21 Hats Podcast Dashboard: Tracking the Entrepreneurial Economy
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Dec 5, 2025 Brandon Gray, a partner at CRI Simple Numbers and a business profitability consultant, delves into the current state of the entrepreneurial economy. He highlights a troubling performance trend among smaller businesses, contrasting it with Wall Street metrics. Brandon discusses critical financial metrics, the divide between thriving large firms and struggling smaller ones, and offers actionable advice for owners to adapt their strategies. He cautions that without significant economic catalysts, the outlook for 2026 may remain dim.
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Measure Labor As An Investment
- Treat labor as an investment and measure return on payroll spend.
- Use labor efficiency to see how many gross margin dollars each payroll dollar produces.
Pinned-Up Demand Boosted Early 2025
- Entrepreneurial activity surged after the 2024 election as pinned-up demand released.
- Brandon Gray notes strong December–February momentum before later drag from uncertainty.
Policy Uncertainty Slowed Deals And Hiring
- Tariff uncertainty and unclear rate guidance forced many businesses back into wait-and-see mode.
- Gray describes how rolling policy uncertainty lengthened sales cycles and halted hiring.