Archita Fritz’s Approach to Transforming Business Growth

After 18 years in the corporate world, Archita Fritz noticed something that would change her career path. While leading a tiny division within a $20 billion company, she discovered that the real challenge wasn’t just hitting numbers – it was proving why her small business deserved attention and investment in the first place. “When you think about your size in that big space, you’re constantly having to prove why your business should have a seat at the table,” Archita says, reflecting on her early days.

This experience would later prove invaluable as she shifted into advising growing companies and sitting on advisory boards.

Learning to Win in Different Worlds

Archita’s corporate journey reads like a growth story itself. Starting with a $1.5 million business unit, she helped drive it to $8 million, and by the time she left, it had reached $350 million. “There were mergers and acquisitions involved, over 20 product launches across 128 countries,” she says with a hint of pride. But it wasn’t just about the numbers. Her first role put her in charge of international marketing, “Rest of World” – a title she now laughs about. “It was a joke because the company was US-based, but it was like, ‘Okay, you’re responsible for the rest of the world’ and what the heck does that mean, right?” This sink-or-swim experience taught her to get crystal clear on priorities fast.

Identifying Growth Challenges

Archita has seen a pattern with the companies she advises – they often fall into what she calls “random acts of marketing, random acts of strategy.” It’s especially common in small and medium-sized enterprises that have found some success but hit a ceiling. “These are still unsure how to repeat success because what got them here, won’t get them there,” she explains. Some of these companies have been around for decades. “They could be between 10 to even 30 years in business,” Archita notes. “They might have been recently acquired by private equity or a venture capital partner. And now their expectation of growth is different.” This is where her experience bridges the gap.

One of Archita’s recent board experiences highlights a common challenge. “There was a data founder, who was a data scientist… brilliant, but they naturally focused on what they felt most natural to lead,” she shares. “The problem is your customer is your purchasing manager at a large pharma company. They probably don’t understand any aspect of data.”

This disconnect between technical expertise and market reality is something Archita sees repeatedly. “You need to talk to someone who can speak through their world lens,” she insists. Her role often involves helping companies map out their customer journey and find ways to delight customers at each step.

Breaking Free from Echo Chambers

When it comes to building advisory boards, Archita has strong opinions about common mistakes. Many companies either skip having a board entirely or stack it with friends and family – both approaches she sees as problematic. “You create echo chambers constantly,” she says bluntly.

The solution? Look beyond industry insiders. “A lot of times when they’re building advisory boards, they’re like, ‘they have to only be from this industry.’ That’s really the stupidest thing,” Archita says. “It’s just like a job – sometimes your transferable skills can be significantly more valuable than mastery of a specific technology.”

Getting Past the Mental Blocks

Archita loves quoting Einstein when talking about change: breaking a mental model is harder than splitting an atom. She’s seen this play out repeatedly with growing companies. “As an advisory board member, your main responsibility is seeing how you can start breaking those mental models,” she explains, “because then those beliefs, whatever they are, whether they’re limiting or empowering – breaking those beliefs will create those new experiences that will create the results.”

For companies looking to scale, Archita emphasizes three fundamental elements, also her 3Cs: clarity, connection, and community. But she’s quick to point out that you can’t always find clarity alone. “Sometimes you cannot achieve clarity by yourself, and this is something you have to accept,” she notes. When she talks about community, don’t expect the usual social media metrics. Instead, she focuses on creating genuine advocates. “I don’t mean community by way of an Instagram following or any of that nonsense,” she clarifies. It’s about building relationships where customers genuinely want to take your call because you’ve made them successful.

The bottom line? Even experts need help sometimes. “Nobody is beyond and above help,” Archita insists. “Mastery does not equal accessibility.” It’s a lesson she’s learned from both sides of the boardroom table, and one she’s passionate about sharing with others.

To learn more about Archita Fritz and her approach, check out her LinkedIn profile.