joey. “If the business isn’t designed to scale profitably, you’re building activity — not equity.”

Rick’s perspective comes from decades of living in the deal flow. At Cogent Growth Partners, he’s helped hundreds of IT service companies buy, sell, and merge with precision — and he’s seen every version of “growth gone wrong.”

The Symptoms of Top Line Disease

When a business gets hooked on top-line growth, the warning signs are easy to spot:

• A staff infection: too many employees for the size or maturity of the company.
• Credit line addiction: borrowing to make payroll or cover thin margins.
• Revenue-at-any-cost: discounting, taking on unprofitable clients, or chasing size over strength.

And the cure? It starts with clarity. As Rick says, “If you’re not making money, you’re not running a business — you’re funding a hobby.”

In the full episode, Rick breaks down how to build an operation that scales profitably, not recklessly — and how to think like an owner who’s always ready for opportunity, not just exit.

Watch the Full Conversation