Scaling a CPA firm sounds exciting until you hit the messy middle.
Yuri sits down with Anomaly CPA owners John Malone and Greg O’Brien to talk about what it actually takes to grow from a solo firm into a 40-person, multi-million-dollar operation.
They get into the early decisions that shaped Anomaly, why Greg moved away from the traditional hourly model, how John’s non-accounting background became an advantage, and why the $1M to $2M range can be one of the hardest stages for firm owners.
They also break down hiring ahead of growth, building a marketing engine, qualifying leads, pricing with recurring packages, using AI inside the firm, and why owners eventually have to stop being the hero if they want the team to scale.
If you’re building a firm and trying to decide whether to stay lean or push for something bigger, this conversation gives a real look at the tradeoffs.
Episode Highlights:
0:00 - Why owners become the bottleneck
0:46 - Meet John Malone and Greg O’Brien of Anomaly CPA
3:46 - Starting the firm and moving away from the traditional model
6:01 - Taking on early work without building the wrong firm
8:42 - How John and Greg partnered up
12:10 - Why a non-accountant perspective helped the firm scale
14:18 - Growing to 40 people and $4M+ in revenue
17:17 - The “awkward teenage stage” between $1M and $2M
22:18 - Hiring ahead of growth and protecting payroll
27:17 - Building a digital marketing engine
32:56 - Qualifying leads and filtering out bad-fit prospects
36:26 - Why Anomaly uses monthly packages
39:23 - How the team is implementing AI
40:56 - Tech stack, ClickUp, Drake, and change management
51:08 - What’s next for Anomaly CPA
ABOUT HOST YURI KAPILOVICH
Yuri, aka #thefuncpa, has been in the accounting profession for over 15 years and has seen, first hand, the challenges the profession brings. After seeing that no firm was fitting the bill, Yuri set out to do things his own way with his firm K&A and the journey began with LinkedIn posting at the front end.
Yuri is proud to bring you #thefuncpa podcast highlighting the fun and all the amazing opportunities our profession can bring us all.
CONNECT WITH YURI KAPILOVICH
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ykapilovich/
Website: https://www.thefuncpa.co/
CONNECT WITH GREG O’BRIEN
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-o-brien-cpa-88a3472b/
Website: https://www.anomalycpa.com/team
CONNECT WITH JOHN MALONE
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-malone-019ba827/
Website: https://www.anomalycpa.com/team
