Building a Half Billion Dollar Business Without Losing Control
Building a Half Billion Dollar Business Without Losing Control  
Podcast: The Playbook With David Meltzer
Published On: Tue Jan 13 2026
Description: In today’s episode, I sit down with entrepreneur David Royce, Founder and Chairman of Aptive, to talk about building scale without losing control. We go back to his broke college days, the early lessons around equity, and the first year when rapid growth nearly put his business under. We break down how he built four companies over two decades, why cash flow can be more dangerous than failure, and the people strategies that matter when you want to keep ownership. We also get into hiring and firing, emotional expense, why passion is overrated, and how getting good at something can create its own momentum.